Franschhoek is famous for wine. Three kilometres down the road, it is famous for something else entirely.
While the valley draws crowds to its vineyards and restaurants year-round, those looking to stray from the well-trodden wine route will find a different kind of craftsmanship just a short drive from the village centre. Hey Joe Brewing Co. sits on the same grounds as @Franschhoek Hotel and has been building a loyal following of its own.
At its heart is a piece of brewing history: a 1961 copper brewhouse imported from Belgium, one of only three “De Halve Maan” brewhouses in existence. It is the kind of machinery that makes beer enthusiasts go weak at the knees, but visitors need not be connoisseurs to appreciate the spectacle.
Walk into the taproom, and you are standing right next to the action. Copper kettles and fermentation tanks sit in full view, so the beer in your glass and the beer being brewed are practically in the same room.
Seven Beers, One Valley
Open daily from 11am to 10pm, the core range runs from the Session IPA – double dry-hopped and bursting with mango, citrus, and guava – to the Blonde, easy-drinking and properly Belgian, and the Lager, crisp, clean, and subtly nutty.
Two winter seasonal beers are currently on offer: a Pale Ale with bready caramel notes and hints of honey and stone fruit, and a Belgian Stout, smooth and rich, with flavours of oatmeal, dark chocolate, coffee, and caramel.
Come summer, the Wit makes an appearance – a light Belgian wheat beer lifted with coriander and orange peel – alongside the Belgian Cherry, a refreshing fruit beer matured with cherries that strikes a delicate balance between sweetness and tartness.
Seven very different beers. One very small valley.
Brewmaster Etienne Louw knows his craft inside out and recently sat down with us to answer a few questions about his beers, his brewing philosophy, and what makes Hey Joe so special.
YLA: If you had to pour a glass of your beer for a French winemaker who has never appreciated beer, which one of your seven varieties would you hand them to change their mind, and why?
Etienne: I would give them two options. First, something they can relate to, which is our Blonde. It is filled with fruity notes of gooseberries, pear, and raisins, with a very pleasant Sauvignon Blanc aftertaste, complemented by light malty caramel and toffee notes. Second, I would suggest something completely different to wine, which is our Session IPA, filled with citrus and tropical fruit flavour on top of a biscuity malt backbone, followed by a well-balanced bitterness.
YLA: Local sourcing is a big trend in wine; is it important to you in beer? For example, are any of the fruits, coriander, or orange peel used in your seasonals sourced locally, or do you stick strictly to Belgian imports to maintain authenticity?
Etienne: Local sourcing is incredibly important to us as South Africans, so we try to use locally sourced ingredients as much as possible. Unfortunately, the grain and hops are very limited in variety and not always of the best quality. Most of the grain, hops and yeast we use are imported from either Belgium, Germany, or America. The coriander and orange peels we use in the Witbier are locally sourced, which I am very proud of. We are looking at developing a beer using all local ingredients, but it might be a couple of years before we master that.
YLA: If you could only brew one of your seven beers for the rest of your life, which one would it be, and which one would your regulars never forgive you for dropping?
Etienne: I would say the Session IPA. I just enjoy the different phases the beer goes through. But if we dropped the Cherry, it would result in pandemonium. It is a cult classic, especially for the ladies.
Good Beer, Good Food
As Etienne explains, the Session IPA is the beer he enjoys brewing most. He appreciates the different phases it goes through in terms of flavour and aroma.
On brew day, it is packed with malty aromas, followed by fruity flavours from the South African hops. During fermentation, it develops a clean bitterness and additional fruit notes from the yeast. Finally, after dry hopping, it becomes what he describes as a tropical fruit bomb, filled with guava, mango, litchi, passion fruit, and grapefruit flavours.
If an afternoon isn’t enough, @Franschhoek Hotel is right next door, offering vineyard and mountain views for anyone keen to make a weekend of it. The @ symbol in the hotel’s name is not a typo – it is the point. It signals a place of connection: to the land, to the people who work it and to guests who choose to travel with care.
Whether visiting for an afternoon or staying next door, Hey Joe Brewing Co. makes for a memorable stop: good beer, good food, and plenty of space for children to run around while the adults settle in and enjoy the view.
