Introduction

According to Wikipedia, on October 4, 1658, Jan van Riebeeck recorded in his diary that the first beer was brewed at the Cape. South Africans were introduced to Western beer by the white settlers, and it has been brewed for over 300 years. On the contrary, traditional or sorghum beer, popularly known as Umqombothi in Zulu, was brewed and consumed way before the arrival of the European settlers. 

Background of the Consumption of Beer

Back in the early 1900s. the Apartheid regime introduced beer to black working class citizens; to which the late politician Albert Luthuli stated that “the beer halls have become the symbol of legal robbery by the white.” This led to the deprivation and restriction of black people’s ability to sell liquor and enter licensed premises as per the Liquor Act of 1927, and the Native Beer Act of 1908, which also stated that it was illegal for women to brew traditional beer. This eventually led to the Beer Hall riots in 1927. For many black workers, the Beer Hall drinking experience was deemed as drinking in a cage because there were no activities, leisure, or freedom. Township women (shebeen queens) found this as an opportunity to emancipate the men by brewing and selling beer from their homes, which had a toll on western beer sales. They created these places so that they could provide comfort, identity, and a sense of belonging to the poverty-stricken and marginalised families.

Today’s Beer Status

According to Business Tech, Carling Black Label is the leading seller amongst beer brands and the most consumed beer in South Africa. Although traditional beer has now lost its derogatory name and is legal, with certain regulations and requirements, one can arguably point out that Western beer sales are being reformed. Almost a century later, after the Liquor Act of 1927 was passed, black people can now sell liquor and enter licensed premises despite overconsumption and several post-apartheid socio-economic issues taking a toll on citizens. It is easier for social critics to deduce that the beer hall system carefully constructed the mild dependence on substances in black people. Many believe that the monopoly in the beer industry still sidelines traditional beer sales and hinders the growth of the township economy.

The Future of Beer

For traditional beer, the future looks promising as the laws are more inclusive of its sale. The sustainability of the beer market is not only dependent on the target market, which is dominated by black people, but also on the completion of the monopoly of the beer industry. By default, western beer will still be favourable to the market, and overconsumption of western beer in South Africa remains high.

Beer dates back to the 5th millennium BCE and has been a part of people’s diet since then. Beer in any fashion has remained a controversial yet uniting drink of choice and depicts the art of day-to-day living of people; whether it’s a celebration, an ancestral ritual, or after a long day at work, a glass or two of beer proves useful to South Africans.