By MIKE HALLS
I think it's fair to say that the craft beer scene in East London is still very young. But you can see the demand for good beer is growing. Restaurants are serving craft beer on tap, as well as bottles. I visited a great bottle store, stocking both local and imported beer that would put most Cape Town liquor stores to shame. There are a few microbreweries in town now and I had heard great things about Table 58, so decided to visit on my trip to East London this week.
"Some rather resourceful businessmen began meeting on Friday evenings for drinks at an office adjacent to a premier restaurant on the beachfront of East London, with a spectacular view of the Indian Ocean. The restaurant, at that stage, had 57 tables. These gents, who had begun ordering their food and drinks from the restaurant, in a moment of true inspiration, persuaded the waiters to label their office “Table 58”, and so a legend was born. These men represent all types of businesses and backgrounds and encompass a wide range of social standing and class. They have members that are German and South African and now even have chapters meeting in UAE, Germany, Mozambique, Inndonesia and Italy. As they embrace technology and their WhatsApp group chats expand, the legend grows. "
Paul, the head brewer is relatively new to the beer world, but received his training from German master brewer Hans Trumert, who designed the original three beers; a Lager, Pilsner and a Weizen. Table 58's core range of beers stem from German roots, but they have recently added a Porter to the mix. Paul informs me that by far the best selling beer at Table 58 is the lager, however for me, the Porter and Pilsner were their stand out offerings. I think this is more testament to the market in East London currently, still viewing a 'beer' as only a lager. Rewind a few years back in Cape Town and it was the same, with Jack Black's lager being the most popular. Just as tastes have evolved to Pale Ales, IPA's etc. in the Western Cape, and Gauteng for that matter, I think the same will happen in the Eastern Cape soon.
Table 58 don't have their own kitchen, but they'll serve you food from the restaurant next door. The menu selection is well designed to pair with beer. I had a pizza, which is cooked in a proper wood fired pizza oven and was fantastic. I did a tasting of all four of their beers and you can get a link to the reviews by clicking the images below.
However, I did get the chance to review all their beers, you can get a link to these reviews by clicking the images below.
