{"id":1570,"date":"2015-03-13T19:20:49","date_gmt":"2015-03-13T19:20:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beer-syndicate.com\/blog\/?p=1570"},"modified":"2018-10-03T18:43:02","modified_gmt":"2018-10-03T18:43:02","slug":"native-beer-a-guide-to-indigenous-beer-around-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beersyndicate.com\/blog\/native-beer-a-guide-to-indigenous-beer-around-the-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Native Beer: A Guide to Indigenous Beer Around the World"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-1602\" title=\"Mbege (Beer)\" src=\"http:\/\/www.beersyndicate.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Mbege1.jpg\" alt=\"Mbege (Beer)\" width=\"329\" height=\"322\" srcset=\"https:\/\/beersyndicate.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Mbege1.jpg 401w, https:\/\/beersyndicate.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Mbege1-300x294.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 329px) 100vw, 329px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">At one point or another, all beer was native.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">It was regional. Indigenous. Communal. Domestic.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Nearly all cultures have their own version of beer based on whatever grain was around in the area at the time. \u00a0In Asia it was often rice, in Europe barley or wheat, millet in Africa, and in the Americas maize was common. \u00a0The only universally consistent components found in beer were grain, water, yeast and\/or bacteria. \u00a0The widespread use of hops in beer is only a historically recent occurrence beginning in about the 11<sup>th<\/sup> century in Europe, which is partly why hops\u00a0as an ingredient\u00a0is not typical seen in indigenous beer around the world.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">And with the craft beer renaissance in full swing at least in the U.S., don\u2019t be surprised if you happen across one of these exotic brews in the near future as modern brewers rediscover native beer.\u00a0 <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.dogfish.com\/brews-spirits\/the-brews\/brewpub-exclusives\/chicha.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Dogfish Head<\/a><\/span> already did a take on at least one of the old school brews <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.dogfish.com\/brews-spirits\/the-brews\/brewpub-exclusives\/history-of-past-years.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">below<\/a><\/span>, but the truth is that you don\u2019t have to wait for Dogfish Head to revive these not so well known brews&#8212; some of these traditional beers are so user-friendly, you could make them in our own home today!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">First we\u2019ll look at an old Slavic beer, then jump over to the New World for a few native treats, and finally swing back around to Africa to check out some tribal beers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Or you can do a choose-your-own-adventure tour and skip to whatever region interests you most by clicking below.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.beersyndicate.com\/blog\/?p=1570&amp;page=2&amp;preview=true\"><span style=\"color: #077048;\"><strong>Native Slavic Beer<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.beersyndicate.com\/blog\/?p=1570&amp;page=3&amp;preview=true\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><strong>Native Beer of the Americas<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; color: #800000;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #800000;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.beersyndicate.com\/blog\/?p=1570&amp;page=4&amp;preview=true\">African Native Beer<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><a class=\"twitter-follow-button\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/beersyndicate\" data-show-count=\"false\">Follow @beersyndicate<\/a><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><a class=\"twitter-share-button\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share\" data-url=\"http:\/\/www.beersyndicate.com\/blog\/native-beer-a-guide-to-indigenous-beer-around-the-world\/\" data-count=\"none\">Tweet<\/a><br \/>\n<script>\/\/ <![CDATA[ !function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=\/^http:\/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+':\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js';fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document, 'script', 'twitter-wjs'); \/\/ ]]><\/script><\/p>\n\n<p><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong>Native Slavic Beer<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.beersyndicate.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Mint_bread_kvas.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-1571 size-full\" title=\"Kvass (Slavic Beer)\" src=\"http:\/\/www.beersyndicate.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Mint_bread_kvas.jpg\" alt=\"Kvass (Slavic Beer)\" width=\"1024\" height=\"669\" srcset=\"https:\/\/beersyndicate.