Wild African Soul Beer – 2025 African Beer Cup Champion

Wild African Soul Beer is a groundbreaking craft beer collaboration between brewing master Apiwe Nxusani-Mawela and Soul Barrel Brewing Company that won the 2025 African Beer Cup championship. This innovative brew blends traditional African Umqombothi beer (a creamy brew incorporating maize and sorghum malt) with a fruity, fizzy Belgian Saison beer style, creating a unique fusion that honors African heritage while embracing modern craft brewing techniques. Created by South Africa’s first Black female craft brewery owner, Wild African Soul represents a mission to keep traditional African beer alive for the next generation while bringing elements of the past into the future. The beer tells a cultural story through its distinctive flavor profile combining creamy traditional African malt character with contemporary fruity Belgian yeast notes and lively carbonation.

Key Facts

• Beer Name: Wild African Soul
• Type: African-Belgian Fusion Beer
• Style: Umqombothi/Belgian Saison Blend
• Creator: Apiwe Nxusani-Mawela (Tolokazi Brewery)
• Collaboration Partner: Soul Barrel Brewing
• Award: 2025 African Beer Cup Champion
• Base Ingredients: Maize, sorghum malt (Umqombothi tradition)
• Character: Creamy, fruity, fizzy
• Innovation: Traditional African brewing meets modern craft beer
• Philosophy: “Bringing our past into the future”

What is Wild African Soul Beer?

Wild African Soul Beer is an award-winning collaboration combining traditional African Umqombothi with Belgian Saison beer. Umqombothi is a creamy brew incorporating maize and sorghum malt that has been central to African brewing traditions for generations. Belgian Saison is a fruity, fizzy farmhouse ale style known for spicy yeast character and refreshing drinkability.

This innovative fusion creates a beer that tells a cultural story while delivering modern craft beer quality. The result is a unique drinking experience that honors African heritage while appealing to contemporary beer enthusiasts.

History and Creator

Apiwe Nxusani-Mawela: Pioneering Brewer

Wild African Soul Beer was created by Apiwe Nxusani-Mawela, a 41-year-old international beer judge and taster believed to be the first Black woman in South Africa to own a craft brewery. Her Tolokazi brewery is located in the Johannesburg suburb of Wynberg, positioned between the poor Black township of Alexandra and the glitzy financial district of Sandton.

Nxusani-Mawela hails from the rural town of Butterworth, some 1,000 kilometers away from Johannesburg. She first discovered beer as a potential career at a university open day in Johannesburg, beginning a journey that would make her a pioneer in South Africa’s multibillion-dollar beer industry.

Mission and Philosophy

Nxusani-Mawela is on a mission to keep traditional African beer alive for the next generation. She believes that beer styles should reflect elements of African heritage brought into the future.

“Umqombothi is our African way, and everybody should know how to make it, but we don’t,” she explained. “I believe that the beer styles that we make need to reflect having an element of our past being brought into the future.”

Beyond creating exceptional beer, Nxusani-Mawela aims to transform South Africa’s beer industry by opening opportunities for more Black people and more women. At her Brewsters Academy in Johannesburg, she teaches 13 young Black graduates (most of them women) the art of beer making in a structured six-month training program followed by six months of work placement.

Soul Barrel Brewing Collaboration

Wild African Soul represents a collaboration with Soul Barrel Brewing, a craft beer company that shares Nxusani-Mawela’s vision for innovative, culturally significant brewing. Together, they created a beer that blends old African flavors with modern craft techniques, resulting in the 2025 African Beer Cup championship victory.

Production Method

Traditional African Brewing Foundations

Wild African Soul incorporates elements of Umqombothi, traditional African beer with deep cultural roots. Umqombothi brewing involves:

Maize: Provides the creamy, substantial body characteristic of traditional African beer

Sorghum Malt: Contributes distinctive flavor and fermentable sugars

Traditional Techniques: Methods passed down through generations of African brewers

Historically, women were responsible for brewing beer in many African cultures. Wild African Soul represents a return to these roots with modern expertise and scientific understanding.

