Traditional Brew · Cloudy Sorghum Beer
Busaa (Fermented Sorghum-Maize Beer)
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Busaa is also known as amalwa or kamalwa in Luhya, and no traditional ceremony — circumcision, wedding, funeral, or baraza meeting — is considered complete without pots of it.
Malted sorghum or millet is mashed with maize flour and left to ferment for one to three days with wild yeasts, producing a cloudy, low-alcohol, tangy brew. It's served warm or at room temperature from communal pots or drinking straws at busaa clubs across Western Kenya.
Why it's made this way: Busaa brewing predates industrial beer in the region and remains central to Luhya and Luo communal ceremonies, doubling as an important small-scale income source for local brewers.
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