A Tribute to Asmara Beer


On a whim, I decided to look Asmara beer up in my Complete Guide to Beer. And it's there!! According to the book by Brian Glover, "The golden Asmara Lager, which is matured for more than four weeks, has a firm, malty flavour and excellent body. It is the only beer produced by the Asmara brewery in Eritrea."

And someone will have to tell me it this is right, but it further states that, "An Italian, Luigi Melotti, originally set up this company in Asmara, Eritrea, in 1939 to produce pure alcohol and spirits. It began to produce lager three years later. In 1984, it changed its name from Melotti to Asmara."

But the punchline is that none of the Ethiopian beers made the cut. None of them are mentioned in what is self-described as "An expert and COMPREHENSIVE guide to the beers of the world."