FARMERS BREWERY, HATTINGSPRUIT

BY NIKKI COWARD

Every year, thousands of Vaallies head off like lemmings down to the coast. Generally not to throw themselves off a cliff, but to take in the sea and the sun down on the Kwazulu Natal coast. The N3 is the route of choice, where you can put pedal to the metal and get there in six hours flat. However, South Africans are beginning to learn that its not just the destination that makes the holiday, but the stops along the way. On a recent break down to the coast we planned our trip with one stop en route. And what better place to stop and take a break than at a brewery. The Farmers Brewery at Hattingspruit is situated just ten kilometers this side of Dundee on the Newcastle road. We arrived there on a chilly, blustery Sunday on June. Although it was cold and bleak, the site of the brewery is still picturesque beside a small dam just outside the town (if one could go as far as calling it that.) It is clearly sign-posted and there's a good road with plenty of parking outside the building. The atmosphere of the brewpub cum restaurant is typically modern Austrian. Which is not surprising since the whole effort is owned a run by the Austrian Martin Family. The Farmers Brewery sells only beer made on the site and one wonders how they can break even without selling some of the more popular SAB brews. However, it seems that owning a brewery and quaffing his very own brew has always been the dream of owner Otto Martin since he left a war-ravaged Sudatenland years ago. Otto has been living in the area for years and still runs an engineering company, Dabmer. In 1990 this dream became an earnest project. His son, Josef and daughter-in-law Hayley, spent their honeymoon investigating brewing possibilities in Austria. Eventually, the company SALM was chosen to supply the equipment for a brewery and it was imported from Vienna and installed in 1992. On the 3rd of July 1993, the brewery-restaurant was opened. We sat down and enjoyed some Farmers draught and Oktoberfest. Both were delicious and we accompanied this with some lunch off the typically Austrian menu. The restaurant was not full, but the owners put this down to the first bite of winter and people reluctant to leave their homes. Frau Martin rescued a skinny and neglected Shetland pony, which has been spoilt and fattened up, and on Sunday's manages a little waddle around the lawn next to the pub with small children on board. In addition to the pub and restaurant there are also conference and private party facilities and this is where the Brewery makes some additional cash. It is apparently quite popular with local companies who like to hold "do's" there. It would not be an inconvenient drive for Gauteng companies to do the same. You can also overnight in Hattingspruit. The Martin Family has renovated and equipped the Old School House as a guest house. The building has been converted into a number of units consisting of two bedrooms, a bathroom, lounge and kitchen. The latter was locked during our visit because we were only staying overnight and breakfast is served in the main dining room on a massive oregon pine table. And what a breakfast - everything from cereal, yogurt, bacon, eggs, etc. Alas no beer. (Not that we asked mind you.) This is served by the delightful Gabby, who is married to a local farmer and appears to have her finger on the pulse of Hattingspruit. She also helps to run the restaurant and pub. After breakfast our car had thawed sufficiently to take us back to the Brewery where we found out more about the business. The brewhouse dominates the main pub-restaurant area and consists of two copper domed wood lagged vessels. One is a combined mash tun/boiler and the other a lauter tun. The beers being typical German lagers brewed with malt imported from Germany require step mashing and thus heating of the mash. The lauter tun is fitted with rotating rakes. After the boil the hot wort is pumped to the cellar below through a counter flow plate chiller into the fermentation tanks. The beer is then fermented and lagered for six weeks before being transferred to the dispensing tanks. There are four tanks which are pressurized by bladders to supply the beer directly from the cellar to the taps at the bar. At any time there are four beers on tap and up to eight available in bottles to take away. Hayley Martin is adamant that they will not be selling any other brews at the Farmers Brewery. Even though this could make lots more money. Because, after all, this project was done for the love of beer. Finding out more about beer and its components has been a feature of our last few holidays and it certainly has been worthwhile. So think about it next time you go haring off to the coast. The stop at Hattingspruit will be a pleasant break in your journey. (home)