Tusker is a

beer Beer is an alcoholic beverage produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches from cereal grain—most commonly malted barley, although wheat, maize (corn), rice, and oats are also used. The grain is mashed to convert starch in the ...

brand owned by East African Breweries, with over 700,000 hectolitres sold annually in

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

. It is also the largest African beer brand in the

Diageo Diageo plc ( ) is a British Multinational corporation, multinational alcoholic beverage company, with its headquarters in London, England. It is a major distributor of Scotch whisky and other spirits and operates from 132 sites around the world ...

group. It is a 4.2% ABV

pale lager Pale lager is a pale-to- golden lager beer with a well- attenuated body and a varying degree of noble hop bitterness. In the mid-19th century, Gabriel Sedlmayr took British pale ale brewing and malt making techniques back to the Spaten Bre ...

. The beer's slogan "''Bia yangu, Nchi yangu''" means "My beer, My country" in Kiswahili.

History

In 1922, Kenya Breweries (now East African Breweries) was formally incorporated as a

private limited company A private limited company is any type of business entity in Privately held company, "private" ownership used in many jurisdictions, in contrast to a Public company, publicly listed company, with some differences from country to country. Example ...

. The company's first beer was brewed on 15 December 1922. The first batch was delivered to the Stanley Hotel, where it received mixed reactions. Originally brewed in Kenya, the beer expaded to

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

and other countries in the

African Great Lakes The African Great Lakes (; ) are a series of lakes constituting the part of the Rift Valley lakes in and around the East African Rift. The series includes Lake Victoria, the second-largest freshwater lake in the world by area; Lake Tangan ...

region, and was eventually exported. Tusker Beer

The company's first

annual general meeting An annual general meeting (AGM, also known as the annual meeting) is a meeting of the general membership of an organization. These organizations include membership associations and companies with shareholders. These meetings may be required ...

was held in 1923. George Hurst, the company's founder, was killed in an

elephant hunting Elephants are the Largest and heaviest animals, largest living land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant (''Loxodonta africana''), the African forest elephant (''L. cyclotis''), and the Asian ele ...

accident. In his memory, his brother Charles decided to name the first beer brewed "Tusker". In 1929, the company's board moved to use

malted barley Malt is any cereal grain that has been made to germinate by soaking in water and then stopped from germinating further by drying with hot air, a process known as " malting". Malted grain is used to make beer, whisky, malted milk, malt vinegar ...

in the beer's production instead of using imported

malt extract Malt is any cereal grain that has been made to germinate by soaking in water and then stopped from germinating further by drying with hot air, a process known as " malting". Malted grain is used to make beer, whisky, malted milk, malt vinegar ...

s, significantly improving its taste and colour and saving the company at least £780 (approx.

US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

1,240 or

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists of a stylized letter E (or epsilon), crossed by t ...

985) per year. In 2012, that is approximately £35,400 (approx. US$56,220 or €44,690), assuming an annual

inflation rate In economics, inflation is an increase in the average price of goods and services in terms of money. This increase is measured using a price index, typically a consumer price index (CPI). When the general price level rises, each unit of curre ...

of 2% from 2011 onwards. Wooden beer cases were replaced with plastic cases in 1970. In 1987, Central Glass Industries also began producing Tusker bottles for the first time. In early 2008, the UK supermarket chain

Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in the United Kingdom at its head offices in Welwyn Garden City, England. The company was founded by Jack Cohen (businessman), Sir Jack Cohen in ...

began selling Tusker, followed soon after by

Sainsbury's J Sainsbury plc, trading as Sainsbury's, is a British supermarket and the second-largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury with a shop in Drury Lane, London, the company was the largest UK r ...

Varieties

*''Tusker'', sold in

keg A keg is a small cask used for storing liquids. Wooden kegs made by a cooper were used to transport nails, gunpowder, and a variety of liquids. Nowadays a keg is normally constructed of stainless steel, although aluminium can be used if it is ...

, widget cans and bottles: 4.2% ABV pale lager *''Tusker'': 5.0% ABV premium lager *''Tusker Lite'': 4.0% ABV lite lager *''Tusker Cider'': 4.5% ABV Apple cider *''Tusker Malt'': 5.0% ABV Pilsner-Lager The three varieties of Tusker beer are a Gold award-winning products from the World Quality Selections, organized yearly by

Monde Selection Monde Selection is an annual non-competitive award open to food, drinks, and cosmetics products, created in 1961. It is run by the commercial company, International Institute for Quality Selections, Brussels Brussels, officially the Brusse ...

. The taste and quality have also received recognition at the prestigious

’s International Awards.Product details
, tesco.com

References

External links

Tusker
Brand website
Tusker
at the East African Breweries website
St. Killian
is the Importer of Tusker to the United States {{Diageo plc Diageo beer brands Beer brands Beer in Kenya Kenyan brands