Brewing up cassava to make Impala
- By Helen Craig -
- Jan 24, 2012
SABMiller has launched the first ever commercial-scale cassava-based beer. The beer, ‘Impala', will be brewed in Mozambique by SABMiller's local subsidiary, Cervejas de Moçambique (CDM). Impala is brewed using 70% cassava and is the result of several years of research to overcome the challenges of processing and brewing with cassava, which grows widely across Africa.
Mozambican farmers potentially produce more than enough cassava than is required for domestic consumption, but the surplus has never previously been used to brew beer because of the logistical challenge of collecting the roots from smallholder farmers who are widely dispersed, along with its rapid deterioration immediately after harvesting. Cassava is an excellent source of starch, but starts to degrade almost immediately after it is harvested, which, together with its high water content, makes it unsuitable for transporting over long distances.
SABMiller has partnered with DADTCO (Dutch Agricultural Development and Trading Company), which has pioneered an innovative solution in the form of a mobile processing unit (AMPU) which travels to the cassava growing regions and processes the root in situ, preserving the integrity of the starch.
To find out more about the making of Impala, check out the video below.
By Helen Craig. Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability at Virgin. Tweets @helcraig
