That was how Eshowe brewmaster, Richard Chennells described pub owners and beer lovers across UK, as his ale topped the list against 50 other beer brands in the Wetherspoon Real Ale Festival in London, when it closed on Sunday.
The highly contested best brew saw 46 local ale brands and six international brands, of which Zululand Blonde was the only one from South Africa, being thoroughly tested in 750 pubs across the United Kingdom to take the title of best beer.
And the Zululand brewed beer was such a hit, that all the pubs will have it on tap in England for the duration of the 2010 Soccer World Cup.
“We flew over there and brewed 54 000 litres for the festival at Burton-On-Trent, which has a large brewery and is famous for brewing ale.
“We sold out quite quickly and the pub owners told me, they could have sold twice as much.
“It’s been a roller-coaster ride and I’m on my way back to England next week to start brewing again, as all the pubs will be serving our beer during throughout the World Cup,” said Chennells.
So what is it about this ale that has beer lovers in a frothy frenzy ?
Chennells was working in banking in London in 2000, which he decided was just not to his taste and he headed off to brewing school in America to learn the art of making ale.
Back in Eshowe, just north of the Tugela River in KZN, Chennells and his dad had set up a small brewery.
“The recipe took me a while to get the taste right and we had to tweak it here and there.
“When we brewed the beer in England, the water gave it a slightly different flavour, but it has a slightly fruity, not too bitter taste which makes for easy drinking.
“But taking off like this was the last thing I thought of when we entered the festival,” he added.
Chennells said he has already received orders from Europe and selling his beer in South Africa was on the cards for late August.
“For sure, it’s a beer that will go well with biltong,” he quipped.
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