Kaffir Beer

From The Brewers’ Journal – January 1898

KAFFIR BEER

Those who have studied books of travel on or have travelled in South Africa are familiar with that strong acid drink which is called Pombe or Kaffir beer.  Some few scientific data regarding it have already been published by Saare, who states that it is prepared from durra, a species of millet, growing wild in most parts of Africa.  Quite recently, Friedrich Reinitzer had an opportunity of examining a sample of this Kaffir beer, which was obtained from the Orange Free State, where it is brewed and largely consumed by the Kaffir races.  The preparation of the millet of Kaffir corn takes place before the brewing proper, and consists of crushing between stones and of chewing or mastication.  No particular yeast is added.  The product of Kaffir teeth and Kaffir grindstones is mixed with water and simply allowed to ferment by itself.  The sample described by F. Reinitzer is similar to that which was described by Saare.  It consisted of a thick milky white or even pale reddish coloured fluid, having a sour taste, which, through not exactly pleasant, could scarcely be considered disgusting.  The smell of this Kaffir beer closely resembles that of curdled milk.  It is more strongly acid.  When a portion of it was distilled, alcohol was obtained and a small quantity of acetic acid.  A microscopical examination showed the presence of many forms of bacteria, which appeared chiefly as thick and rather long rods, but there were some which were short and thick and even short and thin.  Most of the bacteria seemed to resemble the bacteria of acetic acid.  The beer also contained a copious amount of brown mildew spores and also mycelium remains, whilst a large ellipsoideus-like yeast was fairly plentiful.  Some of the yeast was isolated, and some fermentation experiments conducted with it.  From these it appears that the yeast belongs to the well-known Saaz type.  The analysis of the Kaffir beer was as follows:

The dry remainder contained 0·5 gm. Ash constituents, therefore 5·54 deg. Of ash in the dry substance.  Saccharometer value of the filtrate, 2·05 per cent.  Acids in the filtrate – 4·0, of which 5 per cent are volatile acids (acetic acid).  Alcohol in filtrate, 4·0 volumes per cent.  The ferment which brings about the alcoholic changes in Pombe certainly originates with the Kaffir millet, for Reinitzer has succeeded in isolating from durra the ellipsoideus-like Saaz yeast, mold yeasts also appear on the durra, and a saccharomyces of the Frohberg type, which in appearance distinguishes  itself from the smaller ellipsoidius kind in form and larger dimensions  Besides the yeasts there are also discovered on the durra lactic acid bacteria and of mildews: penicillium and fusisporium.  Mildews forming acetic acid were not found upon durra.

This paper may be found in the Wochenschrift für Brauerei, No. 39, p. 477.