The roots of the craft beer movement can be traced back to the 1970s in the United States and the United Kingdom, where visionary brewers pioneered a revival of artisanal brewing practices. These brewers sought to challenge the industrialised beer industry by producing quality beers with distinctive flavours.

As the movement gained momentum, fuelled by consumer demand for authenticity and variety, it spread to other parts of Europe, Australia, and beyond. Each region contributed its own unique twists and interpretations, leading to a global explosion of craft breweries and a rich tapestry of beer styles. 

Today, craft beer continues to evolve, with brewers pushing boundaries, experimenting with ingredients and embracing sustainability and community. 

In the Overstrand, a new craft brewery has recently opened its doors. Called The Frosty Whale, the brewery and taproom offers a variety of craft beers as well as a cider and sparkling apple juice, all made by the owner, Owen Brussow.

Owen was born and raised in Johannesburg and moved to Hermanus with his wife, Tania, in 2010 for a better quality of life. Before moving, he had the opportunity to visit the Automatica Trade Show in Frankfurt, Germany, where he was able to enjoy what he calls “his first good beer”.

In 2020 when hard lockdown was enforced and alcohol was banned, Owen's brother, Duane, began experimenting with things like pineapple beer. His wife got him a course at The Beer School, which he attended every Saturday. When restrictions were further relaxed in 2021, Duane paid Owen a visit, bringing with him his brewing equipment, and Owen made his first home brew.

As a fan of beer, Owen began experimenting with darker ales, IPAs, and more. His family and friends enjoyed his brews so much that they encouraged him to go into business, and so The Frosty Whale was born.

Owen’s first Frosty brew was a pale ale, and he now also makes a honey blonde ale, dark ale, coffee dark ale, IPA, Weiss, his own apple cider, and non-alcoholic sparkling apple juice, with another mystery craft beer on the way. 

Owen has also been experimenting with distilling gin, whiskey, bourbon and apple schnapps which have been repurposed from his stock of beer and cider that is nearing its expiration date. These are not available to buy but can be sampled upon request at The Frosty Whale taproom in Sandbaai.

The taproom also offers light snacks such as pizzas with cheese, tomato and onion, which can be enjoyed beside an indoor fireplace. Alternatively, Owen always has a fire going just outside the taproom and visitors are encouraged to bring and braai their meat while they enjoy a Frosty beer.

“Our beers are homebrewed with TLC, are consistent quality and are affordable,” says Owen, “All our brews come in 330ml or 660ml bottles or in cases, and are available to taste in our taproom. We also sell growlers which can be refilled, and 30-litre kegs are available for sale to restaurants”. Owen also has a mobile bar for The Frosty Whale which can be hired for functions. The bar can hold up to six different types of Frosty brews, which clients can select beforehand. 

The Frosty Whale taproom is located at Unit 7, Devide Industrial Park, Argon Avenue, Sandbaai Industrial. In winter they are open on Fridays from 12pm until late evening. For more information visit www.frostywhale.co.za or contact Owen on 082 411 5352. You can also find The Frosty Whale on Facebook and Instagram.

Owen would like to thank everyone who has contributed to the success of his business including Theresa Wilds (brand design), Holloway and Davel Architects (assistance with town planning and application), his brother Duane Brussow (introduction to craft beer), Ricky Bianco (introduction to distilling), Marvelous Marvel (dedicated assistant brewer and shop manager), his wife Tania and daughter Zoë Brussow (branded Frosty Whale merchandise – also available at the taproom), his father Alan Brussow (for all the support from beginning), Chaar Jooste (building work at the tap room), JJ Rooibaard (assistance in the taproom on Fridays), and Byron Martin (social media help).

Feeding the community 

Sorya Pieterse from Mama Sorya's Soup Kitchen in Mount Pleasant made it her mission this past Youth Day to feed the hungry of Hermanus.

Kindhearted Sorya feeds children in Zwelihle and Mount Pleasant on an almost daily basis, with her family and friends stepping in to help when she is at work. 

