For nearly 10 years now, Darling Brew has been one of the biggest names on the local craft brew scene, an award winning staple of the Cape Town craft beer scene and surprisingly, holder of the title of being Africa’s first ever carbon neutral brewery. (They’ve been quite fond of the environment right from the start).
In addition to their many animal-inspired brews, Darling Brew also operates two restaurants/tasterooms in the Western Cape, the newest being their taproom in Woodstock, touted as being an effort to bring the Darling Brew experience from their home on the West Coast to the Mother City.
Talking about that Darling Brew experience, the home tasteroom really has become a major tourist attraction in the small West Coast town of Darling, bringing in a wealth of new younger tourists to what is already quite the charming place.
So naturally, this beer-soaked attraction overlooking the slick brewing operation was too strong a siren call to ignore forever, which then is exactly why I made point of paying a visit when Chantelle and I spent a night in Darling in celebration of my 39th birthday.
Nachos and a double tasting flight of all manner and style of beer? Perfect!
So craft breweries really are popping up everywhere. Of course the village of Barrydale hasn’t been spared, but pleasingly the one that they got is a pretty good one. Say hello to the The Maker’s Brew.
Started by a Capetonian looking for a change of pace, the Maker’s Brew stands out on restaurant-lined main thoroughfare of Barrydale thanks to its strikingly modern look. Its compact, sparse, contemporary space is eye-catching and the perfect complement to the pretty good beers that owner Ryno Reyneke has managed to concoct.
The Amber, Porter, Blonde and Saison styles are all represented, and you would do well to do a tasting while nibbling on a pizza, playing with wooden blocks, and watching the tourist traffic go on by.
(Oh, and if the beer itself isn’t beautiful enough, there is always next door’s Helen Vaughan Handmade ceramics gallery to admire!)
In case you were wondering who holds the current Guinness World Record for being the smallest ostrich in the world, the answer is Tom Thumb, the 127 cm tall, fully grown, adult male African ostrich that finds itself living in Philadelphia, or more accurately on the premises of the Cape Town Ostrich Ranch in Philadelphia (the Western Cape one, not the Rocky Balboa USA one).
As for the Cape Town Ostrich Ranch (which truthfully is in fact around 20 minutes from Cape Town), it has been on the Cape Town tourist map for many years now, with this show ranch offering a great ostrich-centered experience that includes guided tours, a simple ostrich museum/information center, ostrich item shop, and of course a restaurant with a menu that naturally includes ostrich on it.
In addition to the expected information overload, the tour has all the ostrich essentials packed in, like hand feeding, baby watching, ostrich egg standing, Tom Thumb petting, feather scouting, and for the smaller ones among us, ostrich sitting.
I took the girls for their first ever visit to the Cape Town Ostrich Ranch in January, and pleasingly they rather enjoyed themselves (though that could have just been because of ostrich feathers our guide insisted on giving to the girls).
Actually, I rather enjoyed myself too. There was a lot of space, the restaurant food was pretty good, and more importantly, the onsite craft beer producer Gijima Brewery has some rather fine brews.
(Oh, and it was a surprise to spot a couple of cheetahs from our own local Cheetah Outreach Somerset West sanctuary chilling on the grounds as well.)
Also, the ostriches seemed to take quite a liking to Jessica for some or other reason. Lots of feather flashing, courting dances were performed!
As a family outing option, this is a bit on the expensive side, but it does make for a good day out, so no complaints from me there.
Known as “The Taproom on Klein Joostenberg”, this light lunch/pub venture is a collaboration between Joostenberg Picnics and The Stellenbosch Brewing Co (who actually brew from that very building).
Essentially it is billed as a family friendly space where the whole family can relax and children can run and play, all while one enjoys an al fresco meal, a chilled glass of organic Joostenberg wine, an ice-cold Stellies craft beer and the laid back farm setting.
Sounds good to me.
As I mentioned, the 2013 established craft brewery actually brews the beer on site and tastings and tours are offered. Sadly, I didn’t get a chance to sit down and try some of their beer, so that just means I’ll need to head back that way the first chance that I get! ;)
If you have kids and find yourself in the Stellenbosch area, then Wild Clover situated on the R304 makes for a great stop. The kids have plenty of space to run around and things to play with, while the laid back, shaded outside eating area (which is often accompanied by live music) really makes for a relaxing afternoon out.
Apparently the old chef that used to work there has now been replaced, meaning that the kitchen is making quite good food again, and these days I usually find myself tucking into one of their delicious pizzas every time we head out that way.
There’s a small brewery on the premises as well (Wild Clover Brewery), which produces a nice selection of craft beer for you to taste and indulge in if you are into that sort of thing.
There is a small farm animal enclosure which the kids can explore, as well as an equine center right next door, perfect for those of us who enjoy the prospect of trotting about on a horse!
The local archery club also calls Wild Clover its home, and just behind the archery butt, you’ll find a model aircraft flying strip of all things! (Oh, and if that wasn’t enough, Wild Clover also had accommodation available, and if you like destroying things, there’s clay pigeon shooting on offer as well!)
On this particular day out, we’d already spent some of our energy playing over at the gorgeous kids play area called The Carnival on Weltevreden Estate, but because we had found the service their slightly poor on the day, we ended up at Wild Clover for lunch instead.
(I have no idea why Chantelle opted to eat a salad on the day though!)
With Chantelle now back in the fold, last Sunday saw us braving the now overcast and slightly damp weather (a surprise given that Saturday was such a hot day) with a drive out to Wild Clover, a fantastic spot on a farm that features a indoor/outdoor restaurant, large kids play area, small farmyard, archery butts, model aircraft flying zone, farmer’s market, accommodation, wedding venue, and even a small brewery!
We opted to sit under the roof with the gas heaters turned up high, while Jessica ran around outside and Emily busied herself playing in the drainage chips keeping the floor dry.
The atmosphere was good as always, the music pleasant, and pleasingly, the pizzas that we ordered were divine! (I had some of the local brewery’s ale as well – sadly though, I didn’t enjoy that quite so much).
Following a pleasant lunch, we strolled around the area for a bit, and were treated to quite a nice encounter with a pair of horses and their foal.
After the dad checked us out and made sure that we weren’t a threat, the mother and foal decided it okay to approach, and needless to say, Jess was quite thrilled at seeing these magnificent beasts up so close and personal!
(Plus, the foal was thoroughly entertaining, prancing and running around to its heart’s content!)
Emily on the other hand wasn’t quite as thrilled with all this farmyard activity – especially when it came to the noisy (but oh so cute) piglets running around!
