{"id":9812,"date":"2010-07-03T10:59:54","date_gmt":"2010-07-03T08:59:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.whalecottage.com\/blog\/?p=9812"},"modified":"2010-07-03T11:14:12","modified_gmt":"2010-07-03T09:14:12","slug":"pub-review-watching-the-world-cup-at-union-beer-salon-and-charcuterie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chrisvonulmenstein.com\/blog\/cape-town\/pub-review-watching-the-world-cup-at-union-beer-salon-and-charcuterie\/","title":{"rendered":"Pub Review: Watching the World Cup at &Union Beer Salon and Charcuterie"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>&Union Beer Salon and Charcuterie\u00a0is a very trendy pub that is one of the favourite haunts of bloggers Dax of Relax-with-Dax, The Foodie and JamieWho, and they give\u00a0its beer brands regular coverage via Twitter,\u00a0\u00a0so much so that I had to try it out – the first time\u00a0about a month ago – and then I went back for the Brazil versus Portugal match last week.\u00a0<\/p>\n

To review &Union one needs to know that the owners were the founder owners of Vida e Caffe (Brad Armitage and Rui Esteves), who broke away to create &Union.\u00a0 &Union does not give one a Vida franchise feel at all – exactly the opposite is true,\u00a0and it\u00a0is commendable that the owners could start and maintain a business so radically different to what they did before.\u00a0 Also, untypically for Vida e Caffe, &Union has no visible exterior branding on Bree Street, but those that love the brand and share the passion, know where it is!<\/p>\n

&Union is not a traditional pub – one sits outside on wooden tables and benches in summer, and for the World Cup a Moroccan style tent\u00a0has been erected to cover all Cape Town winter weather options, with\u00a0heaters if it gets cold.\u00a0 The tent has\u00a0three strips of material on it,\u00a0which are\u00a0linked to a painting near the entrance, all related to the Puma Africa Unity Kit.\u00a0\u00a0 It would be lost to most present, unless they had been invited to the launch of the new Puma beer a few days before.<\/p>\n

We arrived just before the match starting time, and there was only a little bench\u00a0available to sit on, a little removed from all the other benches, and without a table.\u00a0\u00a0I was impressed with Simon Wibberley, the Operations Manager, who seemed to know everyone coming into &Union, hugging and kissing (the ladies at least), and the guys all seemed to be friends.\u00a0\u00a0 Simon stood near the entrance, and kept an eye on things continuously – no sitting back and having a beer and watch the soccer for him.\u00a0\u00a0 It became so full that\u00a0he eventually locked the gate, yet it did not feel crowded.\u00a0 The only problem was a lack of seating for everyone.<\/p>\n

The beer list is an unusual brown A3 recycled sheet which\u00a0shows its\u00a0seven beers and tells the &Union story.\u00a0 The owners wanted to develop\u00a0beer brands that are authentic, truthful and honest, and that stand for quality, heritage, tradition and taste.\u00a0 This led them to find “some of Europe’s oldest family-run breweries in search of artisan-produced beers that we are not only proud to produce for our customers but love to drink ourselves.\u00a0\u00a0We don’t believe we can single-handedly change the world of beer as it exists but with a little raw passion, blind optimism and reckless resolve, we can perhaps make a difference”, the beer list says.<\/p>\n

This mission for &Union has led to the development of “luxury beers, handcrafted by our artisans from the finest natural ingredients.\u00a0 Our pils and amber ale are brewed using only 100% barley malt, yeast, hops, and water”.\u00a0 The beer is brewed for up to 8 weeks.\u00a0 The Pils and Amber are unpasteurised, the beer list says, to allow a “fuller, richer taste”.\u00a0\u00a0 The passion comes from “Eating. Drinking. Living. That’s what we love. Pairing real beer with real food…”.\u00a0 This passion is lived in a small selection of food options,\u00a0the\u00a0seven beer choices, and, surprisingly, wines.<\/p>\n

The beer list has a prominent packshot of each beer sold, and as an infrequent beer drinker and having been ignorant about the brand, the seven beer names meant nothing to me at all.\u00a0 The beer list is there to help, with better-than-wine descriptions of each:<\/p>\n

*\u00a0\u00a0 Unity Lager<\/strong> was developed for Puma’s “African Unity Kit” football campaign.\u00a0 It is “medium-bodied”, “silky smooth”, “malty”, “hints of apple and honey”, and has a\u00a0“bittersweet floral finish”.\u00a0 It costs R40 for 500ml<\/p>\n

