One supposes that since the "enlightenment" and Mandela's Y-Fronts etc, that there are better brews available?
I think it all went downhill when they began using mielies to make Castle. Silly buggers even boasted about it on an advert. Ani fule no mielies are only used for sadza in order to grow rugby players to the proper size.
Lion no longer being made either. It was reintroduced for about six months using a "new, improved recipe" but the response wasn't good. Plenty of good brews around from smaller breweries now. SAB can't compete with their quality so they spend gazillions on advertising instead.
Drop by
Gilroy Natural Beers - Brewery, Restaurant, Bar, Beer Garden, if you're in town. Owned by a good mate. Great beer and having it served by his nubile daughters just makes it that much better.
WORT HOG BREWERS BEER BREWING CLUB - SOUTH AFRICA - BEER NATURALLY ! (HOMEPAGE) also worth a look. They have an annual tasting fest for members which usually ends up with everyone well oiled and wearing lampshades as hats by 2am. Braai relevance is that pig, ox and lamb on the spit are part of the festivities.
Windhoek and Tafel also reasonable brews if you can get the original stuff from Namibia, particularly the Tafel from Swakopmund (although it is filtered and pasteurised which detracts from the quality).