Passion in every pint
After humble beginnings as an apprentice brewer, Ron Rittmann takes great pride in creating unique beers
Iréne-Mari van der Walt
Despite the prizes that Ronn Rittman’s masterfully brewed beers roped in for the Swakopmund Brewing Company at the African Beer Cup, he says it is the pure enjoyment of his beer that brings him the most satisfaction.
“Just seeing the smile on people’s faces when they enjoy a good beer and getting compliments on your beer are the proudest moments. It makes you feel like you’re good at what you do. It’s no use you’re doing something that you don’t enjoy,” he says.
Rittmann had never intended to become a brewer, but found himself in the midst of opportunity after he completed his schooling. “I had the chance to become an apprentice brewer at Namibia Breweries after school and through them I was able to go to Germany to get a qualification in beer brewing,” he says.
Rittmann obtained his qualifications from Doemens in Gräfelfing, Germany.
Today, Rittmann is a qualified beer sommelier, who says that his proudest creations are the Maibock and Belgian Witbeer concoctions.
“I like the Maibock because it’s a strong beer that is great to enjoy in the colder months, but the Belgian beer has nice flavours with the orange peels and cardamom we use in it,” he says.
Creating new beers has become second nature to him. “Sometimes you just throw things in without really taking note and it can end up getting you compliments from people who came from the other side of the world.”
The Swakopmund Brewing Company won gold at the African Beer Cup with their Urbock beer and took bronze for their Helles beer. The competition is judged twice by two different panels consisting of judges who are qualified in the art of assessing beer. If a discrepancy greater than seven points is found between the judgement of the two panels, a third panel of qualified judges is brought in to re-evaluate the beer in question.
Despite the prizes that Ronn Rittman’s masterfully brewed beers roped in for the Swakopmund Brewing Company at the African Beer Cup, he says it is the pure enjoyment of his beer that brings him the most satisfaction.
“Just seeing the smile on people’s faces when they enjoy a good beer and getting compliments on your beer are the proudest moments. It makes you feel like you’re good at what you do. It’s no use you’re doing something that you don’t enjoy,” he says.
Rittmann had never intended to become a brewer, but found himself in the midst of opportunity after he completed his schooling. “I had the chance to become an apprentice brewer at Namibia Breweries after school and through them I was able to go to Germany to get a qualification in beer brewing,” he says.
Rittmann obtained his qualifications from Doemens in Gräfelfing, Germany.
Today, Rittmann is a qualified beer sommelier, who says that his proudest creations are the Maibock and Belgian Witbeer concoctions.
“I like the Maibock because it’s a strong beer that is great to enjoy in the colder months, but the Belgian beer has nice flavours with the orange peels and cardamom we use in it,” he says.
Creating new beers has become second nature to him. “Sometimes you just throw things in without really taking note and it can end up getting you compliments from people who came from the other side of the world.”
The Swakopmund Brewing Company won gold at the African Beer Cup with their Urbock beer and took bronze for their Helles beer. The competition is judged twice by two different panels consisting of judges who are qualified in the art of assessing beer. If a discrepancy greater than seven points is found between the judgement of the two panels, a third panel of qualified judges is brought in to re-evaluate the beer in question.
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