*\u00a0\u00a0 Brewers &Union Unfiltered Lager<\/strong> is “unfiltered, unpasteurized”, “bursting with flavour”.\u00a0 Cost is R 40 for 500ml<\/p>\n

*\u00a0\u00a0 Steph Weiss<\/strong> is a wheat beer, “delicate, smooth and creamy”, “aromas of vanilla and clove”. Cost is R 40 for 500ml<\/p>\n

*\u00a0\u00a0 Berne Unfiltered Amber<\/strong> is German-style, “buttery”, “toasty, bready malts”, “hints of caramel and toffee”.\u00a0 It costs R 40 for 500ml<\/p>\n

*\u00a0\u00a0 Brewers &Union Dark Lager<\/strong> is “beautifully hopped”, “dark roasted malt flavor” (sic). Cost is R 40 for 500 ml<\/p>\n

*\u00a0\u00a0 Touro Tripel Blond<\/strong> has a “creamy palate”, “fruity spicy malt flavour” It costs R 125\u00a0for 750ml<\/p>\n

*\u00a0\u00a0 Touro Tripel Amber<\/strong> has a “honeyed-amber malt aroma”, “hints of vanilla and caramel”.\u00a0 Cost is R 125 for 750ml<\/p>\n

The menu is short and sweet:\u00a0eight food options- a biltong bowl (tasted a bit vinegary) at R25; pate – made from\u00a0charcuterie off-cuts and a bit too coarse for my taste – at R35;\u00a0 grilled weisswurst with mustard was excellent – at R60;\u00a0 Prego rolls cost R 60, available in beef and pork; the Charcuterie Board costs R65, and consists of coppa, parma ham\u00a0and felino sausage; the “grilled juicy saucisson” board\u00a0 – a North African sausage made with 16 spices – costs R60;\u00a0\u00a0 a 3-cheese board costs R65; and the salmon carpaccio board R75.\u00a0 Three\u00a0“sweets” are\u00a0offered, almond croissants (R15), Italian chocolate liqueur (made by Massimo from Hout Bay Pizza Club) at R20, and an espresso chocolate at R25.\u00a0 &Union also serves organic coffee.\u00a0\u00a0One can also have an early breakfast at &Union.<\/p>\n

Two white and two red wines are served by the glass: Haut Espoir Sauvignon Blanc (R35)\u00a0and Tamboerskloof Viognier (R40), and Landskroon and Boer & Brit ‘The General’ red blends, both costing R 40.\u00a0 Ten wines by the bottle start at R 130 for the Haut Espoir, and The Hedonist is the most expensive at R 210.\u00a0 I loved the name of the sparkling wine brand – Suikerbossie ‘Ek wil jou he’, made in Kimberley, a surprise wine region.<\/p>\n

&Union is a refreshingly (pardon the pun) different ‘beer salon”.\u00a0 It cares about beer, food and its clients.\u00a0\u00a0 It knows how to build relationships with its customers.\u00a0\u00a0 It is not pushy nor hard-sell, maybe a little too laid back on the service, but regulars go inside and order what they want, not waiting to be served.\u00a0 The soccer did not have much “gees”, despite there being so many soccer fans.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It is trendy, and no doubt will grow into an eatery and beer salon that will\u00a0set new standards in\u00a0responsible eating and drinking in Cape Town.\u00a0\u00a0 The only dissonance for me is that wines are served (with some unfortunate typos in the wine list), given its name and beer focus.\u00a0\u00a0 The challenge for the owners will be to keep it small and personal, the opposite to what they achieved with Vida e Caffe.<\/p>\n

&Union Beer Salon and Chacuterie<\/strong>, 110 Bree Street.\u00a0Tel 021 422-2770. www.brewersandunion.com<\/a>. Twitter @andUnion. Blog:\u00a0www.andunion.blogspot.com<\/a>\u00a0 Free wireless internet.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

&Union Beer Salon and Charcuterie\u00a0is a very trendy pub that is one of the favourite haunts of bloggers Dax of Relax-with-Dax, The Foodie and JamieWho, and they give\u00a0its beer brands regular coverage via Twitter,\u00a0\u00a0so much so that I had to try it out – the first time\u00a0about a month ago – and then I went […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false},"categories":[3,124,20,21,11],"tags":[5149,5473,5486,5482,5487,5480,5494,1591,5501,5506,1379,2145,5483,5495,5492,32378,5474,5476,5484,4678,5489,4331,3516,5500,5505,5477,5498,5485,3319,3506,5478,5481,3143,5547,255,5546,5493,5502,5499,4573,5503,5497,5496,1587,5491,664,5490,32373,5504,531,5488],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t