Locally crafted beer, good food and international rugby are just some of the attractions visitors can look forward to as the second Thousand Sensations Crafted Beer and Food Festival kicks off today.

Herald Reporter – The two day beer and food extravaganza sees more than 100 different beer creations from 24 Western Cape breweries as well as 12 food stalls go on display to keep visitors well fed and hydrated as they peruse the stalls.

The event starts today with activities kicking off at 15:00 pm to 22:00 pm and from 11:00 am to 22:00 pm tomorrow. The event will take place at the picturesque Wilderness Hotel, in the seaside village of Wilderness. Entrance to the festival will set visitors back R20 and parking is free.

Thousand Sensations owner and organiser of the festival Alewijn Dippenaar insist the festival is authentically South African, not German.

“This is a South African crafted beer and food festival to be held in the Garden Route with real locally crafted beer, good food, live music and rugby, it is not a German beer festival,” Dippenaar said.

Apart from the selection of crafted beers and food on offer, presentations will also be conducted on  crafted beer as an industry and how fast it has grown. Presentation include good food and craft beer. It will be facilitated by Dippenaar with three South African authors who had books published on crafted beer, chefs and brew masters also participating in these presentations.

Crowds can expect some stellar entertainment as local artists such as Sugar & Spice, Petronel Baard, Marius de Bruyn, KeeZee and Jimmy T perform for the masses of people expected to frequent the festival.

The opening match between hosts England and Fiji as well as the Springboks first match will be televised live on a big screen and televisions throughout the venue.

The Bootlegger, a local shop in the Wilderness region will also offer brewing kits for sale to anyone who would like to take up the hobby.