Home-brewed sorghum beer announced by a white flag on a pole outside the door. Basotho women brew it, and the raised flag tells the village that joala is ready and for sale.
Home brewing of alcohol is licensed or restricted in most of the atlas’s readership, and the sour stage depends on the culture resident in pots used continuously.
What goes into it
- sorghum malt
- maize meal
- water
How it is made
Sorghum is sprouted and dried to malt, mixed with water and left to sour overnight with lactic bacteria. The soured mash is cooked into a porridge, cooled, and more malt stirred in for the yeast fermentation. It is sold and drunk within a day or two, thick and cloudy and still working.
How long it takes: three to five days from grain to pot
How it is eaten
From a shared container at a homestead flying the white flag, or at ceremonies and work parties.
History
Sorghum beer brewed by women; a white flag raised on a pole outside a Basotho homestead signals that joala is ready and for sale.
Frequently asked questions
What is Joala?
Joala is a wine & spirit from Lesotho: homebrewed sorghum beer announced by a white flag at the door. Sorghum beer brewed by women; a white flag raised on a pole outside a Basotho homestead signals that joala is ready and for sale.
How is Joala made?
Sorghum is sprouted and dried to malt, mixed with water and left to sour overnight with lactic bacteria. The soured mash is cooked into a porridge, cooled, and more malt stirred in for the yeast fermentation. It is sold and drunk within a day or two, thick and cloudy and still working. It takes three to five days from grain to pot.
Can I make Joala 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 sour stage depends on the culture resident in pots used continuously.
What goes into Joala?
Sorghum malt, maize meal, water.
How is Joala eaten?
From a shared container at a homestead flying the white flag, or at ceremonies and work parties.