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Mint_bread_kvas.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/beersyndicate.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Mint_bread_kvas-300x196.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Kvass<\/strong>: <span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">This historic Slavic beverage was first mentioned over 1,000 years ago in the <em>Primary Chronicle<\/em> of Kievan Rus where it was noted that &#8216;food, honey in barrels, and <em>bread-kvass&#8217;<\/em> was served to mark the baptism of the Grand Prince of Kiev in 989 AD.\u00a0 Kvass was even rationed to soldiers who spread and popularized the fermentable throughout the region.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Today, kvass is still wildly popular in several Slavic countries, often found being sold from kvass trucks, similar to how you might see food trucks or hotdog stands in cities in the US.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.beersyndicate.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Kvass.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-1597\" title=\"Kvass Stand\" src=\"http:\/\/www.beersyndicate.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Kvass.jpg\" alt=\"Kvass Stand\" width=\"393\" height=\"282\" srcset=\"https:\/\/beersyndicate.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Kvass.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/beersyndicate.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Kvass-300x215.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 393px) 100vw, 393px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Like the historical reference to \u2018bread-kvass\u2019 suggests, kvass is typically made by adding several slices of toasted black or rye bread to boiled water, then tossing in some sugar and fruit (raisins, apples, lemon, strawberries, herbs or mint), and finally pitching the yeast once cooled yielding a weakly fermented beverage weighing in at around 1% ABV. \u00a0Many non-commercial examples of kvass are commonly soured with lactobacillus, which means it not only hits all the key points\u00a0on our basic definition of beer (grain, water, yeast and\/or bacteria), but kick up the ABV on this Soviet stimulant, and you can sign me up for a Barrel Aged Russian Imperial Kvass!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.beersyndicate.com\/blog\/?p=1570&amp;page=3&amp;preview=true\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><strong>Visit the New World<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; color: #800000;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #800000;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.beersyndicate.com\/blog\/?p=1570&amp;page=4&amp;preview=true\">On to Africa<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><a class=\"twitter-follow-button\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/beersyndicate\" data-show-count=\"false\">Follow @beersyndicate<\/a><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><a class=\"twitter-share-button\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share\" data-url=\"http:\/\/www.beersyndicate.com\/blog\/native-beer-a-guide-to-indigenous-beer-around-the-world\/\" data-count=\"none\">Tweet<\/a><br \/>\n<script>\/\/ <![CDATA[ !function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=\/^http:\/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+':\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js';fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document, 'script', 'twitter-wjs'); \/\/ ]]><\/script><\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong>Native Beer of the Americas<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-1572 alignleft\" title=\"Chicha de Jora (Beer)\" src=\"http:\/\/www.beersyndicate.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Chicha_de_jora.jpg\" alt=\"Chicha de Jora (Beer)\" width=\"152\" height=\"199\" \/>Chicha<\/strong>: <span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Chicha can be found in most Central and South America countries.\u00a0 But when talking about chicha, it\u2019s important to distinguish between the alcoholic grain based chicha (beer), and other types of alcoholic chicha which can be made from different kinds of fruit and\/or roots. There are also non-alcoholic varieties of chicha depending on the country or region.\u00a0 Now, it\u2019s unclear exactly where the word \u201cchicha\u201d came from, but it\u2019s suggested that it originally meant something like \u201cfermented beverage\u201d or \u201cmaize\u201d, and perhaps this loose definition is the reason why chicha doesn\u2019t refer <em>only<\/em> to a grain based beverage.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Naturally, the chicha that we\u2019re interested in is the beer variety called <em>chicha de jora<\/em>, which is a corn (maize) based chicha.\u00a0 \u00a0But if you know a little Spanish, you know that \u201cjora\u201d doesn\u2019t exactly mean \u201ccorn\u201d; \u201ccorn\u201d translates to \u201cma\u00edz\u201d.