The Brews of Tanzania

Tanzania - or East Africa for that matter - isn't exactly known for it's alcohol. There's not much in the way of native brews, but what they do have tastes alright and tends to be cheap.

Kilimanjaro
This is a lager, and most East African beers are. Really not the climate for a stiff IPA or a stout. I wasn't that impressed the first time I had it, but it seemed to get better with each bottle.

The Brits and I slammed down 3 of these at The Arusha Hotel after the climb. Damn if it didn't taste good then, and a 500mL bottle of 4.5% ABV felt pretty good too.

Safari

Yet another lager. I liked this one more than Kilimanjaro. It's stronger too (5.5% ABV).

I had one of these while watching World Cup at Mang's in Nungwi. I don't know if it was just a special for the game, but local beers were only 2000 TSH each (about $1.40). Screaming good bargain.

Tusker
This is actually a Kenyan beer, but was readily available everywhere I went. It's alright.

Castle

The label says "Premium African Lager" and it's actually from South Africa. It's a SABMiller brand, so with that kind of muscle behind it it's not hard to find either. (The ads were practically inescapable during World Cup coverage.)

The waitress at Z Hotel's lounge pronounced it "KASS-tull" which I thought was kinda cute.

Again, this wasn't bad. Not my favorite, but I did have more than one.

Konyagi

I bought a small bottle of this at a market near Z Hotel. I didn't know quite what it was, other than that it was a.) liquor b). local, and c) 70 proof. The back label is in Swahili and all I can make out is "watanzania" (of Tanzania) and "citrus" is in quotes. The shopkeeper seemed amused that a mzungu would buy it.

A 200ml bottle was 5,000 TSH ($3.50) so definitely a cheap thrill. There are flames on the label. Hmmm. Tanzanian white lightning?

I had a sip in the room and it wasn't nearly as bad as I expected. I was bracing for something that could strip varnish, and it was actually pretty decent.

It's a hard tipple to classify. It's made from molasses, so it's technically a rum, but it's flavored a bit like gin. Konyagi calls it a "specialty liquor." I've read where others describe it as tasting like a tamer version of Captain Morgan spiced rum. It mixes reasonably well with Coke, so it's earned a place in my liquor cabinet. There is supposedly a distributor in DC, so I might be able to get more.