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Beer is the most popular industrial alcoholic beverage in Ethiopia with lager being the most consumed type of beer. In the rural sector, the home-brew tella or siwa is still dominant.

History

The first brewery in Ethiopia was established in 1922 by St. George Beer (named after the patron saint of Ethiopia). Brands like Meta and Bedele are also older in Ethiopia but have since been acquired by foreign companies and re-branded.

Industry

Ethiopia's beer industry has grown tremendously in the last two decades. It transformed into one of the most competitive industries in Ethiopia, with millions of birr spent on advertisements alone. The industry's competitiveness has led to more investment in farming, such as in malt production.^[1]

Top 15 beer brands in Ethiopia according to RateBeer.com (as of 2017)^[2]

Rank	Name	Score	Count	Style
1	Garden Bräu Ebony	2.82	4	Dunkel/Tmavý
2	Garden Bräu Blondy	2.77	4	Dortmunder/Helles
3	St George Amber Beer (Ethiopia)	2.72	61	Amber Lager/Vienna
4	Hakim Stout	2.72	193	Foreign Stout
5	Raya Beer	2.69	5	Pale Lager
6	Bedele Beer	2.60	22	Pale Lager
7	Habesha Cold Gold	2.51	11	Pale Lager
8	Walia	2.48	10	Pale Lager
9	Harar	2.38	128	Pale Lager
10	Meta Premium	2.25	63	Premium Lager
11	Bedele Special Beer	2.24	65	Pale Lager
12	Castel Beer (Ethiopia)	2.18	60	Pale Lager
13	Meta Beer Export Lager	2.18	71	Pale Lager
14	St. George Beer	2.16	208	Pale Lager
15	Dashen Beer	2.04	28	Pale Lager

Brands

Meta (ሜታ ቢራ)
Bedele (በደሌ ቢራ)
Dashen (ዳሽን ቢራ)
Jano (ጃኖ)
Habesha (ሐበሻ ቢራ)
Harar (ሐረር ቢራ)
Walia (ዋልያ ቢራ)
Raya (ራያ ቢራ)
Balageru
Azmera
St. George Beer (ቅዱስ ጊዮርጊስ ቢራ)
St. George Amber
Zebedar Beer
Heineken
Castel
Hakim Stout
Garden Bräu Ebony
Garden Bräu Blondy
Anbessa ()

Competition with home-brewed beers

As living standards increase, the more affluent segment of rural society frequently shifts from home-brewed beer to lager beer. Industrial breweries have seen this emerging market and prepared specific brands targeted at farmers: Balageru (meaning: the rural people) and Azmera beers (meaning: "good cropping season").^[3]

References

^ Sisay Gessesse, Andualem (9 August 2017). "Ethiopia to end malt import boosting local production". News Business Ethiopia. Archived from the original on 1 September 2017. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
^ Birhaner, De (5 March 2017). "What are the best beers of Ethiopia? Dashen beer ranked last". Debirhan. Archived from the original on 22 September 2017. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
^ Nyssen, Jan; De Rudder, Fien; Vlassenroot, Koen; Nega, Fredu; Azadi, Hossein (2019). "Socio-demographic Profile, Food Insecurity and Food-Aid Based Response". Geo-trekking in Ethiopia's Tropical Mountains. GeoGuide. Cham (CH): SpringerNature. pp. 495–504. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-04955-3_33. ISBN 978-3-030-04954-6. S2CID 199093960.

[1] Sisay Gessesse, Andualem (9 August 2017). "Ethiopia to end malt import boosting local production". News Business Ethiopia. Archived from the original on 1 September 2017. Retrieved 31 August 2017.

[2] Birhaner, De (5 March 2017). "What are the best beers of Ethiopia? Dashen beer ranked last". Debirhan. Archived from the original on 22 September 2017. Retrieved 31 August 2017.

[3] Nyssen, Jan; De Rudder, Fien; Vlassenroot, Koen; Nega, Fredu; Azadi, Hossein (2019). "Socio-demographic Profile, Food Insecurity and Food-Aid Based Response". Geo-trekking in Ethiopia's Tropical Mountains. GeoGuide. Cham (CH): SpringerNature. pp. 495–504. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-04955-3_33. ISBN 978-3-030-04954-6. S2CID 199093960.

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