\u00a0 One translation of \u201cjora\u201d is \u201cmaize specially prepared for making high-grade chicha\u201d, or more accurately, corn that has been germinated and dried (i.e. malted); therefore &#8220;jora&#8221; is probably best translated as &#8220;malted corn&#8221;. \u00a0It\u2019s also implied that the corn is grown in the Andes Mountains. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-1573 alignright\" title=\"Maiz Jora\" src=\"http:\/\/www.beersyndicate.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/maiz-jora.jpg\" alt=\"Maiz Jora\" width=\"114\" height=\"174\" \/>You can even buy <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.tienda.com\/food\/products\/l-vg-11-3.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">jora corn (ma\u00edz jora)<\/a><\/span> that is coarsely ground and specifically made for brewing chicha at home, similar to how you\u2019d buy milled malted barley or wheat in a homebrew shop.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Most chicha de jora is brewed very similarly to how standard beer is made: the malted yellow corn is mashed, the wort is then collected, boiled, chilled and then fermented, resulting in a beer with an ABV between 1-3%.\u00a0 But in some versions (which I\u2019ll call \u2018<em>chicha de saliva<\/em>\u2019), the malted corn is excluded from the recipe in favor of actually chewing up ground corn and forming little mushy corn cakes in the mouth.\u00a0 After that, the chewed up spit-cakes are laid out on flat pans where enzymes in the saliva convert the starches in the corn to sugars over the course of about 12 hours.\u00a0 From that point, the spit-cakes are mashed, the wort is collected, boiled, cooled, and then fermented.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Officially, this tradition saliva-laden version of chicha is called Chicha de Muko (&#8220;muko&#8221; is the\u00a0Quechua word for &#8220;chewed flour&#8221;.)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Being the off-centered bunch they are, of course <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2009\/09\/09\/dining\/09beer.html?pagewanted=all&amp;_r=1&amp;\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Dogfish Head had to brew a version of <em>chicha de saliva<\/em><\/a><\/span>, although they added barley malt, peppercorns, and some fruit to their recipe.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><strong>Tesg\u00fcino (tesguino)<\/strong>: Traditional beer of the mountainous Tarahumara (Rar\u00e1muri) Native Americans of the northwestern Mexican state of Chihuahua, tesg\u00fcino is an astringent corn (maize) based beer which is communally brewed and heavily consumed especially <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.npr.org\/templates\/story\/story.php?storyId=4532569\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">during the week of Easter<\/a><\/span>.\u00a0 Corn kernels are first malted by allowing them to germinate in cold water for about five days, dried, coarsely crushed, and then mashed with indigenous leaves, bark, and\/or grasses for saccharification (i.e. the conversion of the starch in the corn into sugars necessary for fermentation). \u00a0The wort is then boiled for several hours, cooled, and fermented. \u00a0Tesguino is strongly associated with spiritualism, and is considered a divine beverage with healing properties.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><strong>Tiswin<\/strong>: To disambiguate from tesg\u00fcino a bit, some Spanish speakers from Sonora Mexico (just west of Chihuahua) may be familiar with a similar sounding and tasting corn based beer called <em>tiswin<\/em> (also sometimes spelled teswino, teswin, or tizwin).\u00a0 \u00a0Tiswin is commonly sold by street vendors in Sonora Mexico, however tiswin is made slightly differently than the Tarahumara tesg\u00fcino, and has very little if any spiritual association. \u00a0Tiswin is made with piloncillo (unrefined brown sugar), and dry toasted corn kernels instead of malted corn found in tesg\u00fcino, similar to how chicha de saliva uses coarsely ground corn whereas chicha de jora calls for malted corn.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-1575 alignright\" title=\"Tejuino Beer\" src=\"http:\/\/www.beersyndicate.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Tejuino.jpg\" alt=\"Tejuino Beer\" width=\"207\" height=\"233\" \/><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Tejuino<\/span><\/strong><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">: There is yet another similar sounding corn based alcoholic beverage from the small Mexican state of Colima called tejuino which is made with corn dough like the kind used for tamales and tortillas.\u00a0 Tejuino is closer in taste to tiswin as both typically include piloncillo or brown sugar, however tejuino is also served with lime juice, a bit of salt and topped with shaved ice.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">One last FYI about tiswin: the Tohono O\u2019odham people of the Sonoran Desert also produce a fermented beverage called tiswin, but this tiswin is more of a wine (not beer) made from saguaro cactus fruit, and does not contain corn.