Commercial cassava beer taps new market in Mozambique

Maputo (AFP).  In Mozambique's bars and street stalls, the tipple of choice nowadays is a cold "Impala" -- a beer made from cassava rather than barley that is fast capturing a valuable slice of the African market.

Cassava, also known as manioc or yuca, is a root vegetable grown across sub-Saharan Africa as a staple crop, and has long been used to make home-brewed beer.

But in 2011 Impala became the world's first commercially made cassava beer when it was launched by SABMiller through local subsidiary Cervejas de Mocambique (CDM).

"As long as it is ice cold, it is better," Dercio Machava told AFP at a backstreet stall on the outskirts of the capital Maputo, adding that its alcohol content of 6.5 percent was "a bit higher than other beers".

"My customers say it is good. Some days, it is the beer I sell the most," said stall-owner Dona Cecilia.

Described by its maker as a pale lager with a "rich body and taste", the beer started as an experiment to find a locally brewed product that avoided the need to import expensive barley malt.

Impala has now sold 100 million bottles since its launch -- one small attraction for Anheuser-Busch InBev, which is set to buy SABMiller in one of the biggest takeovers in corporate history.

"It is already the third most drank beer in Mozambique," said Pedro Cruz, director of CDM, at its state-of-the-art brewery in Maputo, which boasts a chic tasting bar.

"It has been a revolution for farmers as it gave commercial value to a plant used only for food before," Cruz said adding:

"Impala enables more people to access a beer that is quality controlled, and to abandon the homemade beers that can be harmful to health."