Castle Breweries

Castle Breweries in Cape Town is a striking industrial landmark with a distinctly American design. Constructed between 1900 and 1902, it was the second brewery of its kind in South Africa to follow American engineering standards. The building was designed by New York architect and engineer H. Steinmann, who oversaw not only its design but also the shipping and assembly of all construction materials and brewing equipment from the United States.

Castle Breweries was built entirely with fireproof skeleton steel frames, the structure stood in sharp contrast to other, more vulnerable systems common in Cape Town at the time. The brewery was equipped with advanced vacuum fermentation technology, including “F.F” steel tanks, chip tanks, and glass-enamelled steel tanks manufactured by the Pfaudler Company of Rochester, New York.

Architecturally, the building was designed to resemble a medieval castle—part functional brewery, part marketing statement. Its bold, fortress-like appearance features a rusticated stone base made of Table Mountain sandstone, turrets, cannons, a mansard roof, and dungeon-style elements. The main construction material was brick laid in English bond.

Strategically positioned, the south-facing façade opened onto the newly completed railway line, the most vital transportation route of the time. The north side faced Beach Road, the beachfront, and the bathing pavilion.

Over time, the Castle Breweries site expanded. Silos and significant changes to the boiler house were introduced in the early 1930s, while a warehouse component was added in the late 1940s.

 6 Beach Road, Woodstock

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