Urgwawa – Rwandan Banana Beer

Rwandan Banana Beer Recipe (Urwagwa)

Ingredients
30 kg (66 lbs.) green bananas
Ishinge grass (local reed grass)
2 kg. (4.4 lbs.) roasted sorghum
5 L (1.3 gal) water

Instructions
This recipe should yield approximately 15 L (4 gal) of banana beer. Place bananas underground for 4-5 days to accelerate ripening and ensure all fruits are ripened to the same level of sweetness. Peel bananas and mix with local Ishinge grass together into a mash. Do not add water. Knead by hand for about 1 hour until banana juice is extracted. Adding the grass to the banana mash provides friction which helps to extract the banana juice. Push banana and grass mash to one end of a mixing container and squeeze tightly to extract as much juice as possible. Place juice aside. Run additional 5 liters of water through banana mash to extract all the juice (sparge the bananas). Pound the roasted sorghum into a fine flour, then add to banana juice. Sorghum provides flavoring and a natural yeast. Ferment for 3-5 days and serve.