Report - Local Beer

LOCAL BEER

Some families brew their own beer as a source of income. During our visit to Ulida school, we were invited to learn how to make local beer.

The brewing of traditional beer is a common practice among Africans in rural areas. Varieties and types of beer depend on local customs and resources, therefore this recipe can differ from others. For instance, Thobwa is the classic Malawian soft drink with a milk look made mainly from fermentation of maize, but in our case we didn’t use maize but millet. This beer is similar to Tchouk – a traditional West African beverage that is traditionally made with water, millet, sugar and yeast.

Take the millet seeds, about 2 kg, and put it in a bowl of water. Cover the bowl and leave in a warm dry place for 2 to 3 days. When the seeds start to germinate then sieve your seeds out of the bowl and place in a tray to sun dry thoroughly.

After the seeds are thoroughly sun-dried, take it to a maize mill for processing into flour. Mix the millet flour with approximately 5 liters of water in a bowl.

Then transfer the mix into a big pot with boiled water (¾ of the pot) that it is already placed in firewood. Simmer it very well with a stick or a wood spoon.

After 3 hours cooking remove the pot from the fire and add 1 packet and a half of sugar. Now let it cool down for 30 to 40 minutes. When the temperature seems tepid, stir half a cup of yeast and ¾ kg of millet flour into the mixture. Cover the pot and keep it in a warm place for 1 day.

Voilà, it is ready to drink.

We didn’t have the opportunity to try, but someone told us that it tastes a bit like hard cider. It has a low alcohol content, and a high sugar content.

These kind of beers are very rich in calories, B-group vitamins including thiamine and folic acid, and essential amino acids.