On 17 June, from 7am until late afternoon, Sorya and her team of volunteers made 12 poitjie pots with rice and roosterkoek on the side. These were dished out to adults and children in Zwelihle and Mount Pleasant, as well as the homeless at the Hermanus Taxi Rank, who deeply appreciated the hot meal after the recent cold nights.

Sorya relies solely on donations to make these meals. If you would like to donate or get involved, WhatsApp Sorya on 084 209 7839.

Children of honour  

They walk at the front of processions, they introduce important events and commemorations. Their eyes are fixed forward and their steps are perfectly aligned. 

In 2023 they stood at attention at the Cenotaph War Memorial at the Old Harbour in Hermanus for a commemoration that was held for lives lost in the HMS Birkenhead tragedy. It was a hot day and as the commemoration progressed, the sun continued to bake down. One of them suddenly collapsed, fainting from the heat. Within a few moments there was a second, followed by a third. They were picked up by superiors and laid down in the shade. The remaining members did not move. Offered a reprieve from the heat, they refused and continued to stand at attention. 

These are the boys and girls of the TS Birkenhead Sea Cadets.

While they are easily recognisable in their white step-out uniforms and holding their wooden rifles, many people do not know much about the cadets or the history that has brought them to this point. Lieutenant Noel Dreyer is the starting point for this remarkable story.

Lieutenant Dreyer is originally from Hawston, as is his fisherman father, and grandfather before him. In 1979 he joined the Navy, working as a weapons technician, and three years later, at the age of 22, he was deployed to his very first ship – the frigate SAS President Kruger, which, along with other ships, was to conduct anti-submarine exercises. 

On 18 February 1982 at 4am, Lieutenant Dreyer finished his watch shift and climbed into his hammock to get some rest. As he was a ‘rookie’ he was not assigned a bed. Moments later, the SAS Tafelberg, a ship approximately twice the weight of the frigate, collided with her on her port side. Men near the site of the collision, asleep in their beds, were thrown against the bulkhead – an upright wall within the hull of the ship – and were killed.

Within 45 minutes, the frigate sank. The remaining crew, at the mercy of a code 6 sea state and its 5 to 6m swells, waited in the pitch black darkness for rescuers, who arrived after dawn broke. In total, 16 men lost their lives, all crew from the SAS President Kruger. Despite this tragedy, Lieutenant Dreyer was never in any doubt that his future would be with the navy, and he served until his retirement in 2017. 

While attending a church service that same year a pastor told Lieutenant Dreyer that his future would be in working with children. Lieutenant Dreyer, with his long history in a structured and disciplined environment, responded with an immediate “No!”. Not long after he was told the same thing by a second person, but it was when members from the Hawston community arrived at his door saying that they wanted to do something for the children of Hawston that he knew this was his calling, and the Hawston Cadets was born.

Lieutenant Dreyer was invited to the Knysna Naval Base and while there he spoke to the Corps Captain about the possibility of the Hawston Cadets joining the corps. In 2019 they were accepted and renamed the TS Birkenhead Sea Cadets.

The incredible opportunities that this gave to the committed youngsters elevated the abundance of good that they were already learning – discipline, commitment, and notable humility.

But this is not where the story ends. 

Lieutenant Dreyer and the other superiors at TS Birkenhead Sea Cadets are volunteers, willingly giving of themselves to uplift the children in the community. Owing to the goodwill of others, each cadet is given something to eat after their practice on Saturdays, which takes place come rain or shine.

Retired navy personnel donate their old uniforms which are altered to fit the cadets who range in age from 12- to 18-years-old. The white step-out uniform, which the community is most familiar with, consists of a school shirt, black pants and school shoes. The cadets have to acquire these themselves. The cadets are children and teens, many who come from challenging financial circumstances, and there are many more youth living in other areas of Hermanus that want to join the cadets, but paying for transport just isn’t possible for them. 

Some time back, three boats were donated to the TS Birkenhead Sea Cadets by TS Woltemade in Cape Town, but the TS Birkenhead Sea Cadets are unable to take them as there is nowhere to store them. A request to store them in a container at the Lake Marina Yacht & Boat Club in Fisherhaven was declined by the municipality.

