A cloudy home-brewed beer of fermented maize and millet, drunk fresh. It is brewed in Buganda households and sold in village bars, fermented only a few days so it is drunk young and sour.
Home brewing of alcohol is licensed or restricted in most of the atlas’s readership, and the ferment relies on the culture living in pots used continuously.
What goes into it
- maize flour
- millet, sprouted and dried
- water
How it is made
Maize is cooked into a porridge and cooled, then mixed with ground sprouted millet and left in a covered vessel to ferment for two to four days. It is served unstrained, thick and cloudy, and it turns undrinkable within a couple of days.
How long it takes: two to four days
How it is eaten
From a shared pot or a cup at a village bar.
History
Brewed in Buganda households and sold in village bars, fermented only a few days so it is drunk young and sour.
Frequently asked questions
What is Kwete?
Kwete is a wine & spirit from Uganda: cloudy home-brewed beer of fermented maize and millet, drunk fresh. Brewed in Buganda households and sold in village bars, fermented only a few days so it is drunk young and sour.
How is Kwete made?
Maize is cooked into a porridge and cooled, then mixed with ground sprouted millet and left in a covered vessel to ferment for two to four days. It is served unstrained, thick and cloudy, and it turns undrinkable within a couple of days. It takes two to four days.
Can I make Kwete at home?
No, and the atlas gives no method for it. Home brewing of alcohol is licensed or restricted in most of the atlas’s readership, and the ferment relies on the culture living in pots used continuously.
What goes into Kwete?
Maize flour, millet, sprouted and dried, water.
How is Kwete eaten?
From a shared pot or a cup at a village bar.
