★  Nation Dossier  ★
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South Africa

South Africa raise Castle Lager — the country's national beer and Bafana Bafana's own, brewed since the Joburg gold rush.

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★ Pick your pint ★
I'm backing South Africa this World Cup — first round's a Castle Lager. 🍺

The Beer

South Africa · Group A
Pale Lager · 5.0%
🇿🇦 South Africa · Group A
Castle Lager

Balanced golden lager with soft malt sweetness. South Africa's national beer: a bright, light-bodied pale lager of local barley, maize and hops — clean, gently dry and made for the braai.

Est. 1895 📍 Johannesburg SAB · AB InBev
📍 Find Castle Lager nearby

The Brewer's Tale

Heritage

The Brewery

Born on the Johannesburg goldfields, where Englishman Charles Glass began selling beer to miners in the 1880s. On Castle's success, South African Breweries was founded in 1895 with the Castle Brewery as its head office.

SAB is now part of AB InBev, and Castle is brewed in nine countries.

The Pour

A classic pale lager of South African barley, maize and hops: bright gold, light-to-medium body, a faint sweet-malt aroma and a clean, slightly dry, lightly bitter finish. Serve it ice-cold.

The National Beer

Widely regarded as South Africa's national beer — and woven through its sport as premier sponsor of Bafana Bafana, with long ties to the Proteas and Springboks.

At The Table

The definitive braai beer: boerewors, sosaties, grilled chops and a spoon of chakalaka all sit perfectly beside an ice-cold Castle.

Vital Statistics

The Card
BeerCastle Lager
StylePale lager (maize adjunct)
Strength5.0% ABV
BrewerySouth African Breweries (SAB) · AB InBev
Home CityJohannesburg, South Africa
First Brewed1895
ServeIce-cold, ~3–5°C · straight-sided glass

Fixtures

South Africa · Group A

Group A — The Beer League

3 win · 1 draw