Kenyan Beers & Brews

The brewing of beer in Kenya dates back to 1922, when British colonists started up a business that became Kenya Breweries. Bottled beer was reserved for sale to whites until 1947. But beer has shed its colonial image and is now embraced by most Kenyans. Some of the beers you can enjoy include:
 

TUSKER

Refresh Your Roots

Tusker is the most popular beer in Kenya. The name TUSKER came about as a memoriam following the death of George Hurst a co-founder of Kenya Breweries Ltd who was killed by an elephant during a hunting expedition in 1922. TUSKER is brewed from 100% African ingredients that are all locally sourced; the barley is from the Savannah and the Maasai Mara, the spring water is from the Aberdare Mountains and all the yeast is developed locally which means that you feel closely connected to the brand's origins and roots.

Tusker is available in a 500ml bottle, 330/500ml can & 30/50-litre Keg.

Pilsner Lager

Imara kama samba

Pilsner Lager style of brewing is inspired by the original process of brewing the first Pilsner in Eastern Europe. Through the years, East African brew masters have maintained this unique process which involves cold filtering the beer giving it that superior liquid clarity and authentic taste.

Senator Lager

Changing ordinary lives

Known officially as Senator Keg (Obama beer), the Kenyan brew honors its namesake in a country where most competitors are either illegal or unaffordable. Senator Lager is an affordable high quality non malted beer available in a 50 litre Keg format in Kenya and 500ml brown bottle and 50 litre Keg in Uganda.

White Cap Lager

When you know what you want in a beer

White Cap Lager is named after the magnificent snow capped Mount Kenya. Boasting of consistent quality, White Cap is unique and full of character. It is the connoisseur's beer.

White Cap Lager comes in a 500ml brown bottle.


There is also Brew Bistro & Lounge which serves as a shop window for Ladak’s Big Five Breweries where he makes his own beers in small batches of 1,000 liters at a time. The brewery itself is little more than a corridor but it is very much the heart of the operation, encased in glass walls so that bar patrons and restaurant diners can see half a dozen chrome fermenting vessels, stacked kegs and a variety of other strange shiny objects that turn malted barley or wheat, hops, yeast and water into beer. Pipes and hoses snake across the slick tiled floor. Tasters in white lab coats check the new brews, holding a glass up to the light and taking a small sip.

The brewery name, Big Five, refers to the safari animals once prized by hunters and now by tourists, and Ladak has named his five staple beers after their Swahili names.There is “Chui” (leopard) a German-styled kolsch, “Simba” (lion) a pilsner, “Tembo” (elephant) a dark stout, “Kifaru” (rhino) a Belgian-style bock and “Nyati” (buffalo) an American-style IPA. The beers vary in strength from 4.8 percent to 6.5 percent alcohol. There also is usually at least one seasonal beer, which for Easter will be a dangerously strong 9 percent.







It is a Natural Beer, Sugar Free, and Truly Kenyan!! Introduced in October 2008 as the first brand of Keroche Breweries
it is a well-proportioned bottom-fermented lager beer with a flavor of hops, grains, and water. The aroma is that of sweet malt, grainy smell with a sweet and light taste . Ideally, should be enjoyed at 7-10°C.





Other not so famous Brews

Their Story:

From time immemorial, every African community has rotated around traditional drinks. No celebration or function is complete without a ceremoniously prepared pot of Busaa or Mnazi or Muratina or Maasai drink Ormaiwua. Story telling, circumcision ceremonies or marriage negotiations in the village only became meaningful when there was a generous flow of drinks.

Colonialism introduced foreign drinks to Africa. Liquor laws were enacted banning “natives” from consuming bottled beer, or issuing Africans with liquor licences, preferring to allow indulgences during specific ceremonies and rites on the strength of a letter from a stern-faced chief. Traditional brews were deemed “illicit” since their distillation and lack of packaging fell outside government and public health regulations.

Muratina
Muratina is a Kikuyu traditional  brew,  named from the fruit of the Muratina tree of which it is made from. Every one has their own perception of what this all important alcoholic beverage is about whether the perception is good or bad no one can dispute the centrality of Muratina in Kikuyu culture, nearly all social occasions were graced by this drink.

The ingredients used in manufacture of this drink are sugar cane and a Kenyan fruit called muratina. The fruits are first cut into pieces and dried in the sun. The fruits are then are boiled in water. After boiling the fruits are again sun dried after that sugarcane juice is added to it and kept in a warm place for a day. Again the fruits are sun dried and finally mixed with a lot of sugar cane juice and kept for fermentation for around four days. The taste of Muratina is little bit sour and has the typical alcoholic odor.

Mnazi
Mnazi or palm wine is  a favourite drink along the coast where coconuts grow and another type of palm (the doum palm) provides a different variety called mukoma.The milky palm wine has a strong smell and is one of the 40 by-products of the coconut tree. It is usually harvested early morning or late afternoon.Though bitter and sour, mnazi leaves an almost sickly sweet residue in your mouth. it is generally loved due to its social nature and groups of people will often be seen sitting together and sipping the brew while engrossed in talk on politics, the weather and other local issues

Busaa
This is a traditional beer made from finger millet malt and is consumed in many parts of the country though rampant in the Western region. Traditionally, elders drunk busaa with a lot of dignity and respect. The local beer was not just taken anywhere anyhow by anybody. Only on rare occasions would elders be seen taking busaa for leisure. In such cases a person would invite friends and serve them busaa for free (kesiyotelo).

In such drinking sessions the eldest person in the group was supposed to seat near the door. The reason for this was that an elder would know each person who enters to join them; at times such a person would frequent to go out for short call so he is put near the door for easier exit.

The milky palm wine has a strong smell and is one of the 40 by-products of the coconut tree
Read more at: http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/?incl=SendToFriend&title=Mnazi%20brewing%20brings%20power%20to%20the%20people&id=1144017706&cid=470&articleID=1144017706