Cape Brewing Company sits on the slopes of Paarl Mountain, an hour from central Cape Town. The taproom shares the Spice Route estate, so a beer flight and a wine tasting are a short walk apart. The pours come straight from the tanks behind the glass.
CBC is a joint venture between the South African wine figure Charles Back and the Swedish brewery Abro. The Brewmistress recorded the public tasting room opening at the start of 2013. The German brewmaster Wolfgang Koedel built the program around clean, classic styles.
The brewing leans German. The Inside Guide notes the brewery pours lager, pilsner, weiss, and amber styles made to the Reinheitsgebot purity standard, which is rare in the Cape. The result is a lineup that drinks crisp rather than hop-heavy.
The setting is the other half of the visit. CBC opens daily from 10am to 5pm, with on-tap tasting stations and Winelands views across the Paarl valley. For more local taprooms, see our Cape Town craft beer guide, the full Cape Town bar guide, and our Cape Town hidden gems.
What to order
- 01
The Lager
The flagship, brewed clean to the German standard. The pour that shows what CBC does best, and the easiest match for the heat.
$$ - 02
The Pilsner
Crisp and bitter in the Czech-German line. Order it cold and fresh from the tank for the gap against bottled versions.
$$ - 03
The Krystal Weiss
The wheat beer for the warmer styles drinker. A softer, fruitier option for a slow afternoon on the estate.
$$ - 04
A Tasting Paddle
The way to cover the range in one sitting. Work from lager to the darker amber and pick a pint from there.
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The room and the crowd
The taproom is open and industrial, built into the working brewery so the tanks sit in view of the bar. Outside seating looks across the Spice Route estate toward the mountain. It reads as a day out rather than a night bar.
The crowd is Winelands day-trippers, families, and beer travellers pairing a tasting with the estate's food. It runs busiest at weekend lunch and winds down by late afternoon. Tripadvisor reviewers flag the relaxed, roam-the-grounds format as the draw.
What regulars say
- 01
Pair it with Spice Route
Reviewers treat CBC as one stop on the estate. Add the wine and chocolate tastings next door to fill an afternoon.
- 02
Drink the lager fresh
The Inside Guide and Maps reviews agree the tank-fresh pours are the point. The clean German styles show best on site.
- 03
Come for lunch, not late
The 5pm close means this is a daytime visit. Plan the drive back to the city before dark.
Who it is for
- 01
The Winelands day trip
Beer for the group that does not want only wine. A clean lager lineup and room to roam the estate.
- 02
The lager drinker
German-style beer made to the purity law, a rarity in the Cape. The right call if hop bombs are not your thing.
- 03
Avoid if you want a night out
This is a daytime taproom that closes at 5pm. For late drinks, stay in the city.
Pair this bar with
Stay on the beer trail at Devil's Peak Tap Room in Cape Town, work through the cans at Jack Black Tap Room in Cape Town, or pour fresh at Newlands Spring Brewing in Cape Town.
Sources: The Inside Guide Cape Town; The Brewmistress (2013 opening); Cape Brewing Company official site; Spice Route Destination; Tripadvisor; BeerTasting brewery profile.