An Indigenous Beer Style Crowned Best In Africa

Forbes

09-06-2025

Nick Smith, second from left, showcases his awards during the award ceremony of the African Beer Cup.
A wholly unique beer brewed in the Cape Winelands just outside of Cape Town, South Africa has been awarded the title of Best Beer in Africa at the 2025 African Beer Cup which is judged every year in Cape Town.
Soul Barrel Brewing took the top spot with Wild African Soul, a collaboration with Johannesburg-based Tolokazi Beer. This is the third time Soul Barrel has won best of show, winning in 2022, 2024 and 2025.
Apiwe Nxusani-Mawela (left) and Nick Smith hold the mash paddle during the brewing of Wild African Soul.
The beer blends a traditional sorghum umqombothi with a mixed fermentation farmhouse ale. This blend was aged for two years in wine barrels. It is a ground-breaking beer that marries ancient African brewing tradition with the country's up and coming craft beer scene. In the 'best of show' category, Wild African Soul beat many categories to claim the top spot. In the competition, there were 260 beers entered from across 14 African countries. The judge panel included well-regarded international judges from all over the world as well as beer professionals across South Africa.
Smith brewed Wild African Soul with Apiwe Nxusani-Mawela, the founder and brewmaster at Tolokazi Beer. She first brewed Wild African Soul with Smith of Soul Barrel in 2022. The beer has been recreated annually since then. Nxusani-Mawela is the first female black microbrewery owner in South Africa and has numerous certifications in brewing and microbiology.
The raw materials behind the style of umqombothi. Thanks to Nxusani-Mawela for this information.
In talking about the beer, Soul Barrel Brewmaster and Co-Founder Nick Smith said himself and Tolokazi, 'blended European barrel-aging techniques with African methods of sour mashing and open, natural fermentations. From a brewing standpoint, they're similar in the spontaneous introduction of yeast and lactic acid fermentation.'
The process started when Smith and Nxusani-Mawela first brewed the umqombothi and let that sit out for couple days to increase the acidity. Around that time, they started to brew the other beer, which was a saison/farmhouse ale. They let that beer sit overnight exposed to the air for spontaneous fermentation (similar in the way Belgian lambics are brewed). After the saison finished fermenting, both beers were mixed together and put into barrels for long term maturation. The beer has flavors of lemon, pepper and honey as well as a tart finish.
'We're a small team with a big mission: to brew beer that expresses the soul of South Africa,' said Smith, who originally is from the United States but moved to South Africa in 2016. 'Winning Best Beer in Africa three times shows the world just how exciting African beer can be. Winning with a beer based on umqombothi sends a message that South Africa has a fascinating beer culture, and at Soul Barrel we aim to tell its story.'
Soul Barrel Brewing
'On behalf of Tolokazi Beer, I am deeply honored to receive this recognition for Wild African Soul,' Nxusani-Mawela said. 'This award is a true reflection of our dedication to crafting distinctly African beers—celebrating our heritage and embracing the richness of indigenous knowledge.'
Rather than a trophy, each year the African Beer Cup organizers commission a local artist to create a piece of art for the winner. This year, rather than the usual painting, the winner took home a custom Ukhamba (a traditional beer drinking pot) made by LungiJoe, who has a ceramic studio in Langa, Cape Town. In a moment of serendipity, the winning beer featured the very beverage traditionally drunk from an Ukhamba.
Click here to see the full list of winners.