Guinea corn grains before milling
Milled Guinea corn after steeping
1 hour after mashing
Fermentation process
See also
- Umqombothi, Chibuku and Munkoyo or 'Ibwatu' in Zambia.
Burukutu is an alcoholic beverage, brewed from the grains of Guinea corn ( Sorghum bicolor ) and millet (Pennisetum glaucum). [1] The alcoholic beverage is often produced in Tropical African countries such as Nigeria, Togo, Kenya, Ethiopia and Burundi as one of the major traditional and local alcoholic drinks. It is commonly consumed in Northern Guinea savanna region of Nigeria, Ghana, Togo, and Republic of Benin. [2]
Burukutu production has many processes depending on the African country in particular or the ethnic regions, but five basic stages have been known to be consistent all through. (Daniel, 2022). The five basic stages include: steeping, malting, mashing, fermentation, and maturation. [3] The production begins by malting, which involves the conversion of the Guinea corn or millet grains into malt and this takes place on a malting floor. [4] This process is followed by steeping, which involves the soaking of the grains in water for at least three days to allow the grain to absorb moisture and to begin to sprout. [5] When the grain has absorbed enough moisture, it is transferred to the malting floor, where it is constantly turned over for around five days while it is air-dried. [6] This procedure is followed by mashing in which the milled grain known as the "grain bill" (malted grain) is mixed with water known as "liquor" and heating the mixture. [7] This process allows the enzymes in the grain bill to decompose the starch in the grain into sugars (maltose) to form a wort. [8] The product is allowed to ferment using the sugar fungi form of yeast and allow maturation for 2 days or 48 hours. [9]
In Nigeria particularly in Kebbi state, Guinea corn is used in place of millet or sorghum in other places due to its sweeter taste and thicker consistency. Malting proceeds and the corn is grounded. The grounded corn is mixed with water and the solution homogenised. The solution is left to ferment for a day or two depending on how well organoleptic properties and fermentation process are considered. The fermented corn is cooked and drained into another bowl when cooled. Adjuncts like Garri can be added but part of another batch of the grounded corn called a greul is added to introduce wild strains from malted corn and give a consistent flavour. The gruel and cooked fermented corn are mixed together and boiled once more. Burukutu is cooled, the next day and served to customers. Overall, the process of Burukutu production takes a period of 7 days so local producers have a batch fermentation system to keep up with their growing consumers in the North (Daniel, 2022).
Beer is one of the oldest types of alcoholic drinks in the world, and the most widely consumed. It is the third most popular drink overall after potable water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from cereal grains—most commonly malted barley, though wheat, maize (corn), rice, and oats are also used. During the brewing process, fermentation of the starch sugars in the wort produces ethanol and carbonation in the resulting beer. Most modern beer is brewed with hops, which add bitterness and other flavours and act as a natural preservative and stabilising agent. Other flavouring agents such as gruit, herbs, or fruits may be included or used instead of hops. In commercial brewing, the natural carbonation effect is often removed during processing and replaced with forced carbonation.
Brewing is the production of beer by steeping a starch source in water and fermenting the resulting sweet liquid with yeast. It may be done in a brewery by a commercial brewer, at home by a homebrewer, or communally. Brewing has taken place since around the 6th millennium BC, and archaeological evidence suggests that emerging civilizations, including ancient Egypt, China, and Mesopotamia, brewed beer. Since the nineteenth century the brewing industry has been part of most western economies.
Malt is a cereal grain that has been made to germinate by soaking in water and is then halted 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, confections such as Maltesers and Whoppers, flavored drinks such as Horlicks, Ovaltine, and Milo, and some baked goods, such as malt loaf, bagels, and Rich Tea biscuits. Malted grain that has been ground into a coarse meal is known as "sweet meal".
Homebrewing is the brewing of beer or other alcoholic beverages on a small scale for personal, non-commercial purposes. Supplies, such as kits and fermentation tanks, can be purchased locally at specialty stores or online. Beer was brewed domestically for thousands of years before its commercial production, although its legality has varied according to local regulation. Homebrewing is closely related to the hobby of home distillation, the production of alcoholic spirits for personal consumption; however home distillation is generally more tightly regulated.
In brewing and distilling, mashing is the process of combining a mix of ground grains – typically malted barley with supplementary grains such as corn, sorghum, rye, or wheat – known as the "grain bill" with water and then heating the mixture. Mashing allows the enzymes in the malt to break down the starch in the grain into sugars, typically maltose to create a malty liquid called wort.
