Kenya Tusker

Kenya Tusker Lager

www.tusker.beer/

Brewed by East Africa Breweries Limited (Diageo)
Style: Pale Lager
Nairobi, Kenya

Tusker is a best selling beer owned by East African Breweries from Kenya, the largest African beer brand in the Diageo group.

First brewed in 1922, shortly after the founder of Kenya Breweries Ltd, George Hurst, was killed by an elephant during a hunting accident. His brother Charles, who took charge of the company, decided to name their first ever lager, Tusker, in memory of his sibling, since large, male elephants indigenous to East Africa, were called Tuskers.

In 1935, Kenya Brewing Limited acquired Tanganyika Breweries and in 1936 these two companies were merged leading to the creation of the East African Breweries Limited.

The beer soon gained popularity both inside and outside its borders, selling to Tanzania, Burundi, the Congo, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, and Uganda, all of Kenya’s immediate neighbours, making it one of East Africa’s most popular beers.

By 2000, Diageo acquired majority control of EABL. Operating out of Nairobi, East Africa Breweries Limited now own a vast portfolio of African breweries, do charity work in the region and is also involved in football in Kenya, sponsoring the country’s premier league while also running its own successful team in the division, Tusker F.C.,

In early 2008, the UK supermarket chain, Tesco, began selling Tusker, followed soon after by Sainsbury’s.

Tusker is brewed from 100% African ingredients that are all locally sourced: the barley grown in The Great Rift Valley and the spring water is from the Aberdare Mountains.

Apart from its flagship brand, Tusker Lager, the brewery also produce a 5% Tusker Malt Premium Lager, a 4% Tusker Lite, a 4.5% Tusker apple Cider, and a wide range of other beers from its subsidiaries including Serengeti Lager, White Cap Lager and Uganda Waragi (a 40% liquor), to name but a few.

Review: 500ml big brown bottle of Kenya Tusker Lager: 4.2% vol.

My first beer from the country of Kenya, a nation more known for its long distance runners less so for its beers ok let’s see how this goes.

Available in bottles, cans and on tap in selected outlets.

Big brown bottle featuring the iconic logo of an African elephant, with the theme “together forever” printed. Stands out, no doubting this is an African beer.

On pour I get the standard lagery look, creamy white head that looks good on the pour but fizzles out quick, and a light golden coloured beer. Just the look of a regular lager, ok.

The aroma is very faint but can pick up a sweet malty grainy smell, but nearly odourless.

The taste is very grainy and malted barley, but all on the faint thin level.

It has the feel of a regular lager, but not going to set the world alight, and truth be told it is a little boring to drink, light and thin, and has an overall flat taste to it all.

Novelty factor in having a beer from Kenya but nothing else at all there for me to return. A light lager that is boring. Definitely not worth entertaining again.