The multitasking banana.........................

[Palm Dave]

One of the most unusual uses for bananas is beer.

Banana beer is an alcoholic beverage made from fermentation of mashed bananas. The alcohol content is about 4.8% alcohol by volume. This type of beer is produced and consumed in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. The leavening agent is sorghum or millet flour.

On August 11, 2003, Wells Banana Bread Beer won "Favourite beer for women" at the Great British Beer Festival.

In Kenya, banana beer is known as urwaga; in Uganda as lubisi.

Making:

Banana beer is made from ripe (but not over-ripe) bananas.[ To accelerate the ripening of bananas, a hole is dug in the ground, lined with dried banana leaves which are then set on fire. Fresh banana leaves are laid on top of them, and then the unripe bananas. These are then covered by more fresh banana leaves and trunks. After four to six days, the bananas are ripe enough. This method only works in the dry season. During the rainy season, bananas are ripened by putting them on a hurdle near a cooking fire.

There are two types of banana that is used for banana beer: the harsh tasting igikashi and the milder tasting igisahira. The banana beer mixture consists of one third igikashi and two thirds igisahira. The ripened bananas are then peeled. If they cannot be peeled by hand, they are not ripe enough. After peeling, the bananas are kneaded until soft. The juice is then filtered to get clear banana juice, which is then diluted by water. Sorghum is ground and lightly roasted, and then added to the juice. This mixture is left 24 hours to ferment and then filtered.

After filtering, the beer is packaged in glass or plastic bottles. In commercial production, the beer could be pasteurized first before packaging to stop fermentation and extend shelf life.

Commercial East Africa brands include:

Wells Banana Bread Beer

Mongozo Banana Beer

Raha

Palm Dave