Mitchell's Brewery
Knysna, Western Cape, South Africa · Est. 1983
Tally's Take
Why this matters
The beginning of South African craft, and it started the same year as the first wave of American microbreweries. Lex Mitchell — an ex-SAB brewer, and the man everyone in the country calls the godfather of the thing — opened at Thesen House in Knysna in 1983, the first homegrown craft brewery in South Africa. His first two beers were Forester's and Bosun's, named for the two industries the town was built on: the forests behind it and the port in front. Four decades later it is still the oldest microbrewery in the country. Almost every South African brewery in this archive traces back to a decision made in Knysna when nobody else in the country thought there was a market.
The Museum
Timeline
- 1983Opens at Thesen House, Knysna
South Africa's first homegrown craft brewery. First beers: Forester's and Bosun's.
The People
Behind the beer
An ex-SAB brewer who opened South Africa's first craft brewery in 1983 and is widely credited as the founder of the country's craft sector.
The Beer Library
Beers
Forester's
Year-RoundDraught Ale
One of the first two beers, named for Knysna's forestry trade.
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Sources
- recordConfirmed
Opened in 1983 by Lex Mitchell, formerly of SAB, at Thesen House in Knysna — the first homegrown South African craft brewery. His first two beers, Forester's and Bosun's, were named for the town's forestry and port industries.
African breweries — verified 2026-08-20 · Brewery and reference sources, cross-checked · 2026
ReferenceMedium reliabilityAccessed 2026-08-20Reviewed 2026-08-20
Only the claims above are sourced. Everything else on this page is the archive's own research and has not yet been tied to a document — which is worth knowing rather than hiding.
Straight answers
Common questions about Mitchell's Brewery
- Who owns Mitchell's Brewery?
- Mitchell's Brewery is independently owned — there is no parent company above it on record. It is based in Knysna, Western Cape, South Africa.
- Is Mitchell's Brewery independent?
- Yes. Mitchell's Brewery is recorded as independent, with no parent company. Independence is recorded as the brewery states it; where a stake is a minority holding or joint venture, this archive leaves it unmapped rather than calling it ownership.
- When was Mitchell's Brewery founded?
- Mitchell's Brewery was founded in 1983 in Knysna, Western Cape, South Africa.
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