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A bottle of Darling Brew Reminisce whisky next to a whisky tumbler, in front of a wooden barrel (Photo: Courtesy of Darling Brew)

South Africa | Darling Brew, an award-winning, carbon-neutral South African brewery, has broken new ground: this time, not with a beer, but with a boutique whisky. In a move that blends sustainability and ingenuity, it has launched Reminisce, a limited-edition five-year-old malt whisky, distilled entirely from beer, and the first of its kind in South Africa.

Tray with champagne glasses containing a pinkish liquor and berries (Photo: congerdesign on Pixabay)

South Africa | They have been around for decades, but only now are brewers’ fizzy girlie drinks seriously taking off – so much so that Heineken and AB-InBev have been locking horns over the descriptive term “demi-sec”. In the dispute, the Advertising Regulatory Board (ARB) upheld a complaint lodged by Heineken Beverages against AB-InBev’s local unit South African Breweries (SAB).

landscape of south african winery (photo unserekleinemaus on pixabay)

South Africa | Vintners are bracing for a hit, after a 30 percent US tariff left them at a sharp disadvantage to their international rivals, the Financial Times reported on 8 August. Africa’s largest economy exports more than half of its wine production, valued at USD 500 million per year. The US was its fourth-largest market in 2024, after the UK, Germany and the Netherlands.

Two kenyan men in front of a bar (Photo: Lorenzo Cerato on Unsplash)

Kenya | A storm is brewing in Kenya over the latest proposals to restrict the sale and consumption of alcohol, including raising the minimum drinking age from 18 to 21, banning alcohol sales in supermarkets, restaurants, as well as online and home deliveries, the BBC reported on 31 July.

Glass of Guinness, bearing the Guinness logo, on a table (Photo: George Bakos on Unsplash)

Kenya | British drinks firm Diageo has launched a review of its majority stake in listed brewer East African Breweries Ltd. (EABL). EABL has a market value of about USD 1.2 billion and Diageo is its largest shareholder with a 65 percent stake. The company has appointed Bank of America and Goldman Sachs to advise on the process, Bloomberg reported on 28 July.

Five brown Kegna beer glass bottles on a conveyor (Photo:BRAUWELT International)

Ethiopia | Kegna Beverages is making a USD 250 million investment in the beer market, officially opening a 3 million hl brewery in Ginchi, a town some 80 km west of the capital Addis Ababa in Oromia Regional State. The lager with the brand name Kegna (meaning “our”) is brewed with local barley and will hit the market immediately.

Vineyard in Franschhoek, South Africa; in the background we see a gray mountain, and the blue sky above (Photo: Sheila C on Unsplash)

South Africa | On 2 April 2025, US President Donald Trump reached for an economic cudgel in the form of tariffs, and South African wine found itself slapped with a 30 percent levy. The US is South Africa’s fourth largest wine export market by value – USD 52 million worth of wine in 2024. During the 90-day grace period (until 8 July) the baseline tariff of 10 percent applies. But the 30 percent threat hangs over the industry like the sword of Damocles.

Mercenaries standing guard near an armored vehicle in the Central African Republic (Photo: Corbeau News Centrafrique, Russian mercenaries in CAR, CC BY-SA 4.0)

Spit Central African Republic | In the streets of Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic (CAR), the beer brand Africa Ti L’Or has imposed itself with disconcerting speed. Marketed as a national brand, it bears a promising name, “Africa is gold” in Sango, the lingua franca of the CAR. Despite evoking Africa’s wealth and pride, the beer is not what it claims to be. Allegedly, it is a toxic cocktail: a mixture of vodka, dubious water and, even worse, narcotic substances like tramadol.

Two black people with white facepaint (Photo: Mpumelelo Macu on Unsplash)

South Africa | In an unprecedented move, the 2025 National Budget was cancelled minutes after it was supposed to be tabled in early February. Notice of the cancellation came after the members of the Government of National Unity (GNU), a coalition, could not agree on the proposed tax changes, particularly the increase in value-added tax (VAT) from 15 percent to 17 percent. Leaked documents showed that the government had plans to hike the excise duty on alcohol and tobacco by 6.83 percent, and above inflation.

Lively street scene (people, yellow vehicles and buildings) in Lagos, Nigeria (Photo: Muhammad-Taha Ibrahim on Unsplash)

Nigeria | The Nigerian brewing industry has been faced with inflationary pressures coupled with a Naira devaluation, which led to recurring losses. The country’ largest brewer, Nigerian Breweries, reported a post-tax loss of NGN 144.8 billion (USD 97 million) for its financial year 2024, as detailed in its financial report released on 14 February.

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