The Legend Returns
“When are you brewing the Gumboot again?” is a question that is asked frequently in the Brewhogs taproom. Long-time Brewhogs fans will remember our dark beer, the Brewhogs No.3 Black IPA – a rich, heavily hopped, and bitter dark beer. Our taproom regulars lovingly dubbed it “The Gumboot”. It was a great beer, and despite winning the title of Highest Rated Porter / Stout in the African Beer Cup 2022, it was somewhat of an acquired taste. But the question about the Gumboot persisted. So, we decided to revive the brand and evolve it into a refined and highly approachable 5% porter. Introducing: The Brewhogs Black (aka The Gumboot).
Drinking a Loaf of Bread?
There is a beer for every occasion, and in South Africa, that occasion is very often a warm and sunny day. It makes sense, then, that our go-to beer of choice is a light and refreshing pale lager beer. To be sure, our winters are cold enough to warrant a dark beer. But dark beers often have a reputation of being heavy, high alcohol, bitter, or overly filling drinks. Our challenge was to craft a beer that could satisfy both conditions – rich and luxurious enough to be enjoyed on a cold winter’s night by the fire and refreshing and clean enough to be enjoyed beside the braai in the middle of summer.
As a dark beer enjoyer, I wanted to attempt to dispel some myths about dark beers:
- At 5% ABV, the Brewhogs Black has the same alcohol content as many standard lager beers. The ethanol produced in a dark beer is chemically identical to that found in any other beer.
- While they may look intimidating, the dark colour in a dark beer comes from the selection of roasted barley malts and is not an indication of their density in the liquid. In fact, because of the way in which the barley is roasted, a large amount of the sugar content in the malt is diminished, leaving behind only flavourful colour compounds. The Brewhogs Black is specifically designed to be sessionable (easy drinking). This is achieved by carefully balancing the malt complexity with hop bitterness, resulting in a clean finish that does not leave behind a cloying sweetness.
- “Drinking a dark beer is like eating a loaf of bread.” How many times have you heard that? While we absolutely respect those who are mindful of calories, the Brewhogs Black comes in at around 191kcal per 440ml can – the same as only 2 slices of unbuttered bread. To put that into perspective, a 440ml serving of a mass-produced lite lager is equivalent to 1.4 slices of bread. That means trading a mass-produced lite lager for a premium craft porter costs you a grand total of just over half a slice of unbuttered bread!
What is a Porter Anyway?
Beer has always been an important feature in human civilisation. Before the science of microbiology was understood, beer was often considered a safer and more reliable beverage than questionable water supplies. The brewing process involved boiling the wort, while alcohol and acidity helped make beer less hospitable to many harmful microorganisms. Beer was so common that it was not unheard of to drink a pint (or two) during your lunch break and then head back to work. Low alcohol beer was commonly served to children too! One beer was favoured by market and dock workers, and porters in London, England during the 1700s. This dark brown beer was rich, hearty, and packed with nutrients – ideal for dock workers carrying heavy cargo to and from ships. This beer became known as a porter. Later, as stronger versions of the porter became popular, they were marketed as “stout porters”, since stout means strong or robust. This was then shortened to just “stout”.
While modern stouts often lean into truly high alcohol, heavy, roasted coffee-like dry bitterness, a porter still reserves that space of smoothness, drinkability, and gentle malt complexity.
What’s in the Can?
It’s a dark beer (the name gives it away!) But if you hold a glass of Brewhogs Black up to the light, you’ll see that it isn’t a stagnant black void. It reveals a brilliant, deep crimson red hue. That visual magic comes down to a luxurious layering of barley malt flavours:
- The Base: The finest pale 2-row barley malt, bolstered by Munich and melanoidin malts for a caramel sweetness.
- The Fruit: A dash of crystal malt for a deep red fruit character.
- The Dark Side: Roasted malts that provide that striking colour and liquorice charm.
- The Texture: A silky smoothness provided by rolled oats and wheat.
This malt complexity is carefully balanced with a clean bitterness and an earthy/subtly woody character from the finest South African noble hops. It is a mildly bitter beer – enough to satisfy and cleanse the palate after each sip.
What’s the Occasion?
We’ve designed the Brewhogs Black to be sessionable and enjoyed on any occasion. Served cold on a summer’s day beside the braai, the Black pairs well with a grilled steak and finishes remarkably cleanly. Allow the Black to warm to 10 – 12°C to allow the chocolate and plum notes to bloom, it becomes the perfect companion for a cold winter’s night beside the fire.
Why the 440ml Can Wins
The 440ml aluminium can is the finest vessel we could choose for a delicate, flavourful, and unpasteurised porter. If you will allow me to geek out for a second, I’ll tell you why that matters:
There are two things that will absolutely ruin a beer – oxygen and sunlight. Dissolved oxygen in finished beer is a ticking countdown timer on freshness. Firstly, it oxidises the beer which can create staling flavours – often described as cardboard-like, cheap sherry, or soy sauce (all of which we would like to avoid). Secondly, oxygen can encourage the growth of spoilage organisms should any find their way into a beer, making oxygen control an important part of maintaining stability and freshness.
When our cans are filled, they are carefully and consistently filled such that a slight plume of foam protrudes from the top of the can. We call this a “muffin top”. Once the can is filled, it immediately receives its lid and is sealed. In this way we minimise the amount of dissolved oxygen in the beer.
When a beer is exposed to ultraviolet light, it undergoes a rapid chemical reaction that produces a compound called 3-methylbut-2-ene-1-thiol (MBT for short). MBT has an unpleasant odour that is described as the spray of an actual skunk. So, we call it “skunking”. This occurs when ultraviolet light interacts with isohumulones from the hops and in conjunction with vitamin B2 (riboflavin) present in the beer. The human nose is incredibly sensitive to MBT, and we can detect it in concentrations of just 1 part per billion (that’s a drop of MBT in an Olympic-sized swimming pool!) Glass is not the best filter of UV light, so skunking will eventually happen to your favourite bottle of premium beer. Aluminium cans, on the other hand, block 100% of all light and so skunking is impossible in a can. This preserves our beer to the greatest possible extent, ensuring that the fresh malt flavours taste exactly as they did in the bright beer tank at the brewery.
While pasteurising is the standard for most commercial beers to achieve shelf stability, it can damage the carefully crafted flavours – particularly in dark beers. Our meticulous attention to oxygen control and light protection is what makes this possible without it.
Go Against the Grain
We hope we’ve managed to shed some light and dispel a few myths about dark beers today. A dark beer isn’t a meal, but if you are counting calories that carefully, we genuinely admire the discipline (and we would still love for you to try a can anyway!)
But if you’re looking for an explosion of artisanal flavour that still packs fewer calories than a glass of sweet white wine or a commercial cider, it’s time to put down the predictable lager. Be a little bold. Go against the grain. Crack open a can of Brewhogs Black and try a dark beer that completely defies expectations.
Cheers
Available now at your nearest Hogshead, the Brewhogs taproom, and on our online store (https://store.hogshead.co.za/product/black/)