Tasting the local brew

We went to see one of the village brewers. These are all ladies. They brew a local beer using hops grown in South Africa. They add sogum and allow the brew to ferment for between one and three days, depending on how hot the weather is. They make batches of 25 litres at a time. When a batch is ready, the lady displays a yellow flag to indicate to everyone in the village that she has beer available to buy. People (both men and women) come to her brewhouse to drink. She charges 5 rand (about 30p) for a mug. The lady we met explained that she only learned how to brew when her husband died in 2003, and she needed to find a way to pay her bills and raise her children. We all tasted her brew. I have to say it’s an acquired taste! I did buy some to take back for Mark to try – I didn’t want him to miss out!!

As well as the yellow flags, there are other flags flown in the village. White indicates that someone has corn 🌽 beer ready, green denotes vegetables for sale, and red means that the house has meat available.Read more