A new market is emerging in Senegal: that of craft beer. Rather accustomed to industrial beers like Flag or Gazelle, Senegalese consumers have been discovering the flavors of beers brewed in the country since two micro-breweries were launched.
The youngest is the Kalao house, which launched at the beginning of December. For the moment, the production is very small, with only 1,000 bottles per month. Its particularity is that all the products come from the continent. Ginger, rice and millet are Senegalese, hops South African. The objective is to work with local and responsible agriculture. “The idea was to create a Senegalese recipe, to recall flavors that can be found in Senegal and in West Africa in general”, explains the Franco-Cameroonian brewer, Raphaël Hilarion.
“If I used rice, it was to have a beer that is lighter and adapted to the local climate.”
Raphaël Hilarion, brewerat franceinfo
But finding local products is still very complicated. Sébastien Falchs has been making the Gecko since 2020. He imports everything from Belgium, be it hops or yeast, only the process is done locally. With a production of 10,000 bottles per month, he soon reached the maximum of his capacity. “There is an investment which is planned, we will develop but we will remain in an artisanal process. On the other hand, behind, the bottling and the fermentation which will be at the industrial level. There, we are blocked. Wash the bottles with the hand and sterilize them one by one as we do, it’s not possible. We can’t exceed 15,000 bottles. We would be at saturation.”
Because the market is promising, explains the brewer installed on the small side, a seaside and tourist resort 70 kilometers south of Dakar.
“Our customers are more and more Senegalese who taste it and who appreciate it. But basically, it was still all expatriates or tourists.”
Sébastien Falchs, brewerat franceinfo
“There are those who come to get the beer directly from the brewery. Otherwise, we distribute a lot in bars, restaurants and now on websites”, specifies the brewer.
Other players could start like Victor Gondry, who imports Bono, a Belgian craft beer only sold in Senegal. He does not rule out the idea of brewing locally in the future: “Making a brewery directly is a big investment. We weren’t sure of the market for this style of beer, special, craft beers. We realize that there is a market but it remains when even restricted for the type of products we offer, an imported beer, de facto more expensive.” But he does not yet know if this brewery will open its doors in Senegal, or in another country in the sub-region.