Oreen maize stems, misinde, miswaga (Y). 



The juicy stems of maize are extremely popular and are chewed in large quantities 

 especially by children. A sweet drink is made from them when they are plentiful. 

 The stalks are broken across and pounded, then soaked in water and the extract 

 thickened to make a gruel with flour. Sometimes pounded green maize is added 

 to the sweet juice instead of flour. The drink is boiled and strained and consumed 

 while still hot. 



The Brewing of Beer, mmoa, peri. 



To brew beer, flour and malt from sprouted grain are needed. The flour in 

 most common use is maize flour followed by cassava with finger millet and maize 

 bran taking third place. 



Much the most popular malt is made from finger millet, because it gives a sweet 

 product. Maize is also in common use with kaffir corn, bullrush millet and rice used 

 locally. 



The process in broad outline is the same in all parts of the country hence a 

 detailed description will be given of brewing as carried out in the Kota Kota District 

 and a few notes added on brewing in other districts. 



Maize Beer as Made in the Hills and Foothills of the Kota Kota District. 

 Maize flour is used with a mixture of maize and finger millet malts. 



Preparation of Malt, cimera. 

 (a) From maize. 



The shelled grain is soaked for a day, the water poured off and the grain put 

 in a large earthenware pot. It is covered with leaves and left for two to three days 

 according to temperature until germinated. The grain is stirred daily during sprouting 

 to prevent matting, then dried in the sun for a short while. In some cases it may be 

 completely dried at this stage especially when it is to be used for sweet beer, more 

 often it is put back into the pot and left for 3-4 weeks when it is more thoroughly 

 sundried and either used at once for sweet beer or allowed to mature for beer. 



The malt is pounded before use until the grains are broken into fairly small 

 fragments. A fraction of the hard bits of the grain (about 5-10 per cent.) of the 

 whole, ncece za cimera, is kept aside and not used for beer-making. 



{h) From finger millet, mawere. 



The grain is soaked for a day, the water poured off and the grain put into an 

 earthenware pot and covered with leaves. It is ground between stones and may be 

 used at once or after storage for one or two months. 



Brewing. 



First day. Maize flour is mixed with cold water to form a paste. This is poured 

 into water which is already boiling in a large earthenware pot. The mixture is 

 stirred and boiled for about five minutes, ladled into other larger earthenware pots 

 and allowed to cool. Pounded maize malt is stirred in and the mixture left overnight. 



Second day. The liquid is ladled back into the cooking pots and given a thorough 

 boiling. It is then ladled back again into the brewing pots. 



Third day. The brew is allowed to stand. 



Fourth day. More maize malt is pounded, a little water is added to it and the 

 mixture left in the hut in a warm place overnight. 



Fifth day. The malt is repounded and sieved, a little is added to each pot of 

 beer and the rest mixed with cold water, poured into hot water and boiled for a 

 short time. It is then divided up among the pots. When cool, the beer is strained 

 through baskets into smaller pots and a quantity of the coarser bran thus removed. 

 Some ground malt made from finger millet is now boiled and when cool divided among 

 the pots. The beer can be drunk now but usually it is kept until the next day. 



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