For a country of 47 million people and one of the best breweries in East Africa, you would wonder why Kenyans love Tanzanian beer so much. Kenyan partakers of the unholy drink spare no cost to enjoy good moments imbibing their favourite frothy drink. However, some have developed a strong liking for Tanzanian beer. During the weekend, they drive miles to Namanga along the Kenyan-Tanzanian border to enjoy a treat by Tanzanian brewery.
One of the popular joints at the border is a beehive of activities from Friday evening to Sunday night. Most revellers are city dwellers who spare no cost to enjoy their favourite foreign frothy drink. What’s special about Tanzanian beer? Read on.
Table of Contents
Why Kenyans Love Tanzanian Beer
For starters, you’re missing out on one of the greatest party treats if you haven’t tasted the frothy waters from Tanzania. The most popular beer brands include:
- Kilimanjaro Lager
- Safari Lager
- Serengeti Lager
These three beers are why Kenyans love Tanzanian beer. Here’s what makes them so special for men and women in East Africa’s most industrious country.
1. Smoothness and Crispiness
Serengeti Lager is one of the most popular Tanzanian beer consumed by Kenyans. Photo/Torch Media TZ
Their production process combines specific ingredients and professional brewing methods to produce smooth and crispy beer. Here is a breakdown that leads to the production of smooth and crispy beer which is a major score for the brewery in Tanzania.
Spring Water
Tanzanian breweries use spring water for their production. The result is a smooth beer with a refreshing taste. Spring water is purer than normal water. It goes through a natural filtration process and contains more minerals such as calcium, potassium and magnesium. Beer produced using spring water is smoother because there is no chemical purification of water.
Use of Local Ingredients
Beer production in Tanzania includes three commonly used ingredients: consisting of barley malt, sorghum and maize. Sorghum produces beer that features low body texture and smoothness compared to pure barley-based beer. Maize provides a dry touch and crispiness.
Brewing Techniques
Breweries in Tanzania follow long-duration brewing procedures of bottom-fermented yeasts under cooler temperature conditions. The fermentation at cooler temperatures produces cleaner flavours than ale fermentation at warmer temperatures does. That’s why Kenyans love Tanzanian beer.
Carbonation Levels
Beers produced in Tanzania achieve their refreshing taste by maintaining medium to strong levels of carbonation. Correctly managed carbonation enables flavour elevation while delivering an active and enjoyable drinking sensation.
2. No Hangovers
A couple enjoying Kilimanjaro beer. Photo/Tranquil Kilimanjaro
Religious partakers of the unholy water despise hangovers characterized by throbbing headaches, dry mouth, loss of appetite and diarrhoea for others. However, lagers are easy on the body. Lagers from this Swahili nation along the East African coast are light. They have no hangover, a major reason why Kenyans love Tanzanian beer.
Chemically, lagers possess lower alcohol by volume (ABV) percentages compared to stronger beers. They don’t dehydrate the body as much. Secondly, a lager beer has little to no congeners. Congeners are the impurities produced during the fermentation process. Alcoholic drinks with a high congener percentage is likely to give you a severe headache.
3. Affordability
Rooftop Lounge in Namanga along the Kenyan-Tanzanian Border It’s the most famous joint that Kenyans flock to to enjoy Tanzanian beer. Photo/Tinga on X
Affordability is an indisputable fact explaining why Kenyans love Tanzanian beer. A 500ml bottle of your favourite Tanzanian beer costs 2000 Tanzanian shillings (100 Kenya shillings). In Kenya, the cheapest 500 ml bottle of beer costs Ksh 250 and this is in some local, dingy bar. Comparatively, Tanzania sells you beer cheaply in uptown clubs for Ksh100. Wouldn’t you also drive down to Namanga every weekend and have as many beers as your body can accommodate?
With Ksh 1000 in Namanaga, you’re sure of 10 bottles of Serengeti Lager or Kilimanjaro Lager. In Kenya, the same amount will only buy you three polite beers. Therefore, it suffices to state the cost of the beer is a big reason why Kenyans love Tanzanian beers and flock to Namanga during the weekend and public holidays.
Affordability is a major reason why Kenyans flock to the Tanzanian border for their favourite beer. Ksh1000 gets you 10 bottles of smooth and crispy beer in Namanga while you can only get three bottles of beer with the same amount in Kenya. Further, Tanzanian beers are light hence, easy on the body’s metabolism. They have no crazy hangovers like with some Kenyan beers produced wholly from barley and sold for the price of three Tanzanian beers.
