INTRODUCTION

This blog is designed to bring to your notice the types of beers available in Ghana and how it is widely appreciated in the country (Ghana).

Beer is an alcoholic drink made from yeast-fermented malt, flavored with hops (the dried cone-like flowers of a twining climbing plant, used in brewing to give a bitter flavor and as a mild sterilizer, obtained from Humuluslupulus). It is usually brewed by a process known as bottom fermentation. 

There are a lot of names associated to this kind of drinks. In Ghana some of the common names associated to this kind of alcoholic drink are Club beer, star beer, CastleMilk Stout and the latest drink Cassava Beer.

Beer in many countries are served in different ways and forms that is common to the people of the country and sometimes the neighboring countries, some serve beer in places they would love to call, a beer cellar, a beer garden, a beerhouse, or a beer parlor, in Ghana the story is quite different, the names for the places where beer is served all have the same suffix. The people love the way it is served i.e. cold and in a bottle with a beer glass and a beer mat to keep flies away from the tip of the glass. Just create a small structure in a good location, get a license to start operation and call the place “something bar” and that is it, you are good to go: the word bar is the only suffix you need to add to gain customers and also to find your way to the closest bar. 

In recent times the word bar has been nicknamed “spot”. It is in this spots that the bartenders make some serious beer money. Hahahahaha… Yes, i said beer money.

It is no doubt that excessive drinking of beer can have certain side effects on a male and sometimes a woman; have you ever seen a fat bellied man before? Do not be confused by asking yourself if the man was pregnant or not; he is not pregnant, he only has a beer belly (a man’s protruding stomach caused by excessive consumption of beer) a.k.a "six pack in a fridge". A beer belly can still not deter a man from drinking; the only advice to give such a person is to tell him to exercise more.

Subsequent posts would give more details about the numerous beers and how the patronage for these beers are on the rise in Ghana.

GHANAIANS LOVE BEER

In Ghana, the love for beer is enormous. This is one factor you can never deny the people of Ghana. Both men and women express their love and passion for the drink in various ways.  It would be surprising to note that it was out of the love for the drink that the term "chale" came about.

Yes "chale" is the short form of "chalewate", which in Ghana means slippers, but to the Ghanaian who has great passion for beer and loves to have fun, even though it means slippers, the short form "chale" means FRIEND.

It is no surprise that Ghanaians are so friendly and welcoming in a wonderful way. I know the question running through your mind now is, how and where is the link between beer and the hospitality of Ghanaians? Well here is your answer. In the years past, our grandparents welcome visitors with a calabash of "pito" a locally brewed drink from palm tree. They would serve their visitors with this sweet drink and accompany it with a very hearty chat. Today the story is still the same but with a little bit of twist. When you visit somebody today in Ghana, the person appreciates your visit with a beer (adults only) just to say welcome before conversation begins.  

Beer is one of the fastest growing liquor beverages in Ghana, with club beer and especially star beer rated as the nations favorite. Star beer according to beer lovers is a well brewed beer which gives a well rounded overall bitter taste and long lasting "bubbley" and foamy feeling in the mouth of its consumers. This product has undergone many reviews in times past and even now. It was introduced into the country in the late 1960s and has since been accepted by the majority of Ghanaians and has a slogan "star beer, the nations beer". It is s product of Guiness Ghana Brewery limited "GGBL".