In the distance, Cape Town and Table Mountain rest on the horizon while we drink a cold beer trying to forget about the troubles of the past and the future.
In my quest to visit as many local breweries and pubs in my country, I need to talk about Saggy Stone Brewing Co. and its many pubs. Or not so many after Covid and all of the lockdowns in South Africa. But more about that later.
I have always loved Saggy Stone beers, and we have bought their beers for many year, but recently we treated ourselves a bit after a long day to some live music, real authentic pub food (in my opinion) and some great sunset views. This is the result of this visit.
Recently, I have been documenting the various beers I have been drinking for #BeerSaturday, in the BEER community, calling it my "Fermented Philosopher Beer Fridge" or something along those lines. In this list, I also add the breweries or brewing pubs which I visit as well. After having so many of the Saggy Stone beers, I felt it was time to write something nice about the brewery as well!
So, join me on this virtual "tour" and "drink-along" as I document our visit to this beautiful pub!
A Drink For Everyone
The pub has a drink for everyone. We usually just buy beers to drink at home, because then you get a good discount, but if you decide to have a sit-down drink, you can find something for yourself to enjoy beyond just beer!
Various other breweries and drink companies have become "friends" of Saggy Stone, so they have their drinks on tap as well. My fiance's favourite was an Orange Spritz on tap. But the bar has something for everyone. From gin and tonics on tap alongside the many beers that they brew, to hard liquor like whisky and rums.
As I also said, we usually buy beer cans from the pub itself, which is always fully stocked with their awesome beers!
Bar Food and Live Music
More and more pubs are embracing the live music entertainment, with many up-and-coming artists wanting to show their talent, entertain the public, and maybe score a beer or two!
We were treated to some classic songs being covered by a fantastic group. They were a bunch of older gentlemen, which I presume were a bunch of grandfathers who were bored and decided to team up and start a band! Jokes aside, the music was really good, and I think the group is a well-established bad in the area (even though I do not know them).
But we could not go without ordering some classic bar food! Or at least, classic according to me. We have become so used to fried chicken strips, calamari, chips, and bitterballen - a very non-traditional snack in South Africa!
We also added a pizza or two to the table (which I did not photograph, unfortunately).
What can be better than some classic bar food, fresh beer from the tap, and some classic songs being covered by some really talented musicians?
Ending With some Beautiful Scenes
While we were eating, drinking, and listening, we saw the most beautiful sunset outside, the sun setting close to Table Mountain on the horizon. Interestingly, we are seeing Table Mountain from the back, which does not show the flat tabletop view! But it remains beautiful, especially with the sun setting close to it.
It is in moments like this that I again realise just how lucky we are, to be able to have this on a frequent basis, and to just sigh with relieve and say: "Life can sometimes be good."
Postscriptum, or Not Everyone Was so Lucky
As we were deciding to go home, we talked with some of the managers of the pub and they told us about just how many of the pubs they own have closed down due to the lockdowns in South Africa a couple of years ago. Saggy Stone Brewing Co. brews their beers in Roberston, but they have 5 or 6 pubs on wine farms and different estates. Sadly, only two remain open. This has not stopped them from brewing really awesome beer though!
Let us hope that they will remain open, as we will continue to support this local pub selling awesome beers, serving delicious food, and providing us with scenes too beautiful to even try and translate into words.
I hope that you enjoyed this virtual travel to one of the local pubs and the beautiful sunset.
Happy travelling and keep safe!
All of the writings and musings are my own, albeit inspired by the beers we drank and the food we ate while looking at the beautiful sunset. The photographs are also my own, taken with my Nikon D300.
P.S., I am pinning this post onto my Worldmappin page where all my other travels are. Some of them are just trips (travels) to different breweries, including this one. Below is a comprehensive list of all the breweries.