Love beer and want to make a day of it? These are the five top destination breweries in South Africa from my recent book African Brew (read the full review of African Brew here).

Cape Brewing Company, Paarl

Located on Spice Route Wine Estate, this is the daddy of destination breweries. Start with a tasting of German-style beers in the country’s most impressive microbrewery, then join a chocolate tasting, sip some wine, stay for lunch, follow up with a grappa sampling or just enjoy the views with a pint of pilsner and a selection of snacks from the biltong bar. www.capebrewing.co.za

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The Cockpit Brewhouse, Cullinan

Great food and great beer are what draw swarms of repeat visitors here. The quaint brew pub sits in a mine-owned cottage a diamond’s throw from Cullinan’s big hole and is a charming spot to while away the day over a pint of American IPA (India Pale Ale, a highly hopped brew). The delightfully compact town makes for easy strolling, so you can leave your car behind and enjoy Cockpit’s seasonal ‘extreme beers’ guilt-free. www.thecockpitbrewhouse.co.za

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Brauhaus am Damm, Rustenburg

There’s sparkly brewing equipment to admire, fresh German-style beer to enjoy, a hearty menu of enormously portioned food and a fabulous deck overlooking Olifantsnek Dam where you can sit to digest your eisbein and weissbier. Luckily there’s also accommodation not too far away… www.brauhaus.co.za

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The Little Brewery on the River, Port Alfred

Start your visit with an in-depth brewery tour, sniffing and sampling ingredients and peeping into vats and fermenters, then move on to a tasting in the atmospheric Wharf Street Brew Pub. Filling pub grub is available to line the stomach and there’s a superb shop for off-sales and memorabilia. There’s a wealth of accommodation reachable by a short and picturesque walk along the river. www.littlebrewery.co.za

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The Nottingham Road Brewing Company, Natal Midlands

One of the country’s oldest microbreweries is still one of the best for a weekend hideaway. As well as a quartet of beers, the brewery has a shop, a cosy pub and boasts the one thing that makes it the perfect place to sink into a pint or two of porter: a hotel on site. www.nottsbrewery.co.za

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If you’re looking for even more beer culture in the country, pay a visit to one of the six oldest pubs in South Africa or check out the top food beer and wine festivals in South Africa.