Various sources have different definitions for binge drinking. England’s National Health Service defines it as “drinking lots of alcohol in a short space of time or drinking to get drunk”.
Closer to home, the World Health Organization ranks South Africa 59th highest of 195 countries for heavy episodic drinking among those who drink – this means at least 60 grams of more of pure alcohol on at least one occasion in the past 30 days.

According to evidence on binge drinking in National Income Dynamics Study (2014 – 2015) published by The South African Medical Journal, one in three South Africans reported drinking alcohol, while one in seven reported binge drinking on an average day on which alcohol was consumed. The study defined binge drinking as an individual who reported consumption of more than five standard drinks on an average drinking day.

Of drinkers, 43 % reported binge drinking (48.2% males, 32.4% females). The prevalence of self-reported binge drinking was highest among males and females aged 25 – 34 years. Dangerous alcohol consumption varies from occasional hazardous drinking to daily heavy drinking.

As an example, a 350ml bottle of Castle Lager, which has an alcohol by volume (ABV) of 5% has 1.75 units of alcohol and therefore should be consumed over approximately two-hours.

Remember, if you are going to drink, take a cab to and from your venue.

First Impression Count.

SAB’s clever marketing trick is that this a beer for everyone – male and female – to best enjoy at their leisure. From the packaging itself all of this is clearly evident. The introduction of the product is portrayed through an easy, table-like setting where friends are having a relaxed afternoon with their Carver’s (Weiss) out.

Our Carver’s Weiss arrived well over 3 weeks ago for tasting. We explain the delay in review after the jump.

Carver’s pours a deep, coppery light brown with no trace of haze or sediment. Pour it in a glass and it gives a good white head which drops down to a foam cap. I am not much of a beer-expert nor am I habitually not sober. There’s also tastes of light hops which sticks around long after the yeasty flavours have faded away. Fruitiness  overlays the bitter flavours that kick at the first sip. Overall, fairly bitter and on a par with similar weiss beers.  At 5% there’s surprisingly little alcohol to be tasted or felt. But you know our country’s regulations would say otherwise.

Bubbles are something else.

Maybe, just maybe I have tasted too many more exciting beers of late, but SAB’s artisanal offering is thoroughly drinkable with a meal and boasts much flavour and character, and at 5% it is just right for a session (craft) beer.

As we wrapped up our testing I polished off the last Weiss bottle, which despite its canny self, managed to hold a decent head after being run through hundreds of kilo  meters to reach our office. In a presser released when the product launched, Richard Lawrence, SAB’s innovation Marketing Manager mentioned that the company is confident they have found a unique position in the market for this new Weissbeer. “Carver’s Weiss is a desirable speciality beer that sits beyond premium beers from a flavour and aroma point of view but is still accessible in terms of taste, price and availability.”

The brand is available at major liquor outlets for the recommended sales price of R89.99 for a six-pack of 440ml bottles or 440ml cans.

That is why, in my efforts of bringing super collaborative experiences, I have partnered with some of my favourite brands in bringing you our inaugural annual Father’s Day Giveaway to get you fired up for the week. Did I just say week? Excuse me, cause this giveaway will be running for the entire month of June! And this time we have everything from smartphones, fine whisky and even restaurant vouchers worth R5000 up for grabs.

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Pretty much like all of our previous competitions, the entry model will be quite easy. For starters, make sure you have a Disqus account in order to take part in our comment discussions. Secondly, you better get social. Get all your followers in a row and join-in on the competition discussion using the official hashtags. Lastly, keep checking up on our homepage and your emails to see once we announce all the winners.

The Father’s Day Giveaway is made possible by Chivas Regal, Jacobs Coffee, Burger King SA, SAB World of Beer, Philips SA. With the first one kicking-off tomorrow, 1 June 2016. 

And so, the curators at SAB world of beers found it fitting to revive the annual Easter (Egg) hunt tradition – perfectly so – for adults. Located in Newtown, SAB World of Beer will be open over the entire Easter weekend, with a special feature of a beer hunt for over 18s on the beer tour.

“Although we are not brewing any special beers for our South African Easter, you do get to taste traditional beer while sitting in a mock African village,” said Tony Rubin, general manager of SAB World of Beer.

“To make Easter a little more fun for the adults on our beer tours, we are hiding SAB brand logos along the way. Those with the keenest eyes will win a beer prize at the end of the tour.”

The easter tour will run from Friday, 25 March untill Monday, 28 March 2016 opening at 10h00 and will set you back R105 per person and includes two beers and a commemorative glass. Its a pretty rad concept, we think.

The note accompanying our CMS Ultra Smooth trial pack boldly claimed that we have been specially handpicked to try out the newly launched offering. Au naturel, I had to pop my two new best friends (read; long toms) in the fridge to a perfect, utmost chill before I could savior THAT moment we always hear about on these Castle Milk Stout ads. Fair enough, this allowed me enough time to read through the page long instructions on how to enjoy that perfectly brewed draught at home with a full creamy head – the way I am actually supposed to enjoy it. (Spoiler alert: I actually pulled the creamy head off, read further to find out how)

I actually did not have my CMS Ultra Smooth in that moment, I had to wait for the perfect setting first. Sunday afternoon. My new friends had been chilling perfectly over the weekend at just -3 degrees for 48 or so hours, I had to calm the glass to at least 3 degrees 15 minutes prior too (this is not necessary). The glass had to be long enough. Referring to my instructional note at hand, I perfectly placed my glass down – not tilting it, remember this is where the theatrical moment comes in – poured out all my Ultra Smooth contents at an +180 degree angle, directly into my glass as quick as possible and with just the perfectly mastered technique to get a big head of foam. The foam head was tight and creamy as the press release suggested. The foam looked too good for me to allow it to pause and let settle.

This is where the instructional note caught me off guard. After stealing a taste from my foamy head, the note suggested that ‘A Castle Milk Stout drinker is someone who takes the time to appreciate things in life.’ explains why this was my first time trying out CMS.
As suggested, I waited about 5 minutes for the Ultra Smooth to settle – this patience thing is no joke. I have tons of respect for those who master it (patience) especially when there’s a sweating glass filled with chilled malt starring back at you. A distinctive line between the creamy foam and the rich dark Ultra Smooth goodness started showing which marked the end of my wait. It was time.

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But wait… This pretty much looked like an everyday process for CMS drinkers, where does the Ultra Smooth factors, balance of nitrogen and Co2 gases fit in? According to Frieda Dehrmann, Consumer Science and Sensory Manager at SAB; “Most beers are pressured with carbon dioxide, which gives them their sharp, effervescent quality. A nitrogenated beer is pressured with a mix of nitrogen and carbon dioxide.” Thus ensuring that the beer takes on a creamy mouth feel with tingling sweeter aspects drawn to the forefront.

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From the smell one would assume this would be a very malt-heavy beer and lacking on the hops and that it is, CMS is the only beer local beer that uses dark roasted malt. The flavors found in the smell are also very present in the taste with the heavy bready malts hitting the tongue first followed by the sweetness of the caramel. For the remainder of the beer the flavor passes from brown-sugar sweet to bready bitter while the malt fights for dominance. The finish is both dry and slightly. very slightly sweet leaving your taste-buds ready for the next drink.

There’s nothing more rewarding than getting to enjoy an ice cold beer – mastered to perfection – after reading a three page press release (take note all PRs). I raised my glass to the lazy Sunday rays and sipped on my Ultra Smooth through the little that was left of my creamy foam.

See the full image gallery and exclusive TVC after the jump

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