Chibuku is a commercial sorghum beer based on the traditional

Umqombothi Umqombothi (), is a Xhosa traditional beer made from maize (corn), maize malt, sorghum malt, yeast and water. It is very rich in vitamin B. The beer has a rather low alcohol content (usually less than 3%) and is known to have a heavy and distinc ...

home made African beers, the main grains used are malted

sorghum ''Sorghum'' () is a genus of about 25 species of flowering plants in the grass family (Poaceae). Some of these species are grown as cereals for human consumption and some in pastures for animals. One species is grown for grain, while many othe ...

and

maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...

but may also contain

millet Millets () are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most species generally referred to as millets belong to the tribe Paniceae, but some millets al ...

The brand name

The name Chibuku comes from Max Heinrich's habit of recording all consumers' comments and process changes in a book, and Chibuku is an adaptation of the local word for "book" - "Chi" is the prefix meaning "big", "buk" = "book", and the terminal "u" is because most African nouns tend to end in a euphonic vowel. The shake-shake comes from the ritual of first shaking up the beer before taking the first sip. The beer contains starch, the germ and yeast (all normally removed in lagers and ales) and since the solids settle to the bottom of the carton, it needs to be shaken before sipping.

Alcohol content

The alcohol content in a fresh Chibuku is fairly low starting at about 0.5% ABV on day one, but as fermentation continues in the carton, the longer it is kept before drinking, the stronger it gets. It may achieve 4% ABV before the shelf-life expires after between 4 and 6 days after packaging.

The brand

Chibuku is a pan-African brand of opaque sorghum beer made by various brewers across Africa. Part of the reason for the success of the brand is the commercial brewing process with systems to ensure a consistent quality product that is safe for consumers. Chibuku is often the choice of less affluent consumers who can't afford bottled beer, and this may still be the case for many of the consumers in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi and Botswana. However there are also consumers in the emerging middle class who enjoy the beer as a preference, because of the taste and for the health connotations.

Production

Chibuku is now brewed across Africa by various brewers. * Botswana it is brewed by Botswana Breweries subsidiary of

Kgalagadi Breweries Limited Kgalagadi Breweries (Pty) Limited are brewers based in Gaborone, Botswana. They produce lager beers, traditional beers, bottled water and soft drinks under license. The brewery started out as Prinz Brau, with two brands, Prinz Brau and Prinz Del ...

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

Accra Accra (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ''Gaga'') is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , ...

Brewing Limited *

Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...

by Chibuku Products Ltd *

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

by Cervejas de Mocambique * South Africa by United National Breweries (SA) *

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

by Tanzania Breweries Ltd * Uganda by Nile Breweries Limited * Zambia by National Breweries PLC (Zambia) * Zimbabwe by

Delta Corporation The Delta Corporation is a beer and soft drink company of Zimbabwe. The company is headquartered in Harare and is listed on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange and its stock index, the Zimbabwe Industrial Index. Operations Delta's brand names include: * ...

- Chibuku was first brewed at a brewery in Fort Victoria in 1962.

References

{{reflist, 30em Beer in Africa Beer in South Africa SABMiller Sorghum African drinks South African cuisine Fermented drinks

The brand name

Alcohol content

The brand

Production

See also

References