Endangered Flavors: Preserving Sub-Saharan Brewing Traditions

This article originally appeared in the November/December 2024 issue of Zymurgy Magazine

By Lucy Corne

The judges’ decision is unanimous. The victorious beer is thick and creamy, with a perfect sweet-sour balance, completely opaque and ever so slightly chewy. The winning brewer, Itumeleng Motsoeneng, has been brewing for more than three decades, learning the skills from her grandmother, as is often the case with traditional African beer. Dressed in the traditional garb of South Sotho people, a wide grin on her face, she is crowned Best Brewer in the annual Umqombothi Brewing Competition in Johannesburg, South Africa.

It is one of the most challenging beer competitions I have ever judged. For a start, I’m still learning about the beer—its flavors and aromas, and most importantly, how to tell a good one from a great one. Umqombothi (pronounced um-kom-BOH-thee) has almost nothing in common with the beers you’d find at a typical BJCP competition. It has the consistency of a yogurt drink, but with added texture from the grains still in suspension. It comes not in hues of amber, gold, or black, but in a shade of pinkish brown, somewhat similar to the color of strong tea with generous splash of milk added.

The beer is topped with a foamy crown, but is served neither chilled nor carbonated, and it isn’t presented to judges in a glass, either. Traditionally, it would be drunk from a communal clay pot passed from drinker to drinker. For the purposes of this competition, though, each judge is equpped with a tin camping mug, which is half filled with thick and sour sorghum-based beer at each of the 16 brewer stands.

Access the full article in the November/December 2024 Zymurgy Magazine.

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