Figaro Shakes
Cultural Ferment

Umqombothi: South Africa’s Traditional Sorghum and Maize Beer and How It’s Brewed

By Updated 2 min read

Discover umqombothi, the traditional South African sorghum beer brewed by Nguni peoples for centuries. This comprehensive guide covers its cultural significance, fermentation science, authentic brewing process, and how to serve this probiotic-rich ceremonial beverage.

At a glance

Umqombothi is a traditional South African opaque beer made from maize meal and sorghum malt. The malt's enzymes turn cooked maize starch into sugar, and wild lactic acid bacteria and yeasts ferment it in two stages over about two days into a thick, sour, lightly alcoholic, fizzy drink. It's drunk within a day or two.

  • Made from maize meal, sorghum malt and water, fermented by wild lactic acid bacteria and yeasts.
  • Brewed in two fermentation stages over about two days; finished pH around 4.0–4.3 (Xolo et al., 2024).
  • A consumer panel preferred beer fermented at 30°C in both stages.
  • Drunk within a day or two because it keeps fermenting.
  • Use mold-free grain: umqombothi can carry mycotoxins from maize and sorghum.

Ferment profile

Origin
South Africa (Xhosa and Zulu traditions)
Fermentation
Mixed (lactic + alcoholic)
Main microbes
Wild lactic acid bacteria (e.g. Apilactobacillus pseudoficulneus) and yeasts from the malt and grain
Live cultures
Yes
Alcohol
Low (under 2%)

Umqombothi is a traditional South African beer made from maize meal and sorghum malt. It’s thick, creamy-beige and opaque, with a sour, grainy flavor, a light fizz and a low alcohol content. Brewed especially in Xhosa and Zulu homes, it’s central to family and community occasions – weddings, homecomings, ceremonies honoring the ancestors – and is traditionally shared from a single vessel. Because it keeps producing carbon dioxide, it’s drunk within a day or two of brewing (Xolo et al., 2024).

How Umqombothi Is Brewed

Like other African opaque beers, umqombothi uses the enzymes in malted (sprouted and dried) sorghum to turn the starch in cooked maize into sugars, which lactic acid bacteria and yeasts then ferment. It’s typically made in two fermentation stages: a first souring stage, then a cooked or boiled mash that’s re-seeded with malt and fermented again. In a study of this two-stage method over 52 hours, the finished beer had a pH of about 4.0–4.3, and a consumer panel preferred the beer fermented at 30°C in both stages (Xolo et al., 2024).

The Microbes

Umqombothi is fermented by wild microbes from the malt and grain. Sequencing of home-style and optimized brews found a mix of beneficial and potentially harmful organisms; in the customary brew, the lactic acid bacterium Apilactobacillus pseudoficulneus dominated, with yeasts such as Apiotrichum laibachii, and the researchers suggested these as candidate starter cultures (Hlangwani et al., 2023). The haze is suspended grain, yeast and bacteria – it’s meant to be there.

Safety: Mold and Mycotoxins

Maize and sorghum can carry molds that produce mycotoxins. In umqombothi bought in Gauteng, all samples contained at least two mycotoxins; levels were within limits per sample, but at 1–6 litres a day, estimated fumonisin exposure exceeded the tolerable daily intake set by the FAO/WHO expert committee (Adekoya et al., 2018). At home:

  • Use fresh, dry, clean maize meal and sorghum malt with no musty smell or visible mold.
  • Keep the brew covered and discard any batch with fuzzy colored mold.
  • Brew in plastic, glass, clay or stainless steel, not iron: traditional beers brewed in iron pots carry a lot of iron (Saungweme et al., 1999), and such beer is the dietary source behind African iron overload in people with an inherited susceptibility (Gordeuk et al., 1992).
  • Drink it in moderation – it contains alcohol – and not during pregnancy or if you’re avoiding alcohol.

How It’s Served

Traditionally in a shared clay pot (ukhamba), passed around; today also in cups. Stir before serving – the solids settle. It goes well with braai (grilled meat) and samp and beans.

Related: South Africa’s non-alcoholic fermented maize drink maheu, Zimbabwe’s hwahwa and West Africa’s pito.

Recipe: Home-Brewed Umqombothi

Makes
About 5 litres
Hands-on
60 min
Fermentation
About 2 days in two stages
Temperature
About 30°C (86°F)
Difficulty
Moderate

Equipment

  • Large pot (8–10 litres)
  • Food-grade bucket or clay pot with a cloth cover
  • Long spoon
  • Coarse strainer

Ingredients

  • 500 g maize meal (mealie meal) (fresh, white)
  • 500 g sorghum malt (mabele) (fresh; divided)
  • About 5 litres water (boiled and cooled)

Method

  1. Stage 1: mix the maize meal and half the sorghum malt with about 2 litres of lukewarm water into a thin paste. Cover and leave in a warm place (about 30°C) for about 24 hours until it smells sour and has bubbles.
  2. Bring 2 litres of water to a boil, stir in the soured mixture and cook, stirring, for 20–30 minutes into a thick porridge.
  3. Let the porridge cool until just warm (below about 35°C), then stir in the rest of the malt and about 1 litre of water.
  4. Stage 2: cover with a cloth and leave at about 30°C for about 24 hours, until it's bubbling and pleasantly sour.
  5. Strain out the coarse husks, stir and serve within a day or two; keep it covered and cool.

Frequently asked questions

What is umqombothi?

A traditional South African beer brewed from maize meal and sorghum malt – thick, opaque, sour and lightly alcoholic – shared at family and community occasions.

Is umqombothi alcoholic?

Yes, but its alcohol content is low compared with commercial lager.

What does umqombothi taste like?

Sour and grainy with a creamy, porridge-like body and a light fizz.

Why is umqombothi thick and cloudy?

It isn't filtered: grain particles, yeast and bacteria stay suspended in it.

How long does umqombothi keep?

About a day or two. It keeps fermenting and producing gas, getting more sour.

Where can I get sorghum malt?

South African supermarkets sell it as sorghum malt or 'mabele'; outside South Africa, try African grocery stores or online.

Is umqombothi the same as maheu?

No. Maheu (mahewu) is a non-alcoholic soured maize drink; umqombothi is a beer.

Sources

  1. Xolo T, Keyser Z, Jideani VA (2024). Physicochemical and microbiological changes during two-stage fermentation production of umqombothi. Heliyon 10(2):e24522. Link
  2. Hlangwani E et al. (2023). Analysis of the bacterial and fungal populations in South African sorghum beer (umqombothi) using full-length 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing. World J Microbiol Biotechnol 39:350. Link
  3. Adekoya I et al. (2018). Mycobiota and co-occurrence of mycotoxins in South African maize-based opaque beer. Int J Food Microbiol 270:22–30. Link
  4. Saungweme T et al. (1999). Iron and alcohol content of traditional beers in rural Zimbabwe. Cent Afr J Med 45(6):136–140. Link
  5. Gordeuk V et al. (1992). Iron overload in Africa. Interaction between a gene and dietary iron content. N Engl J Med 326(2):95–100. Link
#East and Southern Africa
Share:

More Global Fermented Foods