The Collaboration Brew! The BEER!

We are using our crowdfunding campaign to spread the knowledge and enjoyment of African brewing. We have partnered with breweries on 3 different continents to get you closer to the Kweza experience. All breweries are value aligned (Women owned, Black owned, B Corp, sustainable, African based), and will be brewing with African ingredients. Breweries in North America and Europe will mainly use sorghum, a highly versatile brewing grain, as a brewing ingredient.

If you choose a brewery’s perk, you are supporting Kweza with that funding! We will send you apriority access “Space Saver” certificate and alert you when your brewery’s beer is ready. You then use your Space Saver to get  your priority access to that brewery’s limited release beer! There’s everything in this international list from  from Sorghum Saison to a Kveik yeast sorghum, to fruited sour sorghums to a juniper sorghum, at those breweries. 

You can reserve a priority access Ticket by selecting the perk for that brewery. We will send you a digital certificate for access to purchase that brewery’s beers. NOTE – you still need to buy the beer directly from the brewery itself. The Golden Ticket is NOT a beer voucher – it is support of Kweza for organizing this global collab, and to build our brewery! Ensure you will be able to get to the brewery or order according to the breweries’ shipping availability, based on local regulations. Kweza is NOT responsible for your beer purchase or delivery. We will be keeping you up to date on your chosen brewery’s brew dates and availability. 

Rwanda: Kweza Craft Brewery with Tolokazi Beer from South Africa 

Kenya: 254 Brewery (6% abv Sorghum and Procera juniper pale ale)

Nigeria: Bature Brewery (West Africa Pale Ale)

Tanzania: Crafty Dees (Sorghum Saison)

South Africa: Folk & Goode (South African yeast, ZAR hops, and sorghum!)

Canada: Beau’s All Natural Brewing Co, Paris Beer Co (Organic Sorghum Beer)

US: Harlem Brewing Co, Two Frays, Vitamin Sea Brewing

Note: due to regulation breweries below will sell and support post purchase. Direct perks not available. But, if you support us via another perk, and are in the UK, we’ll be advertising when beer is available to purchase!

England: Cloudwater Brewery, Eko Brewery, Merakai Brewing Co, The Coven Brewsters

Sweden: Stigbergets Brewery

Yakima Chief Hops is also supporting the whole team by creating a hops blend specialized for sorghum beer brewing, designed with Kweza and a team of Brew Masters, including Danie Odendaal at Bearded Brew, Christian Von der Heide (Paris Brewing Co), and Apiwe Nxusani-Mawela (Tolokazi Beer). 

First Sip Brew Box, a Veteran, Black, and Women owned company, is putting together all the cool merchandise and logistics to get it to you. 

Our Story

We’re Rwanda’s first craft beer brewery. We’re women owned, led, brewed, and cheffed. We make beers that are delicious, and tell a story – from the roots of African women making sorghum beer, to using local crops and plants such as sorghum, ginger, mangoes, and jasmine to make a variety of light ales, IPAs, stouts, with more variety to come. 

Kweza Beers: Ginger, Sorghum, IPA, Stout

Women in Beer, in Africa, and History

Women have traditionally made beer in most cultures around the world, but not been able to benefit from that creation and lineage at the commercial level. Kweza aims to have women running all aspects of the business. Our goal is that women have the profit from the product they’ve always made, and can build generational wealth on that history. Learn more about how we’re accomplishing this on our website and by watching this webinar we held on Women Brewing Beer in History, Africa, and Rwanda (with Kweza Craft Brewery)  . 

Josephine, Kweza Assistant Brewer, her mother, and aunt brew a sorghum based beer together on International Women’s Day 2021

Who are we? Find out more about the Women of Kweza: Brewers Josephine and Jessi, and Chef Debby on our website.

The Backstory

In 2016, Fina Uwineza, a Rwandan entrepreneur, and Steve Beauchesne, CEO of Beau’s Brewery, launched a Kickstarter to fund the purchase of a bottling line.  We’ve grown the project, purchased a bottling line AND an entire brewery worth of equipment! Read and watch more of the original Kickstarter here!

2016 Kickstarter Completed: Bottling line & all the other necessary brewing equipment from brewhouse to fermenters and more, purchased from South Africa

Funding

Indiegogo funds will be used to construct the microbrewery and brewpub and grounds, import the equipment that was purchased from South Africa, and provide enough operational funding until the business is profit positive (projected to be 3 years). We aim to build the brewpub starting in late 2021, opening in early 2022.

Brewery & Brewpub

Working with local architect General Architecture Collaborative, we have designed a microbrewery and brewpub that will provide locally sourced food. The brewery will offer tours and tastings, the restaurant will have food such as beer braised meat pies, and indoor and outdoor event spaces will allow us to host your events. 

We have also designed the brewery to be as sustainable as possible. Inside of Kigali’s new Green City, we will be collecting rainwater and drilling a borehole that will be shared with the local community for a filtered water source. We aim to be solar powered, and to also build a beautiful wastewater wetland. 

Kweza Brewery and Brewpub/ Restaurant rendering by Architects

Initial rendering of Kweza.

Current status

Kweza is licensed to operate, and has received zoning approval for construction!

We launched at Akagera National Park in August 2021, and now are hosting small events. We are also building our client list for those waiting to serve Kweza beer, including the new Ellen DeGeneres Campus of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, where we will be serving Biodiversity Beers that support communities and conservation.

Public Launch of Kweza at Akagera National Park, Rwanda

Taking in the sun and view at Akagera National Park for Kweza’s launch. 2 of this Indigogo’s perks include stays at Akagera!

Other Kweza Partners and Supporters

Thanks to our amazing community, we have a variety of perks for you to support Kweza! 

A digital thank you certificate with artwork created by Thandi Guilherme, brew artist, host of Beer Ladies Podcast. Check out the Beer Ladies Podcast with Kweza!

Tourism & Biodiversity partner Akagera National Park, with a stay for 2 at Karenge Tented Camp

Tourism partner Wilderness Safaris, with 2 nights for 2 people for a luxury safari adventure at Magashi Camp in Akagera National Park. 

Tourism partner Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International, with a personalized tour of the new Ellen DeGeneres Campus of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund.

Travel partner Eagle Ride, who will bring you to Akagera and the Fossey project in style and information! 

Tourism Partner Question Coffee. Women powered, like Kweza! During this 2 hour masterclass, you’ll pick coffee bean cherries, and experience how to get from coffee bush to cup! You’ll also get to make your own coffee blend to take home. Learn more about this crop, native to Africa, and the woman grown business of Question Coffee.

Let’s GO!

Sorghum, native to Africa, and a great brewing ingredient.

Risks and challenges

Risks include delayed timelines (e.g. lockdowns, government and supply chain delays due to COVID delaying construction), technical difficulties due to imports, lack of equipment availability in country, and general startup business risks. However, we have planned to incorporate things we don’t know that we don’t know. We are, after all, the first of the industry in the country.