Lagers are the most popular of all beers and with good reason. They are easy drinking, have a relatively low alcohol content and are not very filling.
If you are standing around a braai with your mates and it’s going to be a long afternoon then a lager is a great choice as they are thirst quenching and refreshing.
Two of my favourite lagers are Diesel and Dust’s Golden Lager and Lite Lager. Diesel and Dust is a craft brewery located in Stellenbosch and, apart from the lagers, they also produce a Blonde Ale.
In true craft beer tradition their brews are made from just four natural ingredients; water, hops, yeast and barley. The hops are usually the biggest contributor to the taste and I was intrigued as to what gives these two lagers their very distinctive palate.
I asked Colin Hepburn, the General Manager at Diesel and Dust, for their hop ingredients but he informed me that it is a trade secret!
As a beer connoisseur I give these two lagers top marks but I was keen to find what other beer lovers had to say.
A few weeks ago I attended a wedding in the hot and dry Karoo. Yip, perfect conditions for enjoying an ice cold lager. I happened to have a couple of the Golden and Lite Lagers in my cooler box and, as I was keen to find what other beer lovers thought of these two brews, I shared them with my mates.
Diesel and Dust Golden Lager
This 4.5% alcohol by volume beer is served in a 340ml long necked brown bottle and requires a bottle opener to access its golden contents.
The general consensus was that this beer has more to it than those produced by the big name brewers. It is slightly heavier, a little more bitter and altogether more tasty than its mass produced kin. It demands more of your attention than the common variety of beers that leave the cooler at speed.
Diesel and Dust Lite Larger
Served in the same340ml bottle as the Golden Larger but with only 3.8% alcohol this was the brew that drew the most attention from my mates.
As most of them are struggling with middle age spread they tend to favour lite beers and this brew has less than half a carb per bottle!
I am pleased to say that despite its guilt free statistics the Lite Larger retains much of the flavour and tastiness of the Golden Larger.
Where to find Diesel and Dusts brews
These great brews may be found in a number of pubs in the Western Cape and in bottle stores in most parts of the country. Click here for the fill list.
