Black South-Eaters

In this media drenched, data-rich, channel-surfing, computer-gaming age, we have lost the art of doing nothing, of shutting out the background noise and distractions, of slowing down and simply being alone with our thoughts. Boredom-the word itself hardly existed a150 years ago-is a modern invention. Remove all stimulation, and we fidget, panic and look for something, anything, to do to make use of the time. When did you last see someone just gazing out the train window on a train? Everyone is too busy reading the paper, playing video games, listening to iPods, working on their laptops, yammering into mobile phones.

Instead of thinking deeply, or letting an idea simmer in the back of the mind, our instinct now is to reach for the nearest sound bite. In modern warfare, correspondents in the field and pundits in the studio spew out instant analyses of events as they occur. Often their insights turn out to be wrong. But that hardly matters nowadays: in the land of speed, the man with the instant response is king. With satellite feeds and 24 hour news channels, the electronic media is dominated by what one French sociologist dubbed ‘le fast thinker’ – a person who can, without skipping a beat, summon up a glib answer to any question.

In a way, we are all fast thinkers now. Our impatience is so implacable that, as actress-author Carrie Fisher quipped, even ‘instant gratification takes too long.’

…So the smallest setback, the slightest delay, the merest whiff of slowness, can now provoke vein-popping fury in otherwise ordinary people everywhere (Carl Honore, In Praise of Slow).

On 11 July my good friends introduced me to Darling Brew which they got at the Stellenbosch Market, a slow beer, for a slow soul, on a slow birthday except for a World Cup final. A beer that was inspired by the geometric tortoise, which is found only in the Western Cape and the Kalahari and is extremely rare. According to its creators Kevin and Philippa Wood this tortoise captures the uniqueness and the unhurried character that is Darling Brew.

The beer is crisp and light (4% alcohol), with roasted aromas, is natural (preservative free) and has a 4 and a half week brewing time. The apparent response to their SLOW BEER has been excellent.
Currently their little micro brewery is focusing on supplying draught and bottled beers to restaurants in Darling and the West Coast Region.

It is available at The Marmalade Cat, Vyge Valley Farm Stall, Evita se Perron and Groote Post. Also available in Riebeek Kasteel’s Auntie Pasti, Paternoster’s Voorstrand, Blouberg’s Carluccis and Stellenbosch’s Slow Food Market.

And in an age of instant gratification I suspect that we are just going to have to wait for Darling Brew to make its mark and find some shelf space at the major Retailers but it is definitely worth all of the enduring slowness that accompanies its quiet revolution. It’s a great beer.

Email: wood@darlingbrew.co.za