OH, YE BEER DRINKERS, THIS IS HOW YOU KNOW YOU ARE DRINKING A LEGIT BEER

“Kila mtu akona beer yake…?” Life is good for beer drinkers these days. It doesn’t matter that we were in a pandemic these last two years, there is a surge of craft beer, with so much to pick from, the choices seem endless. Question is, how well do you know your beer, even as you hang on the counter lovingly staring at that sweaty beer in the fridge. At this pint what questions come to mind? Is it the alcohol percentage? Or the morning after effect? Do you look at the price? Is it how cheap or expensive a beer looks? Or is it the barley or wheat content, to this end, are you watching your weight or belly? Do you pick an old favourite or check out something new to the scene? Well, all these are relevant questions but among the most important questions you should ask yourself is whether a beer is “pure.”

Unfortunately, there may not be a formula to determine this pre-purchase since breweries are not obligated to label all the permissible additives they put into their beers.  But once a beer is poured and consumed there are simple techniques to determine if the brand deserves your hard-earned money. And better still, determine if the beer should make it into your rotation of favourites.

Lucky for you, Windhoek Beer through its regional distributor Kapari Limited shows you how to size up a beer in three easy steps and no, not the usual above the shoulder, below the belly steps…

Step 1: Foam Top

Pour your beer into your clean, rinsed glass so that when finished you’ve got a nice head on top. Whether you pour it at an angle or straight to the glass, a pure beer will have a hilly foam top, meaning it has a richness to it and the bubbles are not all the same size and shape. Beer that isn’t pure will have little to no foam top, and if it does, it’s thin and feathery.

Step 2: Clinging Foam

After a few sips, look at the side of the glass. A pure beer should have foam that clings to the inside of the glass. If you started with a clean, rinsed glass and you don’t see this, then chances are the beer you’re holding isn’t pure.

Step 3: Finish

Once you’ve finished that first glass, pay attention to after taste. Pure beer finishes clean. Beers made with chemicals or unnatural ingredients will rarely- if ever- have a clean finish, they’ll always have that after taste.

Once you’ve finished your beer, you’ll definitely want another (and even another after that, and another after that other), then that beer passes what the Windhoek Industry gurus refer to as the “three-pint test.”

Try Windhoek Lager or Draught and after three beers if it passes the steps mentioned above, it doesn’t become boring, and there aren’t any “off” flavors, that beer is well made and worthy of your attention. With limitless options facing walevis these days, there is no reason to waste your time with beers that aren’t pure.