🇱🇸 Basotho (Lesotho) Cuisine

Joala ba Sesotho

Traditional Sorghum Beer

Prep Time 30 min + 5 days ferment

Servings 20

Difficulty Hard

Calories 81 kcal

A thick, slightly sour traditional beer brewed from malted sorghum. This opaque, pinkish-brown brew has been central to Basotho social and ceremonial life for centuries.

Ingredients

5 kg sorghum malt (germinated and dried sorghum)
2 kg maize meal
20 liters water
Reserved starter from previous batch (optional)

Instructions

1 Grind sorghum malt coarsely
2 Mix maize meal with 5 liters water and bring to a boil to make a thin porridge
3 Allow porridge to cool to lukewarm
4 Add ground sorghum malt and remaining water
5 Mix thoroughly in a large fermentation vessel
6 Add starter if available
7 Cover with cloth and leave in a warm place
8 Stir daily for 3-5 days
9 Strain through a grass or cloth strainer
10 Serve in calabash cups at room temperature

Did You Know?

Traditional joala is served in a communal calabash that is passed from person to person. Refusing a sip is considered deeply disrespectful. The brewer always takes the first sip to prove the beer is safe.