The commitment by all those involved is astounding. Having no means to undertake regular sea activities, the cadets find a way around this such as lining up chairs and practising rowing using brooms as oars. On the occasions that they are required to travel to complete necessary training or obtain various licences, they rely on the goodwill of others. Just this week, four of the cadets travelled to Kynsna to obtain their skipper’s licence. One of the volunteer cadet superiors, Lorenzo Hendricks, has driven them to the naval base. The trip was made possible by a donation from Philipus May of Hermanus Whale Cruises.

The TS Birkenhead Sea Cadets are more than a procession of children opening special events. They are a proud procession of hopes and dreams, and come what may, with heads held high.

Please email us at editor@locallife.co.za if you are able to help support the TS Birkenhead Sea Cadets. Support includes the donation of items such as new school shoes, or the sponsorship of a cadet's fees of R20 per month (R240 per year). 

For those able to help on a larger scale, transport for the cadets remains a challenge as do the costs of accommodation and other expenses when travelling. Any help with obtaining suitable storage for the donated boats and other items would be tremendously appreciated – a location near the seafront is needed. 

It is Lieutenant Dreyer’s hope that one day the TS Birkenhead Sea Cadets will be able to have their own base. They are grateful to Hawston Primary School for the use of the school grounds for drills and training.

Learning compassion for animals   

Last week from 19 to 21 June, the Hermanus Animal Welfare Society (HAWS), located in the Hermanus Industrial area, hosted learners from Just Care Aftercare in Mount Pleasant for three days of on-site educational fun.

The visits form part of HAWS's educational initiative, which was started by Marlene and Nic Deneeghere when they opened the Deneeghere Education Centre (DEC) at HAWS in 2014. At that time, the initiatives took place mainly with Just Care but have now grown to include several local schools and NPOs, and are run by HAWS committee member Sheetal Gordhan (Education Portfolio) with help from HAWS general manager Rinaldi Meyer. 

At the DEC, children from the local communities are taught the basics of pet care and visit the clinic to learn more about the health of their pets, and sterilisations. They also spend time in the kennels and the cattery to learn how to handle the animals with care. Like Sheetal says: "It's cool to be kind!"

Sheetal and Rinaldi also make classroom visits to various schools on request, taking along a puppy to the younger classes to let the children listen to the animal's heartbeat. In this way, they teach the children that animals are not so different from us after all – their heartbeat sounds the same as ours and they also need food, water, shelter, medical care, and love, just like we do.

So far, Sheetal and Rinaldi have visited Just Care, Hermanus Pre-Primary School, Curro, Generations, Hemel-en-Aarde Valley Creche, and NPO Tree of Hope. They teach the younger children through play-learning, using flashcards, movement, and games to keep the children focused and interested in what they teach them. The parents and teachers of the learners also get involved, learning about animal sterilisation and care.

Sheetal has many ideas to scale and improve the education initiative. She would love to reach more children and help supply those in the programme who need things like leashes and kennels. To do this they need funding and more volunteers. To find out more and to get involved, contact Sheetal at sheetalgordhan@gmail.com. 

By Dr Heather Blaylock

MBBCh (WITS), FECSM

The colour blue is associated with harmony, confidence, protection, and masculinity, and is worn to celebrate Men’s Health Month. 

Men tend to typically only visit a doctor once in a blue moon, and this campaign highlights health awareness, education, and prevention regarding issues in male individuals. Fear of bad news, embarrassment, vulnerability, or stigma are the main reasons why men avoid doctor visits. Clinical experience is the dread factor of needles and the dreaded gloved rectal exam.  

Superhero syndrome refers to men seeing themselves as forever strong, stoic, and resilient, and believing they must “tough it out” or that the problem will just disappear.

Manhood and masculinity are becoming seen as ageless, and the pressure is on men to be “forever functional” in all domains (Mason, 2002), so ‘man up’ with bodily discipline, positive lifestyle choices, and recommended health checks!

