Beer

We don’t get to drink alcohol often here, at least not the women, mainly because there is just too much to do before the sun sets at 6pm, but when we do it is exclusively beer. Many Rwandans in the villages drink the homemade sorghum or banana beers. This is generally consumed straight out of a jerry can. As a female, especially because I live with a religious family, I have not yet been offered this concoction – which is fine because apparently it is awful. But at the bars we have the same four choices always: Mutzig, Primus, Turbo King, and Skol. These are the locally brewed beers and almost every bar in Rwanda is painted Primus blue and decorated exclusively with Primus schwag. I learned this week that all of these beers are malt liquors, meaning they have a lot more sugar and thus a lot more of a hangover later, than average beers. This explains a lot, because even though I usually only have one, I can feel it in the morning from thee heat and the sugar and the mefloquin. Luckily every night I consume a huge plate of carbs which does a good job to head off that effect.