Beer in Africa
Beer in Africa, especially lager, is produced commercially in most African countries, and indigenous people also make varieties of beer. Beer is served in various locales, from neighbourhood shebeens to upscale bars. Many countries have standardized beer bottle sizes, which are cleaned and re-used, so when buying beer at a store, people often must pay a deposit on the bottle and the price of the beer. An alternative to glass-bottle beers is local beer sold in tetra-pak style paper cartons.
South Africa consumes the most beer of any African country, with an average of 60 liters per person annually.
Indigenous beers
Traditional beer brewing is a common practice among Africans in rural areas. Varieties and types of beer depend on local customs and resources. Among beers brewed locally are ginger beers and honey beers.United National Breweries, amongst others, produces Johannesburg beer, and the popular, if stigmatized, Chibuku beer is popular throughout Southern African countries.
In South Africa and Botswana, sorghum malt is an important ingredient. Elsewhere, maize is the primary ingredient, and the beer is more commonly known as opaque beer.
Central Africa
Cameroon
The most popular brands are Castel and 33 Export, and in larger cities, Beaufort, Beaufort Lite, Mützig Lager, Guinness, Guinness Foreign Extra Stout, and Guinness Smooth can be found. Local brews include palm wine in the southern part of the country and millet beer called bil-bil in the north.Congo (Brazzaville)
Ngok is a popular beer only available in Congo, which makes it a popular choice to sneak across the border to DRC. Its logo is a crocodile.Congo (DRC)
Most beers in Congo are brewed by Heineken, with the most popular being Primus.Gabon
Régab is the most widely distributed domestically brewed beer in Gabon.Eastern Africa
Ethiopia
Beer has been widely consumed in Ethiopia for a while, and as a result, the country enjoys a variety of beer brands. The most popular of these brands is St. George Beer, the country's oldest brewery, established in 1922. More recently, introducing foreign beer brands like Heineken has created a lot of competition in the market, increasing investment in the farming sector. This influx of capital has led the country to be more self-sufficient in such areas as malt production. Heineken's parent company acquired and rebranded many traditional Ethiopian brands including Meta, Harar, and Bedele.Some of the best Ethiopian brands include:
- Meta
- Bedele
- Dashen
- Habesha
- Harar
- Walia Beer
- Raya Beer
- St. George Beer
Eritrea
Kenya
Tusker, brewed by Kenya Breweries Limited, is Kenya's most popular beer. Popularly known as "Keroro" beer, Tusker is a source of Kenyan pride highlighted in the late 1990s when East African Breweries waged a marketing war against Castle Breweries, a subsidiary of international brewing giant SABMiller. In this media campaign, Castle, which had constructed a multimillion-dollar brewery in the industrial town of Thika, was depicted as foreign and uncommitted to Kenya. The prolonged marketing wars ended in 2002 when the two brewers reached a settlement in which they divided the beer market in East Africa among themselves. Castle agreed to exit Kenya, and EABL decided to leave the Tanzanian market to the SABMiller subsidiary.Tanzania
Beer is an integral part of Tanzanian society, and local brands hold a strong sense of national pride and economic value. Tanzania is the sixth-largest per-capita consumer of beer in Africa.Over 90% of beer consumption is of homemade-style brews; however the most recognizable bottled brands include:
- Kilimanjaro Premium Lager
- Serengeti Premium Lager
- Ndovu Premium Malt
- Uhuru Peak Lager
- safari lager
- Eagle
- Chibuku
Rwanda
Uganda
A southern Uganda beer is Nile Special, produced in and distributed from Jinja, the source of the Nile at Lake Victoria.Club, Bell Lager, Eagle, Guinness, and Tusker are others.
Northern Africa
Egypt
The leading local brand is called Stella. Other brands on the market include Meister, Luxor and Sakara, and the non-alcoholic Birell and Desperados.Morocco
Southern Africa
, so-called by the need to shake the carton before drinking it, is a commercial umqombothi brewed by Chibuku and remains a popular beer in Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Malawi. Chibuku Shake Shake is made from a mix of sorghum and maize. In Zimbabwe, it is known as "scud". It is sold in paper cartons or brown plastic containers with a wide blue lid. It is thought to be a drink for lower-class people. This thick brown millet beer costs less than a dollar and is shaken vigorously before drinking it because of its thick layer of sediment collected on the bottom of the carton. It has a robust yeast flavor that a lemony tang offsets. Standard practice is to slurp any remaining sediment at the bottom of the container.Botswana
, a subsidiary of SAB Miller, produces St Louis. The traditional St Louis Special Light has a 3.5% v/v alcohol content. Due to the popularity of the St Louis brand, KBL has recently introduced an alcohol-free St Louis 24 at 0% v/v and St Louis Premium Export lager 4.5% v/v. St Louis Lager and St Louis Export have been awarded a Silver Quality Award at the coveted World Quality Selections, organized by Monde Selection.Madagascar
is the national beer in Madagascar. Brasserie Star brews it. It is colloquially called "THB".Malawi
has its own Carlsberg brewery. Officially opened on 14 December 1968, Carlsberg Malawi Brewery Limited was the first Carlsberg brewery outside Denmark. Its brands include Green, a stout lager; Elephant, a strong lager; and Kuche Kuche, Malawi's traditional beer.Mauritius
Phoenix Beverages produce a local lager called Phoenix Beer; one premium lager known as Gister ; two strong lagers - Phoenix Special Brew and Blue Marlin ; and a pale lager called Stella Pils. They are also licensed to brew Guinness and Warsteiner since 2003. They also brew Three Horses beer for export to Madagascar under license.Recently, Universal Breweries Ltd has begun operating. They produce a local lager-style beer called Black Eagle and a strong lager called Black Eagle Xtra. Universal Breweries was defunct in 2008, bought by Stag Beverages in 2009, and itself went defunct in 2014.
In 2012, Flying Dodo Brewing Company opened the first craft brewery on the island.