A spirit of self-respect and positive body image should be instilled in young boys with exercise, healthy diet, and behaviour – a habit rather than sporadic quick fixes. It is said that time and health are luxuries, and taking the wheel for your own chassis should be a priority.

Recommendations for age-appropriate screening have been put together by a task team of preventive medicine in the United States. These are a guide as care is patient-centred, with a holistic and comprehensive approach from the health care provider. A consultation is not complete without mental health screening and social circumstances, and support and community are considered.

Self-examination of your testicles should start after puberty as the peak age for testicular cancer is between 15 and 34. One percent of men get breast cancer and self-examinations may detect early disease.

All adults should have counselling regarding alcohol use, tobacco use, healthy diet and STIs. There is screening available for type 2 diabetes and obesity with behavioural interventions to promote weight loss. Depression screening with support, treatment and follow-up is also vital in some cases as men are known to withhold information and have a ‘fake it till you make it’ attitude. Eventually, the wheels will come off, and it is not sustainable to be functional without gas. 

Blood pressure and cholesterol checks should start in the early twenties, especially where there is an increased risk due to family history. The use of aspirin can be started at 45 years to prevent cardiovascular disease if the harm of potential gastrointestinal haemorrhage is low. 

Once you have had 50 turns around the sun, screening for colorectal cancer is another fear to be faced head-on but with a bottom-up approach! A half-century is also time for a prostate digital rectal exam and PSA with abdominal aneurysm screening between ages 65 and 75. Any family history means screening should be started earlier and may require close monitoring.

Overall health and healthy sexuality are bidirectional and with midlife comes anxiety about a decline in performance. Sexual performance can be indicative of underlying disease and failing to recognise and treat sexual dysfunction increases the risk for ageing males. Where before ageing was seen as nature’s wisdom, the medicalisation of sexual function allows for satisfying active intimacy until our last breath.

The andropause, associated with low testosterone, presents with the blues, low libido, low energy, and decreased strength i.e. the engine not firing on all cylinders. Testosterone replacement, when indicated, increases weight loss and muscle gain, and puts the fire back in desire! Managing stress and having enough sleep are vital for performance in all spheres.

Relationship health and healthy sexuality are intimately linked with the release of feel-good neurochemicals such as oxytocin, serotonin and dopamine which feed positive thoughts, bonding, increases self-esteem and keeps the blues at bay. 

Blue is also associated with knowledge and wisdom. I challenge you to be wise and to know your health status.

Dr Heather Blaylock is a licensed medical practitioner with a special interest in sexual health. She is located at The Real You in the Hemel-en-Aarde Village, Hermanus. 

By Loraine Shuttleworth

MRI Whale Unit, University of Pretoria

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and when it comes to southern right whale conservation, a single image can reveal a wealth of information. 

Often known as ecosystem engineers, these whales help shape marine environments by facilitating nutrient cycling, promoting primary productivity and maintaining balanced marine ecosystems – all of which help to sustain ocean health and stability. 

They also serve as a sentinel species, since monitoring their health and population demographics can aid in our understanding of the broader Southern Ocean and help researchers identify environmental changes. This makes studying the health of southern right whale populations a conservation priority.

Various techniques can be used to assess southern right whale health, each providing unique information. These techniques include endocrine analysis, collection of stranding data, and visual assessment of their skin condition, lesions, and cyamid (whale lice) aggregations. 

However, a particularly valuable method is the assessment of their body condition through the use of overhead images using drone technology and photogrammetric techniques. This method is currently being employed by the University of Pretoria’s Mammal Research Institute Whale Unit, as part of a student’s PhD project that hopes to assess how adult females are responding to changes in prey and how this affects raising their calves. In doing so, it allows researchers to assess the body condition of southern right whales without disturbing their natural behaviour. 

How it works:

During the winter months, the Whale Unit team sets out on their vessel Balaena for their annual fieldwork in Walker Bay, Hermanus, where southern right whale cow-calf pairs are abundant. Upon spotting a pair, the boat is brought to a halt, and a drone equipped with a rangefinder for precise altitude measurement is deployed. The drone is flown above the whales at a height of approximately 20 to 30 meters above sea level to capture high-resolution video recordings of the animals. Moving across the bay, the team systematically gathers footage of different cow-calf pairs. The non-invasive nature of this research method means it holds a distinct advantage over invasive other techniques.

