Mosi Beer at the Wildlife campsite in South Luangwa National Park

17 Great Beers from Africa

Enjoying a ‘sundowner’ or two in Africa after a day of game viewing is a long standing tradition; and beer is often the drink of choice.

Mosi Beer at the Wildlife campsite in South Luangwa National Park
Beer and Cards at South Luangwa National Park

Tusker from Kenya and Castle from South Africa may be well known outside of their home territories, but for anyone who is headed to southern or eastern Africa on a safari, here is my list of top 17 beers to seek out at sundowner time. The only caveat I throw in here is that THB is not the best tasting beer. It deserves to be in the middle of this list, but it is my sentimental favourite, thus gets special treatment. (I’d love to get my hands on some more if anyone knows where to find it in Canada or the US!)

If trying 17 different beers while you’re on safari is a bit too ambitious, stick to the top nine, as they’re a great mix of styles of tastes. Anything below Kuche Kuche was satisfying and thirst-quenching, but after months of ‘research’ on my travels around Africa I can say you won’t be missing out on much if you skip over them.

  1. THB or Three Horses Beer pilsener, from Madagascar
  2. Laurentina Preta, a dunkel from Mozambique
  3. Castle Milk Stout, from South Africa
  4. Hansa pilsener, from Namibia
  5. Mosi lager, from Zambia
  6. Carlsberg brown, a dark lager from Malawi
  7. Windhoek lager, from Namibia
  8. Ndovu lager, from Tanzania
  9. Kuche Kuche lager by Carlsberg, from Malawi
  10. Ice pilsner, from Tanzania
  11. Tusker lager, from Kenya
  12. Safari lager, from Tanzania
  13. Carlsberg lager, from Malawi
  14. Queen lager, from Madagascar
  15. Serengeti lager, from Tanzania
  16. Kilimanjaro lager, from Tanzania
  17. Castle lager, from South Africa

Happy drinking in Africa. Did I miss your favourite African beer? Let me know!

32 thoughts on “17 Great Beers from Africa”

      1. I agree with Abhishek, Tafel Lager is the most consumed beer in Namibia as it is the favorite beer in the country and if you had tried it. It definitely would have been your number 1, no doubt

  1. Nile Special from Uganda! Mmmm. For SAB beers, I kinda like the Hansa Marzen gold (after the milk stout). Nice beer tour. 🙂

  2. Just returned form 2 weeks in Zambia, where the wife and I fell in love with Mosi. I’d love to get my hands on some here.

    1. Ahhh, I haven’t had a Mosi for a long time Rusty….would be great to get more African beers at home, even if half of them are just generic lagers, it’s a nice way to reminisce.

  3. a must try while in africa is zambezi from Zimbabwe and Banjul from the gambia both are very worthy of a try

  4. nice one…but have you tribed Chibuku?…it is a traditional drink…it is well beloved all over Africa…
    …best regards

  5. I seek beer cans empty from Tonga-Sudan- South Sudan- Malawi-Mauretania? Burundi? Central Africa? Equatorial-Guinea? SeySchelles i pay good money

  6. I’m glad you have Mosi Lager on the list! I miss Mosi! I spent time in Zambia during the summer from 1988 to 1990. I got to try Mosi and others on your list like Castle and Tusker. Mosi was the best of the three and Tusker from Kenya was good too. I don’t recommened anybody reading this to try Castle from South Africa however. It tastes like piss! Me and my dad will go to places like the marine house when we both were in Zambia were Africian beers were readily available. My only regret as far as beers go is the fact that I never drank Simba beer which is from Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo).

  7. Where can I buy these beers ?! I’m doing a bucket list of drinking a beer from every country before I die where can I get these

  8. Love this list! Some of these are also my favourite, or I did not know them. I like to see THB here too, I really liked that one though it is specifically Madagascan. One beer is missing: Habesha from Ethiopia, you can’t miss that one if you go there!

  9. My favorite of all the beers I’ve had in east Africa, including most on your list, is a Dry Savana. Technically a cider, but it is so refreshing and a stark contrast to the hot air – absolutely perfect after a game drive or the long day stuck in Dar traffic.

  10. You must try the Zambezi Lager from Zimbabwe and the 2M from Mozambique. Hit me up in my email and I will gladly send you a six pack of the Zambezi.

  11. I am trying to find a place to buy Nile Special beer in the USA as soon as possible for a Ugandan dinner.

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