Beer

A very important topic to many of my dear friends both in San Diego and in Kampala...

Most of the beer available in Kampala is lager - the strongest is Nile Special.  Club is very sweet and fizzy, almost like a lager shandy.  Bell is another Ugandan brew - I first tried it on June 16 and found it crisp, dry and refreshing, not unlike Heineken.  Apparently though both Bell and export Heineken are saltier than the real thing, according to my Dutch colleague Jenny's husband Dirk.

Here's a local Bell Distributor in Kabalagala on Ggaba Road

Tusker, which is a Kenyan lager, is also available as well as Castle, a South African beer, and Guinness, which I am sure I will be sampling soon at the local Irish pub, Bubbles O'Leary on Acacia Road.

There is a kind of banana or plantain called embidde that is used to brew beer - I have yet to track down and try any banana beer. Apparently in rural areas you can tell who the banana beer drinkers are by their round jolly faces - and the fact they are lying around drunk at ten in the morning...

I was impressed when I discovered this display on traditional beer at the Uganda Museum when I visited on June 10. O'Brien's friends, please note the five-headed communal beer drinking vessel in the bottom of the display at the center, with filter straws sticking out of every mouth.  Now wouldn't that be fun for birthday celebrations?