On First Thursday earlier this month my Parisian friend Aurélie Jullien and I attended The Belgian Beer Company’s celebration of the ‘Art of Glass’ at the WORLDART Gallery on Church Street, an exhibition of the art by Lizette Chirrime, the first African artist whose work has been used on a Duvel beer glass. Continue reading →
Tag Archives: Duvel
Beerhouse Cape Town: largest ‘hub’ of local and imported beers in Africa!
The largest selection in Africa of beers on tap (16) and bottled beers (99) is available at newly opened Beerhouse, on party mile Long Street in Cape Town. The Beer List states that ‘we see ourselves as (part of) the world beer revolution’, and Beerhouse plans regular events to ‘incubate the ideals of craft’ and to celebrate the world’s oldest and greatest beverage’!
One cannot miss the strong beer yellow painted building exterior opposite Mama Africa. The Beer Hall is upstairs, once a bead outlet. The decor of the beer hall is quite plain, with some TV screens, and framed pictures of dressed up beer bottles in felt, representing traditional dress from around the world. The backs of wooden benches are painted beer yellow, and banquettes have been upholstered in the same colour. 
While they were renovating the building, they found attractive raw brickwork, and left some of it at the top of the walls. Lovely wooden floors had to be tiled, as the dust was affecting shops downstairs. Interior decorator Justin Plunkett of Joom came up with the theme of 99 beer bottles, after the well-known song ‘99 bottles of beer on the wall, 99 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 98 bottles of beer on the wall’. Continue reading →
Restaurant Review: De Brasserie European style food, beer, wine, and service!
On Saturday I was introduced to De Brasserie in Strand by Annette Beller-Sogor, whom I had met at an art exhibition recently and who lives in Gordon’s Bay. She raved about the excellence of the restaurant, and mentioned that it is owned by the Belgian wine family Van Almenkerk from Elgin. We found an unexpected European haven in a most unlikely town!
It was the most beautiful clear day, with the snow capped mountains of Somerset West visible from Beach Road. False Bay looked flat and one could even see Cape Point, the raised former Kaapzicht restaurant offering an excellent view. The restaurant exterior looks very modern from outside, but the restaurant name could be difficult to read, being partially
blocked by beams. In smaller type size it states ‘Est 2012 by Almenkerk’, which one cannot read from the road. Having booked last minute, we were seated at the bar counter first, but were promised a table as soon as one became available.
De Brasserie is Joep van Almenkerk, who is a most amazing host, friendly, attractive, charming, attentive, and he makes one feel that he knew what was happening at each table, and that he made every Continue reading →