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><strong>Pissionia<\/strong>: This lesser known wheat beer was brewed by the Yuma Indians, or Quechan, of the southwestern U.S. who lived around the Colorado River Valley in parts of Arizona and Colorado near Mexico.\u00a0 According to beer writer Randy Mosher, \u201cIt was made by roasting wheat to a light brown color over a charcoal fire, then crushing the kernels and fermenting the mash.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.beersyndicate.com\/blog\/?p=1570&amp;page=4&amp;preview=true\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><strong>On to Africa<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><span style=\"color: #077048;\"><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.beersyndicate.com\/blog\/?p=1570&amp;page=2&amp;preview=true\">Journey to the Slavic Lands<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><a class=\"twitter-follow-button\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/beersyndicate\" data-show-count=\"false\">Follow @beersyndicate<\/a><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><a class=\"twitter-share-button\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share\" data-url=\"http:\/\/www.beersyndicate.com\/blog\/native-beer-a-guide-to-indigenous-beer-around-the-world\/\" data-count=\"none\">Tweet<\/a><br \/>\n<script>\/\/ <![CDATA[ !function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=\/^http:\/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+':\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js';fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document, 'script', 'twitter-wjs'); \/\/ ]]><\/script><br \/>\n<!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong>African Native Beer<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-1602 alignright\" title=\"Mbege Beer\" src=\"http:\/\/www.beersyndicate.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Mbege1.jpg\" alt=\"Mbege Beer\" width=\"287\" height=\"281\" srcset=\"https:\/\/beersyndicate.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Mbege1.jpg 401w, https:\/\/beersyndicate.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Mbege1-300x294.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 287px) 100vw, 287px\" \/>Mbege<\/strong>:\u00a0 <span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Traditional fruit brew of the Chagga people of Tanzania, this sweet and sour beer\u2019s not so secret ingredient is banana. \u00a0\u00a0When brewing mbege, first bananas are mashed up and cooked in a pot for six hours, cooled, and left out to spontaneously ferment in the open for seven days.\u00a0 The now alcoholic banana juice is strained and combined with finger millet flour and bittered with quinine bark flour from the msesewe tree.\u00a0 This mixture is then left out to re-ferment for another day before serving.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">For a homebrew version of this beer, check out this recipe from the <a href=\"http:\/\/epic-curiousity.com\/2014\/06\/mbege-baby-brewing-banana-beer.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Epic-Curiosity blog<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Or just buy a bottle of Wells Banana Bread Beer, and you\u2019ll get the general idea.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-1628 alignnone\" title=\"Wells Banana Bread Beer\" src=\"http:\/\/www.beersyndicate.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Wells-Banana-Bread-Beer.jpg\" alt=\"Wells Banana Bread Beer\" width=\"230\" height=\"222\" srcset=\"https:\/\/beersyndicate.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Wells-Banana-Bread-Beer.jpg 495w, https:\/\/beersyndicate.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Wells-Banana-Bread-Beer-300x290.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 230px) 100vw, 230px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Pombe (pomb\u00e9 or phombe)<\/strong>: <span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Pombe is Swahili for \u201cbeer\u201d, and in this case is a type of traditional East African millet beer made from sorghum, bran, corn, and sugar. Here\u2019s British explorer Richard Francis Burton\u2019s description of pombe when he encountered it\u00a0in the late 1850\u2019s:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">\u201cIt is usually made as follows: half of the grain\u2014holcus , panicum [types of grass], or both mixed&#8211;intended for the brew is buried or soaked in water till it sprouts; it is then pounded and mixed with the other half, also reduced to flour, and sometimes with a little honey. The compound is boiled twice or thrice in huge pots, strained, when wanted clear, through a bag of matting, and allowed to ferment: after the third day it becomes as sour as vinegar.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Some recipes call for adding banana to pombe, as described in the book <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Sacred and Herbal Healing Beers<\/span> by Stephen Harrod Buhne, but this seems to reflect more the mbege beer of the Wachagga (or Chagga) people of Tanzania than traditional pombe.\u00a0 A commercial beer from Kenya called \u201cPomba\u201d is also brewed with bananas.