Brewery focus: Woodstock Brewery

We took a trip to Woodstock brewery on a rainy Tuesday afternoon. Not the most ideal conditions to smash a few beers but little did we know how much we’d enjoy our day. 

Meeting Mark was like seeing your favourite uncle after a long time . He told us the story of how owner, Andre Viljoen, bought the building off Google Maps while working in Korea. After learning about this crazy decision we were intrigued to find out that another 5 years of building took place before brews were made in Albert Road, Woodstock. 

Touring the brewery was an absolute treat. The enthusiasm in the explanations Mark gave makes me want to brew beer. It’s so infectious! The explanations of the entire brewing process were so thorough and in depth. He had so much patience with us, making sure we understood everything and didn’t hesitate to answer all of our questions. 

The shift from bottles to cans at Woodstock Brewery came as no surprise for us as we’ve seen the trend in the craft market. We learnt that this decision didn’t happen because it was a trend though, but rather because of the properties cans posses.No light can penetrate the can and no oxygen can seep in, thus contributing to the overall quality of the beer. The fact that the can is recyclable is an added bonus. 

After all the theory, our mouths were watering knowing that we were about to taste the beers. We headed up to the taproom to taste the Woodstock Brews. I will tell you about the beers shortly, but can we first discuss the name? Woodstock Brewery pays homage to the Woodstock Music Festival of 1969. All beers that are part of the portfolio have been named after something either to do with sex, drugs and rock & roll. Next time you pick up a can of Woodstock Brewery beer, pay careful attention to the name and typography. 

Okay, let's get into the beers!

Born Slippy Lager

Standard lager, very easy drinking, 100% smashable, could literally drink 

as many as you can and feel great.

Happy Pils Pilsner

A complex lager. More sweet and bitter than the lager. 

This beer makes an easy drinking beer for a craft beer nerd. 

Rhythm Stick Pale Ale

Sessionable, easy drinking. 

Californicator 

If you’ve heard about Woodstock Brewery, you must’ve heard about the Californicator. It’s the flagship beer. 

West coast style, 6.5% so pretty heavy and quite piny. The beer is dry hopped which gives it all those fruity aromas and flavours.

Mr Brownstone Hazelnut Brown Ale

This beer used to be seasonal but due to the popular demand, it was added into the core range at Woodstock Brewery. This light brown ale has flavours of hazelnut, chocolate and praline

Dublin Soul Nitro Stout

The beer is pumped full of Nitrogen which gives the beer finer bubbles and a creamy head. The can has a shake and pour mechanism which gives the perfect pour every time. The stout is slightly sweet but very easy to drink.

We are yet to taste the Sugarman Belgian Quad as well as the Danzn Weiss but after tasting all of the above, I know we’ll absolutely love it. I forgot to mention earlier that all the cans are hand filled and I’d like to believe that this extra bit of love and care adds to the flavour of the beer. 

If you can’t tell by now, we had a great deal of fun at Woodstock. I highly recommend visiting the brewery, doing a tasting and grabbing a bite to eat - there really is something for everyone. We shared some wings, chicken strips, short ribs and a sausage board and were completely stuffed after. 

Follow Woodstock Brewery on Facebook to find out about limited edition small batch brews that they release every 2nd Thursday or just to stay up to date with what is happening.