The northern Cape in 1866 was a hot and desolate place, especially for a young boy, Erasmus Jacobs. He amused himself by playing with the ‘klippies’ he found on their farm near Hopetown – one of which was found to be a diamond. Once word of the discovery spread, thousands of fortune-seekers descended on the Kimberley area in search of diamonds, forming a myriad of small companies.

In 1888 the great amalgamation took place between Rhodes’ De Beers Mine and Barney Barnato’s Kimberley Central Mining Company, consolodating all the haphazard mining ventures and creating a monopoly over the entire world’s diamond market. 1888 Belgian Ale is inspired by these events which prove that one small discovery can lead to world-changing events. Ingredients: Water, Malt, Hops, Yeast