Namibia’s first microbrewery

NAMIBIA’S very first microbrewery, the Camelthorn Brewing Company, is set to produce its first batch of specialty beer in June this year.

Camelthorn is the holder of the first brewing licence to be issued in Namibia for 100 years.
After securing a N$10,2 million loan from the Namibian Development Bank, the vision of founder Joerg Finkeldey is now finally becoming a reality.
After being in the development stages for the last two and a half years, which Finkeldey called a ‘gruelling, frustrating wait’, the brewery is finally being built and equipment from Germany has started arriving.
Camelthorn will produce mainly top-fermented beer as opposed to the bottom-fermented lagers usually drunk in Namibia.
The brewery’s initial products will be ‘Weissbier’, a yeasty beer very popular in Germany, and a so-called ‘Helles’ which is a lager based on Weissbier.
Flavoured beers (called Fresh), a more traditional lager (called Gold) and even an American ale are also going to be available at a later stage.
As the name suggests, top-fermented beers are fermented in an open vat and the yeast added to the beer rises to the top in a very organic and visible process.
Finkeldey says his brewery’s focus is going to be on quality, as the only way of surviving in the increasingly competitive brewing trade is by ‘making your beer better than what’s out there’.
While he contends that top fermentation is an older process of making beer, Finkeldey says ‘traditional does not mean old-fashioned’.
A batch of Camelthorn beer will take four to six weeks to brew, whereas some large brewers do it in only three days.
Finkeldey believes that this extra time will make a significant quality difference. ‘There is no shortcut in brewing and you have to give it time,’ he feels.
He says the taste will be more full-bodied and aromatic than the beers people are used to in Namibia.
The unfiltered and unpasteurised brewing process also means that Camelthorn beers will have to be kept cold throughout the production and transport chain.
Ensuring the quality of Camethorn’s beer is brew master Wolfgang Carl, formerly with Namibian Breweries.
Finkeldey is confident his new brewery will be sufficiently specialised not to compete with Namibia’s biggest brewer and says he has NBL’s blessing for his project.
The beer will initially be sold in thick, vintage bottles for extra maturation time and also in reusable 10-litre draught kegs.
Finkeldey has been in the micro-brewing business for 18 years, having worked in the United States, Germany and Hungary after completing a degree in chemical engineering at Stellenbosch University in South Africa.
He mainly sold brewing equipment and after relocating to Namibia a few years ago, he decided to take the plunge and open his own brewery.
He says his decision was helped by the fact that he observed Namibians enjoying more diverse types of beers, where in the past they might have stuck with only the well-known brands.
Situated in Prosperita, the brewery will not only be making beer but also have a taproom where beer tasting and functions can take place.
Finkeldey says he will initially concentrate on the market in Windhoek, Swakopmund and Walvis Bay before looking further afield.
He says his vision is to ‘increase Namibia’s good name for beer in southern Africa’ and to ‘want people to want our beer’.
Camelthorn will initially employ around five to eight people but the plan is to expand to 20 employees within a year as production increases.
Finkeldey says he already has numerous interested parties for his products.