That was how Eshowe brewmaster, Richard Chennells described pub owners and beer lovers across UK, as his ale topped the list against 50 other beer brands in the Wetherspoon Real Ale Festival in London, when it closed on Sunday.
The highly contested best brew saw 46 local ale brands and six international brands, of which Zululand Blonde was the only one from South Africa, being thoroughly tested in 750 pubs across the United Kingdom to take the title of best beer.
And the Zululand brewed beer was such a hit, that all the pubs will have it on tap in England for the duration of the 2010 Soccer World Cup.
“We flew over there and brewed 54 000 litres for the festival at Burton-On-Trent, which has a large brewery and is famous for brewing ale.
“We sold out quite quickly and the pub owners told me, they could have sold twice as much.
“It’s been a roller-coaster ride and I’m on my way back to England next week to start brewing again, as all the pubs will be serving our beer during throughout the World Cup,” said Chennells.
So what is it about this ale that has beer lovers in a frothy frenzy ?
Chennells was working in banking in London in 2000, which he decided was just not to his taste and he headed off to brewing school in America to learn the art of making ale.
Back in Eshowe, just north of the Tugela River in KZN, Chennells and his dad had set up a small brewery.
“The recipe took me a while to get the taste right and we had to tweak it here and there.
“When we brewed the beer in England, the water gave it a slightly different flavour, but it has a slightly fruity, not too bitter taste which makes for easy drinking.
“But taking off like this was the last thing I thought of when we entered the festival,” he added.
Chennells said he has already received orders from Europe and selling his beer in South Africa was on the cards for late August.
“For sure, it’s a beer that will go well with biltong,” he quipped.
SUNDAY TIMES:
Small beer kicks big butts
A small-town KwaZulu-Natal brewery has international beermakers in a froth after coming out tops at one of the world's biggest beer festivals.
The low-key Zulu Blonde beer, brewed in Eshowe by hotelier and microbrewer Richard Chennells, beat a selection of 50 international beer brands tested in the first two weeks of the Wetherspoon Real Ale Festival in London.
The 19-day beer festival, run throughout the UK, pits 46 local ale brands against one another, with space for four overseas competitors, of which Zulu Blonde was one. The others were from Belgium, Hawaii and the US. Chennells says the exposure is "priceless".
"It's the most incredible thing that has happened," he said from his hotel, The George, this week. His Zululand Brewery is on site.
"I've been bumbling along here making beer at the little brewery at my hotel in Eshowe. And the last thing I thought in this world was to have my beer in 750 pubs across the UK and being voted number one. It's been a roller coaster," said Chennells, who produced 50000 litres for the festival.
He was invited to pull the first pint at the festival, in keeping with the festival's tradition, and did it in true South African soccer style - donning a makarapa hat, he blew a vuvuzela - much to the bewilderment of UK corporate types.
Chennells, a former "miserable" London Stock Exchange broker, describes his ale as "not fizzy and easily drinkable".
Distributors have expressed interest in selling the beer overseas during the World Cup.
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