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Life is too short for bad beers. You don't always have a choice, as until the beer is in your glass and in your mouth after that first sip, it exists in a state of un-tastedness; it can be good or bad. (This reminds me of Schrödinger's Cat, but let us not go that deep into the thought of a beer!)

Even though South Africa does not have the best craft beer scene in the world (we have loads of craft breweries but none of them move too far away from the standard beers), some breweries do at least experiment somewhat. In this #BeerSatruday round, I drank three of these more experimental beers, sometimes with mixed feelings, but always with a satisfied face, because these beers were very good!

It just illustrates that South African craft breweries can brew some good and experimental beers. For this round, I drank Devil's Peak Beer Company's recently released Lucy Loves Candy NEIPA (in fact, we were there for the launch of the beer at a local Craft Beer School); Yeti Underground Movement's Black H-Ops Black IPA; and Saggy Stone's Dark Horse Lager. Herewith then some of my drunken tasting notes of these delicious beers.

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Devil's Peak Beer Company Lucy Loves Candy NEIPA

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New England Style IPA (NEIPA) | 4% ABV | ?? IBUs

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We saw the online advert for the release of this beer at a local Beer School. It is about 1500 km away from the actual brewery, but the beer school works closely with most of the bigger craft breweries in the country. So, we set out to grab a pint of this new NEIPA!

This particular beer was brewed to help acquire funds for breast cancer, if I was not mistaken. At the beer school where they released the beer, there was also a beer run! Unfortunately, I could not make this beer run, but we nonetheless grabbed a seat and drank some of this delicious beer.

As far as I know, this beer from Devil's Peak, along with its bolder sister Jucy Lucy, is some of the only NEIPA style hazy beers in South Africa. There are some others as well, but I do not really have access to them at this moment! But I will try.

Either way, let me get to the beer-drinking notes!

I could not get a can of this beer, as it almost sold out before it even reached the shelves. So, I only had the opportunity to get some beer on tap.

As they placed the beer in front of me, I could immediately smell the litchi aromas coming from the glass. Even though it was poured into a snifter, it was a pint 500ml and even the waiter joked along with me about the size of the glass.

The first sip confirmed this fruity-litchi taste. There was no yeast on the nose or the taste.

After the initial sip and taste, I sniffed again and the complex fruity hoppy nose came through stronger.

This beer has a quite low ABV (in contrast to the Jucy Lucy which boasts almost 6%). This is funny, as they added candy canes to the beer, which I would have thought pushed the ABV up by a bit. But it was a very easy-drinking beer due to its low ABV.

It was also not that bitter, with the fruity flavours overpowering any bitterness.

Even though this beer was incredible, I would still rather go for the bigger and bolder sister, the Jucy Lucy, even more so on the price point. The beers cost the same, so rather go for the bigger beer. I get that it was a special release, but they could have made it a bit cheaper considering the low ABV and I would guess low IBU as well.

Alas, it was a very good beer and I would not hesitate to buy it again!

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Yeti Underground Movement Black H-Ops Black IPA

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Black IPA | 6% ABV | ?? IBUs

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I was not planning on getting another beer really. But you know when you have a drink or two in, you don't think rationally!

So, I ordered the Black IPA from a craft brewery I had never heard about.

The beer came with a beautiful, slightly off-white toasted head. The toasted aromas floated from the glass.

But on the first taste, it was much closer to a light stout or a porter. The coffee notes were incredibly strong on the taste and nose. It was almost like I was chewing on coffee beans. It was an incredible beer. Something so different to the norm.

But why call it a black IPA and not a porter or stout?

I am not sure why, maybe I still need to explore this style of IPA more, but nonetheless, it was a tremendously delicious beer!

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Saggy Stone Dark Horse Lager

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Dark Lager | 4.5% ABV | 27 IBUs

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As I poured the beer from the can, there were slight toasted and roasted notes. There was also a slight bitterness on the nose. Again, like the beer above, it was more close to a porter, or it reminded me of one.

The dark malt covered any recognisable lager notes on the nose.

The first taste confirmed the roasted and toasted notes, only lightly reminding one of the chocolate which they prominently displayed on the can.

The taste was only slightly bitter but in terms of lager beers, 27 IBUs is quite substantial. So, in terms of lagers, this was quite bitter.

But it was so refreshing still, a beer that I could and would crack open after a long and hard day's work.

Again, I get what they tried to do, but why not just brew a porter or stout and push the boundaries of those beer styles?

Maybe the problem is with me... But this beer was seriously good as well. As it warmed, it got even better.

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Postscriptum, Challenge the Style, or Style the Challenge?

It is funny. All of these beers really push the boundaries of the style of beer they want to be. But is this a good thing? Why brew a black IPA or Dark lager? To push the boundaries of the usual suspects? Those who drink lager will find this beer strange to say the least, and thus pushing the boundaries. But for those that drink lager and porter? The boundaries are fuzzy.

And this makes one wonder, are these breweries so afraid of brewing something strange and whacky, out of this world? Why are so few South African craft breweries pushing the boundaries of beers? We have so many indigenous fruits and herbs that could warrant their own style of beers; yet we stick with the standard...

Nonetheless, these beers were seriously good, and I would not hesitate to buy them again.

For now, happy #BeerSaturday! Enjoy a cold one.

All of the musings and drunken opinions are my own. The photographs are also my own, taken with my Nikon D300.