Beer masters from across Gauteng gathered in Braamfontein this weekend for the third Annual uMqombothi Brewing Competition. Competition hopefuls, resplendent in their traditional wear, pulled out all the stops to be crowned this year’s master of the truly South African traditional drink.
Beer makers from across Gauteng flocked to the event, held at Leano Restaurant in Braamfontein on Heritage Day, to celebrate not only Mzansi’s rich cultural heritage but also to showcase their best recipes.
Apiwe Nxusani-Mawela, the first black African to obtain a master brewer qualification from the Institute of Brewing and Distilling, and the founder of Tolokazi Beer, says the event is more than just a celebration of culture, but an attempt to ensure traditional longevity.
“We have become so urbanised that umqombothi and sorghum beer are becoming extinct. The passing on of tradition is not happening. I wanted to keep the tradition going.”
As a ground breaker in the beer industry, she explains that being the first black brew master in the country is not necessarily something she wants to celebrate.
“The media keeps labelling me the first black woman brewer. I don’t celebrate that because, in 2022, that [shouldn’t be something] to celebrate [anymore].”
For Nxusani-Mawela, ensuring the survival of umqombothi is critical to ensuring the continuation of culture. This is why0 it was so important for her to get young people into the brewing industry.
“I want to start having the younger generation making beer, and carrying on tradition”.
Judging the competition for the second time, Eunice Rakhale-Molefe, author of South African Culinary Heritage: A Table Of Culinary Heritage and Sincere Conversations, agrees that the tradition of umqombothi needs to be carried on. She says each country has an indigenous grain, which could potentially go extinct if it were not for platforms like the umqombothi competition.
This threat of extinction, she explains, was one of the reasons she started writing about traditional food. “I started writing about umqombothi in 2009 because I was worried. When we pass on, where are other people going to get the recipes? I also realised that I didn’t even know how to make it so I wrote that book.”
Celebrating heritage
Nozipho Ntshingili, a beer brewer from Vosloorus in Ekhuruleni, has entered the competition for the second time. She says that, as a cultural activist, taking part in this competition is particularly important for her.
“I believe that umqombothi plays a very important role in our culture. I heard that it runs the risk of becoming extinct and I thought ‘not in my name’. For as long as we are still alive as cultural activists, things that represent our culture cannot die under our watch. That is why I am here.”
For participant Masego Ruele, brewing umqombothi is something she is very familiar with. She says that she’s been brewing umqombothi since she was very young, under the tutelage of her grandmother.
“I have so much interest in everything African and everything traditional. I started doing thanksgiving for the ancestors so I needed to make umqombothi for them. That’s when I started being more interested in knowing the process. It’s a long process, but it’s very interesting and it gives me this calm, relaxed feeling. They always say that in order for umqombothi to taste good, you must have a pure heart when you make it because it resembles who you are.”
Winning brew
After much deliberation, Itumeleng Motsoeneng was crowned this year’s brewing champion. She won a cash prize of R5 000, sponsored by the Beer Association of South Africa, plus a jam-packed hamper filled with Tolokazi Craft Beer and mopani worm snack packs, amongst other prizes.
Hailing from Tsakane in Ekhuruleni, Motsoeneng’s brew was representative of Basotho culture.
“I grew up making umqombothi with my grandmother from the age of nine years old. That’s why I love it, and why I entered the competition. I am so happy and grateful to have won the competition.”
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