Shebeens and the SAB World of Beer

SAB is not just a brewery; it is a World of Beer. So we set out to explore the world on Saturday with our friend Ric who is visiting from the US!

The tour at SAB, makers of Castle, Peroni, Pilnzner Urquell, Grolsch and Miller Genuine Draught among others, showcases the history and culture of the brewing of beer at its downtown "World of Beer." And you get two free beers at the end of the tour in their very nicely appointed bar!


The first record of brewing beer is found on a wall in, you guessed it, Africa. I am beginning to think everything originated in Africa! Egyptian hieroglyphics dating back more than 5000 years allude to its production. Initially, brewing was, for the most part, a household project carried out by Nubian women. 

Later, Egyptian Pharaohs provided their laborers with a daily ration of four loaves of bread and two jugs of beer. Rameses III took pride in consecrating to the gods more than 400,000 jars of beer. The tradition of women brewers is still practiced in the tribal rituals of South Africa. We tasted some traditional Bantu beer which the women store in a calabash and the men drink (first, women second) directly from the calabash or from a gourd ladle.

We wandered through displays and videos of the history of beer through its evolution in Europe and the establishment of unlicensed shebeens in the heyday of mining in South Africa. Shebeen is an Irish word and was first used to describe home-grown illegal saloons by the Irish miners who emigrated to South Africa to work in the gold mines.

There was a recreated shebeen in the museum which we were able to tour. I realized I had actually been in a real life shebeen once before in Kenya in 1979. Our safari group was staying at a lodge very close to the hometown of one of our safari drivers who invited a few of the more adventuresome of us to come have a Tusker with him at his local hang-out. I remember thinking upon entering the all-male establishment that I will probably not tell my mother about this excursion when I return. She would not have been happy!

The shebeens are licensed now and most of them are not dangerous anymore. We had our taxi driver drop us off at one of the safer shebeens in Soweto when we toured there and it was fine. I could have told my mother about this one.

Cheers!