Craft Beer is it just a fad?

Beer, wonderful beer. It's a golden nectar that refreshes one after a long training ride, it's great to have when celebrating the finish of the toughest race you have ever done, or just sitting back having a couple of brewskis and talking to your mates about how gnarly that single track was!

But there is another trend becoming popular amongst riders, not so much the commercial beer (which is still a very popular choice) but rather the Craft Beer!

Home brewing which turned into a commercial yet "underground" movement has become more and more popular. There are so many different craft beers on the market now, that one is not sure where to go or what to choose from. From here I hope to shed some more light on the new kids on the block, the beers which are different (I am no brew master so it is all personal) and share some recipes which I have tried (some failed but more have succeeded) as well as providing a small product offering on some of the more popular beers to try.

Sit back, kick off your cycling shoes and enjoy a cold one on me.

Watch this space for product reviews, offerings, recipes and a good story time

Coffee...that magical nectar for early mornings!

Coffee....what a beautiful thing.

While I sit here typing this, I have a fresh cup of java in my hand. What is it that makes drink so good but can also be so bad? We have all had that one cup of coffee that we absolutely loved and just when you thought it couldn't get better, you find another cup of this magical brew which is better....or worse.

Coffee has been around for thousands of years, and I am not here to tell you where it came from, the origins, the chemical formulation etc. etc. that information you can find on the Discovery Channel. What I would like to delve into is what is happening with the coffee culture in South Africa. How is it changing and why do we still prefer our local brands such as Truth or Tribe over the international companies as Star Buck ( which will be hitting our shores soon enough).

Coffee can be roasted and brewed in so many ways. The posts to follow will look at different ways which are being explored for roasting, the different way to brew a good cup of coffee and some recipes to follow too.

I want to bring the coffee community together and offer you the reader not just an entertaining, informative read but also in time some fantastic coffee for you to roast and brew at home. Stay tuned for the product reviews and offering coming soon!

So Stay tuned for more coffee brewing, roasting goodness!

The year of 2015 and looking ahead for biking!

It has been some time since I have written anything about mountain biking. I use to run a blog called Dirtworx. It was all about how the world of mountain biking is changing, what the latest trends, what is the new gear to buy and how the sport has changed.

With the "restart" of the trends, we will look at where is sport heading for the future.

As the year is winding down, and people are getting ready for either a white christmas, or in our case in South Africa, a nice hot summer, and I do mean hot, we can look at the year that has gone by and what has happened in the world of mountain biking and cycling in general. I must admit that I am a little biased towards mountain biking but we all have out favorites.

It has been an exciting year. There was a fantastic finish to the season of the UCI Downhill Championships, which put Luic Bruni, Aaron Gwin and Greg Minnar all with a chance to take the title and it came to the last race, which Aaron Gwin ended up winning and taking the title. We saw Chris Froome take the title for the famous Tour de France, which did not take place without controversy. It was a sad year for the Enduro World Series as Amateur rider Will Olson pasted away after a crash in the 5th round of the series.

There was some very interesting new products which was revealed at EURO Bike 2015. We saw BMC return back to South Africa after a sabbatical for quite some time and showing off some very new and stunning products to hit the market. Some great new events to hit the racing calender and even saw yours truly complete the Transbaviaans 2015 (a 24hr single stage race over a distance of 240km).

As you can see it has been a busy year for the 2 wheeled peddled machine and 2016 looks to be very promising too.

Thanks for reading and comeback soon for more info on biking and everything around it!

Welcome to a Beautiful friendship

Welcome to the BBB Cafe.

This is the place where you will find, what I consider at least one of them, the best interests in the world.

All of us have some love interest in either Coffee, Beer or Cycling. Each one has given us a unique memory in our lives, whether it was that first bike we got when were young, or that special cup of coffee that you can't forget, or the cold beer you had after celebrating something. All 3 mean something to you.

Bikes, Beans and Beer is a special place where one can come and sit and read through the different stories, write ups, new products or if you simply want to have a relaxing read, this is the place to start. I wanted to start something that would give you, the reader, a place you felt welcome. Throughout the posts there will be interesting (I hope) posts about new products, some good reciepes as well as interesting information about....well Bikes, Beans and Beer.

So, without further waffling, welcome to Bikes, Beans and Beer!