Ethanol fermentation, also called alcoholic fermentation, is a biological process which converts sugars such as glucose, fructose, and sucrose into cellular energy, producing ethanol and carbon dioxide as by-products. Because yeasts perform this conversion in the absence of oxygen, alcoholic fermentation is considered an anaerobic process. It also takes place in some species of fish where it provides energy when oxygen is scarce.
In brewing, adjuncts are unmalted grains or grain products used in brewing beer which supplement the main mash ingredient. This is often done with the intention of cutting costs, but sometimes also to create an additional feature, such as better foam retention, flavours or nutritional value or additives. Both solid and liquid adjuncts are commonly used.
Umqombothi, is a Nguni traditional beer made from maize (corn), maize malt, sorghum malt, yeast and water. It is very rich in vitamin B. The beer has a rather low alcohol content and is known to have a heavy and distinctly sour aroma. In appearance, the beer is opaque and light tan. It has a thick, creamy, and gritty consistency.
Sour mash is a process used in the distilling industry that uses material from an older batch of mash to start the fermentation of a new batch, analogous to the making of sourdough bread with a starter. The term can also be used as the name of the type of mash used in such a process, and a bourbon made using this process can be referred to as a sour mash bourbon.
Mash ingredients, mash bill, mashbill, or grain bill are the materials that brewers use to produce the wort that they then ferment into alcohol. Mashing is the act of creating and extracting fermentable and non-fermentable sugars and flavor components from grain by steeping it in hot water, and then letting it rest at specific temperature ranges to activate naturally occurring enzymes in the grain that convert starches to sugars. The sugars separate from the mash ingredients, and then yeast in the brewing process converts them to alcohol and other fermentation products.
Ogi is a fermented cereal pudding and popular street food from Nigeria, typically made from maize, sorghum, guinea corn or millet. Traditionally, the grains are soaked in water for up to three days, before wet-milling or grounding and sieving to remove husks. The filtered cereal is then allowed to ferment for up to three days until sour. It is then boiled into a pap, or cooked to make a creamy pudding also known as Agidi or Eko. It may be eaten with moin moin, akara/acarajé or bread depending on individual choice.
Tongba is a millet-based alcoholic beverage found in the eastern mountainous region of Nepal, Bhutan and neighbouring Indian regions of Sikkim and Darjeeling. It is the traditional drink of the Limbu people. Tongba is culturally and religiously important to the Limbus; offering it is a sign of respect to a guest, and the drink is also an important element of special occasions and festivals.
Wort is the liquid extracted from the mashing process during the brewing of beer or whisky. Wort contains the sugars, the most important being maltose and maltotriose, that will be fermented by the brewing yeast to produce alcohol. Wort also contains crucial amino acids to provide nitrogen to the yeast as well as more complex proteins contributing to beer head retention and flavour.
Pito is a type of beer made from fermented millet or sorghum in northern Ghana, parts of Nigeria, and other parts of West Africa. It is made by small (household-level) producers, and is typically served in a calabash outside the producer's home where benches are sometimes provided.
Commercial sorghum is the cultivation and commercial exploitation of species of grasses within the genus Sorghum. These plants are used for grain, fibre and fodder. The plants are cultivated in warmer climates worldwide. Commercial Sorghum species are native to tropical and subtropical regions of Africa and Asia.
Millet beer, also known as Bantu beer, malwa, pombe "Tchouk" or opaque beer [बाजरा बियर in Hindi], is an alcoholic beverage made from malted millet that is common throughout Africa. Its production process varies across regions and in the southern parts of Africa is more commonly known as umqombothi. Millet beer varies in taste and alcoholic content between ethnic groups. It is served in calabash gourds.
Jiuqu, also known as just qū or qú, is a type of East Asian dried fermentation starter used in the production of traditional Chinese alcoholic beverages. The word jiǔqū specifically refers to a type of qū used to manufacture alcoholic products, such as huangjiu, baijiu and jiuniang.
Also known as Kpete, Kwete is the alcoholic beverage brewed particularly by the Lugbara people of Uganda, Abanyala ba Kakamega in Kenya and DR Congo. The production process involves mixing fermented sorghum, millet or maize, malt, boiled water and yeast which is locally called Aku fi.
Huangjiu is a type of Chinese alcoholic beverage most popular in the Jiangnan area. Huangjiu is brewed by mixing boiled grains including rice, glutinous rice or millet with qū as starter culture, followed by saccharification and fermentation at around 13–18 °C (55–64 °F) for fortnights. Its alcohol content is typically 8% to 20%.