Modern Craft Beer Innovation

The beer incorporates Belgian Saison brewing techniques:

Belgian Yeast: Creates fruity, spicy flavor profile with characteristic Belgian complexity

Carbonation: Fizzy character provides refreshing modern mouthfeel

Craft Brewing Standards: Precise temperature control, sanitation, and quality processes

Brewing Process

The production balances sugar and grains carefully, constantly checking the mixture throughout the brewing process. The mashing process (mixing crushed grains with hot water to release sugars) creates the foundation for fermentation.

The fusion approach requires expert blending to achieve harmony between creamy traditional African character and fruity, fizzy Belgian elements. The result is a beer that tells a story while delivering award-winning quality.

Alcohol Percentage

Specific ABV data for Wild African Soul Beer has not been publicly disclosed. Traditional Umqombothi typically ranges from 3-8% ABV depending on production methods, while Belgian Saisons typically fall between 5-7% ABV.

The fusion approach likely produces a moderate-strength beer in the 4-6% ABV range, making it sessionable and approachable while maintaining flavor complexity.

Tasting Notes

A Cultural Journey in Every Sip

Appearance: The beer likely presents with slight haze characteristic of traditional African beer combined with Saison’s natural cloudiness. The color probably ranges from pale golden to light amber.

On the Nose: Aromatic complexity blending African grain character with Belgian yeast fruitiness. Expect creamy malt aromas from maize and sorghum combined with fruity Belgian yeast notes suggesting stone fruit, citrus, and subtle spice.

On the Palate: The flavor profile delivers creamy traditional African beer character enhanced by fruity Belgian Saison notes. The maize and sorghum provide substantial, slightly sweet grain flavor while Belgian yeast contributes peppery spice, fruity esters, and refreshing character.

The texture is creamy from the Umqombothi influence yet fizzy and lively from the Saison carbonation. This creates an interesting contrast that makes the beer both comforting and invigorating.

Finish: Likely clean with lingering grain sweetness balanced by Belgian yeast dryness. The finish probably encourages another sip, combining traditional satisfaction with modern refreshment.

Overall Character: Wild African Soul delivers unique fusion character unavailable in standard beer styles. It tells a cultural story while providing award-winning craft beer quality.

Cultural Significance

Preserving African Brewing Heritage

Umqombothi represents African brewing heritage stretching back generations. Women historically dominated beer brewing in parts of Africa, making fermented beverages central to cultural celebrations, ceremonies, and daily life.

Wild African Soul helps preserve this heritage by introducing traditional African brewing to new audiences through accessible craft beer formats. Young people who might never encounter traditional Umqombothi can experience African brewing heritage through this modern interpretation.

Reclaiming Traditional Roles

As student Lehlohonolo Makhethe notes, women were historically responsible for brewing beer in some African cultures. Learning brewing represents reclaiming a traditional role: “How it got male dominated, I don’t know. I’d rather say we are going back to our roots as women to doing what we started.”

Wild African Soul embodies this reclamation, created by a female brewer using traditional African methods in a modern context.

Economic Empowerment

South Africa’s beer industry supports more than 200,000 jobs and contributes $5.2 billion to the country’s GDP. Wild African Soul’s success demonstrates that African-inspired beers can compete at the highest levels, creating economic opportunities while celebrating cultural identity.

Nxusani-Mawela’s goal is ensuring she’s not the first and last Black female brewery owner: “Brewsters Academy for me is about transforming the industry.”

Awards and Recognition

2025 African Beer Cup Champion

Wild African Soul won the 2025 African Beer Cup, a major prize in African brewing. This championship validates the fusion approach and demonstrates that beers honoring African heritage can achieve international recognition.

