Banana Beer in Rwanda.

Banana beer in most African cultural settings,  is cultural drink and Rwanda like many has ‘’Urwagwa’’as its special drink. Urwagwa is a banana beer-a traditional drink that is served when people gather for social meetings in order to facilitate communication, and is also known to accompany religious and royal ceremonies such as traditional weddings and baptism. The banana beer in Rwanda is made from fermented mashed banana and it has strong flavor. Travelers, Visitors who are on Visit Rwanda tour, and  want to get intoxicated as quickly as possible, Book your tour with heritage safaris and you won’t be disappointed as you sip a bottle of Urwagwa.

The production of this beer is one of the precious few opportunities for women to bond and   create friendships.  Banana and sorghum are the major ingredients of the Urwaga. Production starts by crushing ripe bananas into a wooden  Barrel known as Umuvure, bananas are crushed using traditional grasses called inshinge.  Bananas are cruised using hands/legs and about 2-3 people can be involved in the process. Water is then added in intervals while crushing the bananas for dilution and to obtain juice. The crushing of banana is performed  while singing or dancing to give the crushers more energy and be in good mood.

Once the required juice is obtained from the banana juice, the next stage is to make the sorghum yeast to help ferment the juice. The yeast is extracted and ground, then the handful of it is added onto the juice mixture. The banana leaves are used to cover the mixture and then left  to ferment for 4-5 days but in warm place.

After a sufficient time of fermentation the mixture is filtered and ready to drink. The drink can then be consumed in a week’s time or a month. As the country develops Urwagwa is becoming is slowly disappearing but it is usually available in most rural area around Musanze.