The Kweza Project Beer Collaboration

In April of 2021, Yakima Chief Hops shared the news of Kweza Craft Brewery, a women and BIPOC owned brewery in Rwanda who participated in the Pink Boots Collaboration Brew Day using the 4th Annual Pink Boots Blend. We received an overwhelming response from the global brewing industry in support of these incredible women who are pioneering the craft community in Rwanda with the first craft brewery in the country.

An Update on Kweza Craft Brewery

The team at Kweza Craft Brewery began pilot brewing in 2020 and became licensed as the first craft brewery in Rwanda in 2021. With the increasing demand for their beers and a passion for empowering women in Africa, they are currently working on transitioning to a full-scale production brewery.

However, establishing a larger brewing business in Rwanda presents a unique set of challenges. The Kweza team must work with the Rwandan government to help modify and create regulations for the new craft brewing industry, and work with extremely limited access to ingredients, brewing equipment and packaging supplies. With so many people inspired by their story, they have established a crowdfunding option that allows people from across the globe to support and be a part of the growth of Kweza Craft Brewery

About the Collab

At YCH, we continue to be inspired by the brewing community’s overall passion for supporting each other, promoting diversity in the industry, empowering women and sharing the joy of craft beer across the globe. With this, we have worked alongside Kweza Craft Brewery to create the Kweza Project Beer Collaboration. All brewers worldwide are invited to participate.

Not only is this a great way to support an amazing group of women pioneers in the craft beer industry, but it’s also an exciting opportunity to brew with a unique ingredient. Participants are asked to incorporate sorghum into their beer recipes, a locally grown and major agricultural ingredient in Rwanda, used to made traditional African beer, and often used to replace barley in beer in European/ American markets.

How to participate:

  1. Sign up to participate in the Kweza Project Beer Collaboration. Your regional sales representative will be in touch to complete your hop order and discount. Product will be shipped in 4x5 Kg/ 11lb boxes. CLICK TO SIGN UP. 
  2. Purchase your sorghum. Reach out to your regional brewing ingredient supplier, such as Country Malt Group, MoreBeer!, LD Carlson, and CNC Malt for domestic breweries
  3. Create your recipe. Check out this resource on how to brew with sorghum: RESOURCE KIT
  4. Access the custom Kweza Project Beer Collaboration label art, illustrated by Christella Bijou, a Rwandandese artist. RESOURCE KIT
  5. Brew and pour, can or bottle your beer! And share the Kweza Craft Brewery story with your beer drinkers
  6. Donate a portion of your proceeds to Kweza Craft Brewery using the crowdfunding link: https://www.kwezabrewery.com/supportkweza
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*Note: Kweza is working with Paypal to fix an issue with non Paypal user issues.https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/510ad029a0bd4a8e8c0a04698b5cc529

 

Supporting Kweza Craft Brewery

The funds received through these crowdfunding efforts will go directly to staffing, training and building the infrastructure of the new production brewery, contributing to the success of Rwanda’s first craft brewery and a business 99% owned by women and BIPOC. In Rwanda, brewing beer is a craft that was historically led by women, however, they are not traditionally able to financially benefit or own this work. Kweza Craft Brewery aims to provide African women the opportunity to run all aspects of the business and benefit from the business they have always done with the ultimate goal of building generational wealth among women in Rwanda. 

These funds are also used to support the work that Kweza does with Rwandan ecologists, researchers and farmers to develop biodiverse beers, or beers that utilize traditional and locally sourced ingredients to brew industry favorites. The use of these native plants not only helps to leverage biodiversity and sustainability, but also supports the local economy. Kweza means “harvest” and “purity” in Kinyarwanda, fitting Kweza’s mission to celebrate Rwanda’s flora and ingredients through Kweza beer.