A pale lager sold in large brown bottles and brewed in Bujumbura by Brarudi since 1955. It is so dominant that asking for a beer in Burundi generally means asking for a Primus.
It is one brewery’s commercial lager, and brewing beer at home is licensed or restricted across much of the atlas’s readership.
What goes into it
- malted barley
- maize or sorghum adjunct
- hops
- brewer’s yeast
- water
How it is made
Malt and adjunct are mashed to convert starch to sugar, the wort boiled with hops, cooled and fermented cool with lager yeast, then conditioned cold for weeks before filtering and bottling. The bottles are returnable and refilled, which is part of why the format is so large.
How long it takes: three to five weeks from mash to bottle
How it is eaten
Shared from the large bottle, at room temperature or cold, in bars across the country.
History
Brewed in Bujumbura since 1955 by Brarudi, and so dominant that ordering beer in Burundi usually means Primus.
Frequently asked questions
What is Primus?
Primus is a wine & spirit from Burundi: pale lager sold in large brown bottles, Burundi’s everyday beer. Brewed in Bujumbura since 1955 by Brarudi, and so dominant that ordering beer in Burundi usually means Primus.
How is Primus made?
Malt and adjunct are mashed to convert starch to sugar, the wort boiled with hops, cooled and fermented cool with lager yeast, then conditioned cold for weeks before filtering and bottling. The bottles are returnable and refilled, which is part of why the format is so large. It takes three to five weeks from mash to bottle.
Can I make Primus at home?
No, and the atlas gives no method for it. It is one brewery’s commercial lager, and brewing beer at home is licensed or restricted across much of the atlas’s readership.
What goes into Primus?
Malted barley, maize or sorghum adjunct, hops, brewer’s yeast, water.
How is Primus eaten?
Shared from the large bottle, at room temperature or cold, in bars across the country.
