If you’ve ever taken a day trip to Noordhoek in the Western Cape, there’s a good chance that you ended up at The Red Herring restaurant or Skebangas Pub. For years the iconic duo served pizzas, burgers and beers to locals and tourists. For many day-trippers, it was the main reason to visit Noordhoek, but in 2015 they got another delicious reason. On a blustery September day, a tiny brewery and taproom called Aegir Project opened in the building opposite the restaurant.
Run by Rory and Carey Lancellas along with their faithful hound, the eponymous Aegir, the taproom opened with a simple mission that holds true to this day: To serve world-class beer and never compromise on quality.
Fast forward five years and Aegir Project is now a craft beer mecca. No beer lover’s journey to Cape Town is complete without a pilgrimage to the hallowed hoppy taps.
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In 2018, due to the massive demand for their beers and the fact that you could only get them on tap, Aegir opened its second taproom at Constantia Uitsig. Then, just two years later, an opportunity Rory had always described as a pipe dream came their way. The huge space that The Red Herring and Skebangas Pub had previously occupied became available. They jumped at the opportunity, signed the lease, and then COVID hit…
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Our Ale House is open EVERY day until 8pm!!! #aegirproject #uitsig #constantia #beer
Luckily, Aegir Project just managed to survive the alcohol lockdown with minimal losses. Over the years, they’ve built an incredible community – and they turned up in droves to support Aegir when it reopened. Currently, the renovations are back on track and they’re knocking down walls to create an open-plan world-class brewpub and restaurant. Wesley Randles (of The Commissary) has come on board as a long-term advisor to oversee the menu and operations, while Scott Walker (of Riverine Rabbit) will be in charge of the kitchen. The goal is ultimate efficiency without changing Aegir’s current casual model of ordering at the bar and getting served at your table.
The menu will be street-food inspired and seasonal, with a small selection of rotating dishes year-round. They’re also setting up an in-house baking programme to take care of all their burger, hotdog and pizza dough needs. They’ve even created a sourdough culture using yeast from their Giant IPA. Wesley says the food will be simple yet refined, and there’s talk of a lobster gatsby and a prawn cocktail sourdough sarmie.
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Beer will be piped straight from the brewery to eight serving tanks. Rory also hinted at food and beer pairing events in collaboration with other chefs in the future. Members of their newly launched Aegir 100 club will get discounted access to these events, as well as invitations to member-only beer launches.
If you’ve ever been to Aegir then you’ll know that it’s a family environment. There are kids and dogs running around and it really is a space for everyone. Rory says he can’t wait to expand the space and make room for even more families, friends, dogs and future friends.
The new venue will be open for business in early December.
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Maybe u should help out and reemploy some of the staff who have worked at that place for 20 years as now they have no income to feed there families as the previous owner didn’t pay them out