Chagga banana beer brewed with finger millet on the slopes of Kilimanjaro. Brewing takes days, and it is drunk at weddings and clan gatherings where the offering of it carries real social weight.
Home brewing of alcohol is licensed or restricted in most of the atlas’s readership, and the ferment relies on wild cultures on the millet and in the brewer’s own vessels.
What goes into it
- ripe cooking bananas
- finger millet, sprouted
- water
How it is made
Ripe bananas are boiled at length and the liquid strained off, then left to ferment for a day or two. Separately, finger millet is sprouted, dried, roasted and ground, and boiled into a porridge. The two are combined and left to ferment together for a further two to four days. It is served cloudy and unstrained.
How long it takes: four to seven days across both ferments
How it is eaten
From a shared calabash or a bucket at weddings and clan gatherings.
History
Chagga banana beer of Kilimanjaro, brewed by boiling ripe bananas and adding germinated finger millet; brewing takes days and it is drunk at weddings and clan gatherings.
Frequently asked questions
What is Mbege?
Mbege is a wine & spirit from Tanzania: chagga banana beer brewed with finger millet. Chagga banana beer of Kilimanjaro, brewed by boiling ripe bananas and adding germinated finger millet; brewing takes days and it is drunk at weddings and clan gatherings.
How is Mbege made?
Ripe bananas are boiled at length and the liquid strained off, then left to ferment for a day or two. Separately, finger millet is sprouted, dried, roasted and ground, and boiled into a porridge. The two are combined and left to ferment together for a further two to four days. It is served cloudy and unstrained. It takes four to seven days across both ferments.
Can I make Mbege 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 wild cultures on the millet and in the brewer’s own vessels.
What goes into Mbege?
Ripe cooking bananas, finger millet, sprouted, water.
How is Mbege eaten?
From a shared calabash or a bucket at weddings and clan gatherings.
