Johannesburg – With the alcohol ban being one of the strict restrictions during the lockdown, South Africans have come up with crafty ways to quench their thirst. In the past week, President Cyril Ramaphosa has been mulling calls to relax restrictions on the sale and distribution of alcohol during the lockdown.
No one is allowed to buy, sell or transport alcohol and this has caused problems for the government with consumers and retailers.
South Africans, however, have come up with ways to get their alcohol. Many have turned their own kitchens into small breweries, brewing traditional beer and other invective beverages like apple ciders and pineapple ale.
Brewmaster Apiwe Nxusani-Mawela explains that brewing is not just about throwing ingredients together, as warnings of alcohol poisoning have been put out.
“Brewing is a process. I’ve had people asking me if I have a recipe for something that can be ready in a day or two- fermentation doesn’t work like that, it’s a process… it cannot be rushed and it usually takes time,” Nxusani-Mawela said.
A lot of retailers have run out of core ingredients such as malt as the desperation for alcohol increases.
Meanwhile on Friday, President Ramaphosa is expected to announce his response to demands by the Gauteng Liquor Forum to ease the regulations which the forum says were unconstitutional.
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