There are a few important considerations when taking video footage. Firstly, the drone should always be positioned directly above the whales with the camera pointing downward to capture the whales from a perpendicular angle, avoiding any slant. It's essential to avoid excessive glare from sunlight reflecting off the water. 

This type of fieldwork can also only be completed on days with good weather when the swell is minimal and the wind is calm, to ensure there are minimal ripples that could obscure the image of the whale. Lastly, it's important to record for a sufficient duration of time to ensure there is adequate footage of the whale in the correct position for photogrammetric analysis.

Once all the footage has been collected at the end of the season, analysis can begin. Each video is reviewed to find the perfect moment when the whale is lying flat just below the water's surface, with its entire body visible. A screenshot of this moment is then saved, and this process is repeated for each whale captured. These single, well-timed screenshots are those pictures that provide such vital data. 

Each image is processed using computer software that measures the whale in pixels at different intervals. These pixel measurements are fed into another program that uses metrics such as the drone camera’s focal length, sensor size, and image resolution to calculate each whale's body length in meters and overall volume. Finally, a ‘score’ is assigned to each whale, assessing whether it is in a good or poor body condition. To further expand on the information obtained, the body condition of mothers can be related to the growth rate of their calves to assess whether they can effectively rear their calves despite potential nutritional stress. 

This research project plays a key role in assessing the resilience of the South African population and can assist local authorities in implementing effective conservation strategies informed by science. Additionally, it forms part of a broader international collaboration aimed at assessing the health of southern right whale populations worldwide. 

By comparing data from different populations, we can identify patterns and potential threats crucial for developing effective conservation strategies on a global scale. This collaborative approach not only benefits southern right whales but the Southern Ocean ecosystem as a whole. Through the power of a picture, we aim to contribute to the global effort to conserve southern right whales and ensure their populations thrive for generations to come.

This image of a southern right whale female is ideal for assessing body condition. 

The first Stanford Penguin Plunge took place in 2011 on the banks of the Klein River at the Stanford River Lodge. It was the initiative of Anton and Tracey Duivestein, who wanted to assist Rotary in raising funds for their soup kitchens, focusing in particular on the elderly.

In 2015, the planning and management of the event was handed over to the Rotary Club of Stanford as it had grown into an event too big for just two people to manage. Anton took on the role of King Neptune – complete with a white wig, a beard and his trusted trident – leading the Penguins into the icy water.

Over the years, the number of penguins has grown tremendously, the highest number being 95. This year saw 81 human penguins and 4 canine penguins taking the plunge. The “chickens” that cheered on the penguins easily matched their number, resulting in plenty of banter, cheering and a wonderful vibe.

Local restaurants provided delicious hot soups and freshly baked bread. A local winery provided a pot of steaming hot Glühwein and hot chocolate was also on offer.

“The entry fee is a donation which makes the event affordable for families, and chickens are requested to make monetary donations should they want any of the refreshments on offer,” says Stanford Rotary Club president, Lana Coates, “All in all, this is an event not to be missed. See you all in 2025!”. 

134 runners and walkers braved the cool weather on Saturday morning to take part in the Hermanus parkrun. Being the 22nd of the month, it was named the “Tutu” parkrun and those taking part were encouraged to dress accordingly. Several of the runners met the brief wearing colourful tutus, with one gentleman wearing two, which he proudly explained were “two-twos”.

Apart from the more serious runners, participants included families and their pets, some running and some enjoying the walk while taking in the beautiful scenery. The ever-friendly marshalls, positioned throughout the route, were all smiles and ready to offer words of encouragement.

The first place male and female finishers were Jonathan Matthew and Alice Venter respectively. They are both juniors and this was their first time participating in the Hermanus parkrun. Darren Wright, one of the volunteers that assists on the track every week, completed his 250th parkrun, with several other runners also meeting milestones like their 100th parkrun.