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">On a somber side note, homebrewed pombe was recently involved in the deaths of <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/davidkroll\/2015\/01\/12\/what-is-crocodile-bile-and-is-it-really-poisonous\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">75 people and the hospitalization of another 177<\/a> <\/span>who were attending a funeral in Mozambique back in January of this year.\u00a0 It was originally suggested that crocodile bile was used as the lethal toxin in the brew as the substance is believed to be a powerful poison among Bantu-speaking people.\u00a0 However, this belief is more of an urban ledged according to Zimbabwean pharmacologist, Norman Z. Nyazema, Ph.D, who proved back in the 1980s that <a href=\"http:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/davidkroll\/2015\/01\/14\/crocodile-bile-or-toxic-pesticide-mozambique-death-toll-at-73-from-tainted-beer\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">crocodile bile has no poisonous properties whatsoever<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0 The toxicology report is not yet complete, but based on the symptoms (diarrhea and gastrointestinal distress), Nyazema speculates the cause to be an organophosphate pesticide like parathion which is used in farming areas around the region and is highly toxic to humans.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">On a less somber note, a special type of fission yeast was isolated from and named after the East African millet beer: schizosaccharomyces pombe.\u00a0 The yeast itself is said to not perform well at least with European style beers as it tends to produce <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"http:\/\/www-bcf.usc.edu\/~forsburg\/main.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">increasingly noticeable sulfur characteristics<\/a> <\/span>over time and is generally considered to be a spoilage organism in wine.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Umqombothi<\/strong>: <span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">This popular thick sour beer comes to us from the Xhosa people of South Africa and is brewed with equal parts maize meal, malted corn, and crushed sorghum malt. Weighing in at around 3% ABV, umqombothi starts out by mixing the grains with four parts water in a pot and allowing spontaneous fermentation to occur overnight, similar to making a sour mash.\u00a0 The next day, a portion of the wort is removed and the remaining mash is boiled down further until a crust forms, which is then left to cool for a day.\u00a0 The set aside wort is then added back to the mash where additional sorghum and malted corn is added and the pot is left in a warm place to continue fermentation for about 8 hours.\u00a0 The beer is then separated from the mash and poured into a communal drum for drinking.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Umqombothi is traditionally drank to mark special occasions, especially the return of young Xhosa men after they\u2019ve been ritualistically circumcised.\u00a0 That had better be some pretty darn good umqombothi!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">There\u2019s even a pop song named after Umqombothi.\u00a0 It\u2019s performed by Yvonne Chaka Chaka. \u00a0Seriously. It\u2019s got like half a million hits on YouTube.\u00a0 Chaka Chaka it out, bru.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Z07zZeeRZ-o\" width=\"420\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.beersyndicate.com\/blog\/?p=1570&amp;page=2&amp;preview=true\"><span style=\"color: #077048;\"><strong>Journey to the Slavic Lands<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.beersyndicate.com\/blog\/?p=1570&amp;page=3&amp;preview=true\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><strong>Visit the New World<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">If this is the last stop on your\u00a0whirlwind tour around the world in our quest for native beer, I hope you had a little fun and perhaps might be inspired to search out some of these exotic beverages for yourself, or better yet, keep their spirits alive by brewing them in your own home!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Gesondheid!<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n\n<p><em>Like this blartical?<\/em><em>\u00a0 Well, thanks- you\u2019re far too kind. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Tweet-worthy? \u00a0That would be very kind of you<\/em>:\u00a0<a class=\"twitter-share-button\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share\" data-url=\"http:\/\/www.beersyndicate.com\/blog\/native-beer-a-guide-to-indigenous-beer-around-the-world\/\" data-count=\"none\">Tweet<\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>Want to read more beer inspired thoughts?\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0Come back any time,\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/beersyndicate\">friend us<\/a><\/em><\/span>\u00a0on Facebook,\u00a0or follow us on Twitter:<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"twitter-follow-button\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/beersyndicate\" data-show-count=\"false\">Follow @beersyndicate<\/a><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><em>Or feel free to drop me a line at:\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>dan@beersyndicate.com<\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p>Hi, I\u2019m Dan: Beer Editor for\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beersyndicate.