The African Beer Cup celebrates excellence in brewing across the continent, making Wild African Soul’s victory particularly significant as a statement about African brewing innovation and quality.

Industry Impact

The award brings attention to traditional African brewing methods and their potential in modern craft beer. It demonstrates that cultural authenticity and brewing excellence are not mutually exclusive but can enhance each other when executed with skill and vision.

The Tolokazi Brewery Experience

Unique African Flavors

Beyond Wild African Soul, Nxusani-Mawela has incorporated uniquely African flavors into her Tolokazi brewery line:

Marula Fruit: Indigenous African fruit known for creamy, tropical character

Rooibos: South African bush better known for caffeine-free tea, creating unique beer flavor

These ingredients demonstrate commitment to African identity in brewing. As one taster noted about the rooibos beer: “Who could have thought of rooibos beer? It’s so smooth. Even if you are not a beer drinker, you can drink it.”

Where to Experience Wild African Soul

Wild African Soul appears at beer festivals and events where Apiwe Nxusani-Mawela showcases her beers. The brewery’s Johannesburg location in Wynberg serves as both production facility and training ground for the next generation of African brewers.

Availability may be limited as a craft collaboration beer, but its African Beer Cup victory will likely increase distribution opportunities.

Why Wild African Soul Matters

Cultural Preservation

Wild African Soul ensures traditional African brewing knowledge survives for future generations. By blending Umqombothi with modern craft beer, it makes African brewing relevant and accessible to contemporary audiences.

Industry Transformation

The beer demonstrates that South Africa’s brewing industry can embrace diversity and innovation while honoring tradition. It proves that beers rooted in African heritage can compete internationally.

Educational Impact

Through Brewsters Academy, Nxusani-Mawela trains young Black graduates (especially women) in brewing arts. Wild African Soul serves as inspiration showing what’s possible when tradition meets innovation with skill and passion.

Representation

As the creation of South Africa’s first Black female craft brewery owner, Wild African Soul represents breakthrough achievement in a male-dominated industry. It opens doors for more diverse voices in brewing.

The Future of African Brewing

Wild African Soul points toward a future where African brewing traditions inform global craft beer innovation. As interest in diverse beer styles grows worldwide, African-inspired beers like Wild African Soul demonstrate untapped potential.

Nxusani-Mawela’s commitment to training the next generation ensures this is just the beginning. Her students will carry forward both technical brewing skills and understanding of African brewing heritage, creating more innovations that honor the past while building the future.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Wild African Soul Beer?

Wild African Soul is an award-winning collaboration between Apiwe Nxusani-Mawela and Soul Barrel Brewing that blends traditional African Umqombothi beer (made with maize and sorghum malt) with fruity, fizzy Belgian Saison beer. It won the 2025 African Beer Cup championship.

Who created Wild African Soul?

Apiwe Nxusani-Mawela, believed to be South Africa’s first Black female craft brewery owner, created Wild African Soul in collaboration with Soul Barrel Brewing. She is an international beer judge and owner of Tolokazi brewery in Johannesburg.

What does Wild African Soul taste like?

The beer combines creamy traditional African beer character from maize and sorghum with fruity Belgian Saison notes and lively carbonation, creating a unique fusion that is both comforting and refreshing.

What is Umqombothi?

Umqombothi is traditional African beer incorporating maize and sorghum malt, creating a creamy brew central to African brewing heritage for generations.

Where can I buy Wild African Soul Beer?

Availability information has not been widely published. The beer appears at beer festivals where Apiwe Nxusani-Mawela showcases her creations. Contact Tolokazi brewery in Johannesburg for current availability.

What awards has Wild African Soul won?

Wild African Soul won the 2025 African Beer Cup championship, a major prize celebrating brewing excellence across the African continent.

Wild African Soul Beer represents more than an award-winning brew. It embodies cultural preservation, industry transformation, and the power of bringing heritage into the future through innovation and excellence.

Drink responsibly. Support African brewing innovation.