A Guide to Common Beer Styles in South Africa

Walk into almost any bottle store or pub in South Africa and you will be faced with a wide range of beer styles, many of which look similar in the bottle but taste quite different. This page breaks down the main categories so you can make sense of what you are choosing.

Lager

Lager is by far the most widely consumed beer style in South Africa and forms the backbone of the commercial beer market. It is brewed using bottom fermenting yeast at cooler temperatures, which produces a clean, crisp flavour with relatively low bitterness. Most of the well known mainstream South African beer brands fall into this category, typically described as pale lagers or premium lagers depending on their strength and ingredients.

Pilsner

Pilsner is a specific type of pale lager that originated in Central Europe. It tends to have a slightly more pronounced hop character and a drier finish than a standard commercial lager, and several South African craft breweries produce their own versions.

Ale

Ales are brewed with top fermenting yeast at warmer temperatures, which generally produces a fuller, fruitier flavour profile than lager. Ales cover a very broad range of sub styles, several of which have become increasingly common in South Africa thanks to craft breweries.

India Pale Ale

India Pale Ale, usually shortened to IPA, is one of the most popular styles in the craft beer world. It is characterised by a strong hop presence, which can bring bitterness along with citrus, pine or tropical fruit aromas depending on the hop varieties used. South African craft brewers have embraced IPA enthusiastically, often producing their own interpretations using both imported and locally grown hops.

Pale Ale

Pale ale is a milder relative of IPA, with less intense hop bitterness and a more balanced malt character. It is often recommended as an accessible entry point for drinkers moving from mainstream lager into craft beer.

Stout and Porter

Stouts and porters are dark, often roasty beers made using darker malts. They can range from relatively light bodied to very rich and heavy, sometimes with notes of coffee, chocolate or caramel. These styles tend to be seasonal favourites in South Africa, particularly during cooler months.

Wheat Beer

Wheat beers are brewed with a significant proportion of wheat alongside barley, which gives them a lighter, often cloudy appearance and a soft, sometimes slightly tangy flavour. They are generally lower in bitterness than ales and are popular as warm weather drinks.

Sour Beer

Sour beers are a smaller but growing category among South African craft breweries. They are intentionally brewed to be tart or acidic, often using wild yeast strains or bacteria cultures, and can include fruit additions. These beers are usually more of an acquired taste and are typically found in smaller batches at specialist craft breweries.

Traditional African Beer

Alongside the European influenced styles above, South Africa also has a long tradition of sorghum based beer, often referred to as umqombothi. This beer is typically brewed using sorghum and maize, has a thick, slightly sour character, and holds cultural significance at ceremonies and family gatherings in many communities. It is generally produced at a small, local or household scale rather than through commercial breweries.

Choosing a style

If you are unsure where to start, it can help to think about the occasion and your general taste preferences. Those who enjoy a clean, easy drinking beer often gravitate toward lagers and pilsners, while those who like more pronounced flavour and bitterness may prefer pale ales, IPAs or stouts. Trying smaller pours or tasting flights, where available, is a practical way to explore several styles without committing to a full serving of something unfamiliar.