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">BeerSyndicate.com<\/a><\/span>, Beer and Drinking Blogger, Gold Medal-Winning Homebrewer, Beer Reviewer, AHA Member, Beer Judge, Beer Traveler, and Shameless Beer Promoter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>At one point or another, all beer was native. It was regional. Indigenous. Communal. Domestic. Nearly all cultures have their own version of beer based on whatever grain was around in the area at the time. \u00a0In Asia it was often rice, in Europe barley or wheat, millet in Africa, and in the Americas maize [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[34,139,30],"tags":[377,360,418,363,364,1215,1216,365,214,366,419,424,383,416,358,376,1217,463,359,362,379,375,378,374,421,422,357,361,373,372,367,370,369,368,371,380,420,423,417,382],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v14.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\r\n<title>Native Beer: A Guide to Indigenous Beer Around the World - Beer Syndicate Blog<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A brief look at culturally\u00a0indigenous &quot;native beer&quot; of the world like Chicha, Tiswin, Kvass, Mbege, Umqombothi, Pombe, Chagga,\u00a0Tesguino, Pissionia, and more. \u00a0\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"googlebot\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"bingbot\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/www.beer-syndicate.com\/blog\/native-beer-a-guide-to-indigenous-beer-around-the-world\/\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"next\" href=\"http:\/\/www.beer-syndicate.com\/blog\/native-beer-a-guide-to-indigenous-beer-around-the-world\/2\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Native Beer: A Guide to Indigenous Beer Around the World - Beer Syndicate Blog\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A brief look at culturally\u00a0indigenous &quot;native beer&quot; of the world like Chicha, Tiswin, Kvass, Mbege, Umqombothi, Pombe, Chagga,\u00a0Tesguino, Pissionia, and more. \u00a0\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/www.beer-syndicate.com\/blog\/native-beer-a-guide-to-indigenous-beer-around-the-world\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Beer Syndicate Blog\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/beersyndicate\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-03-13T19:20:49+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-10-03T18:43:02+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.beer-syndicate.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Mbege1.jpg\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@beersyndicate\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@beersyndicate\" \/>\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beersyndicate.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/beersyndicate.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Beer Syndicate Blog\",\"description\":\"Shamelessly Promoting Beer\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":\"https:\/\/beersyndicate.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\",\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.beer-syndicate.com\/blog\/native-beer-a-guide-to-indigenous-beer-around-the-world\/#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.beersyndicate.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Mbege1.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.beer-syndicate.com\/blog\/native-beer-a-guide-to-indigenous-beer-around-the-world\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.beer-syndicate.com\/blog\/native-beer-a-guide-to-indigenous-beer-around-the-world\/\",\"name\":\"Native Beer: A Guide to Indigenous Beer Around the World - Beer Syndicate Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beersyndicate.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.beer-syndicate.com\/blog\/native-beer-a-guide-to-indigenous-beer-around-the-world\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2015-03-13T19:20:49+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-10-03T18:43:02+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beersyndicate.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/9113e2c99fafc75818eb0ab41bb315c6\"},\"description\":\"A brief look at culturally\\u00a0indigenous \\\"native beer\\\" of the world like Chicha, Tiswin, Kvass, Mbege, Umqombothi, Pombe, Chagga,\\u00a0Tesguino, Pissionia, and more. \\u00a0\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"http:\/\/www.beer-syndicate.com\/blog\/native-beer-a-guide-to-indigenous-beer-around-the-world\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beersyndicate.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/9113e2c99fafc75818eb0ab41bb315c6\",\"name\":\"Daniel J. 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