Mohalenyane Phakela
FIFTY Maluti Premium lager consumers were on Friday afforded the rare opportunity to witness firsthand the production process of their favourite beer as a part of rewarding them for their loyalty to the brand.
The 50 are part of the 150 winners of the Maluti competition which was launched last year by Maluti Mountain Brewery (MMB) as part of the country’s golden jubilee of independence celebrations.
Twenty five Basotho and their partners were treated to an all-expenses paid weekend getaway at Mohale Lodge on the weekend of 27 May. Another 50 winners were given Maluti hampers on Friday.
Before touring Lesotho’s only brewing company, the 50 Maluti consumers were first given a lecture by MMB’s Safety Officer, Mopi Toloane who emphasised the importance of abiding by the safety precautions to avoid injury as there were several machines at the facility in Maseru.
He also said it was important to be sober while on the facility to make good judgements at all times.
The consumers witnessed the production of Maluti and other beers including Castle Lager and Carling Black Label.
MMB’s Lebajoa Ramokone explained that beers differed on the basis of the quantity of ingredients such as malt, hops and sugar.
He said that the beers were boiled in the brewing room for nine hours at a temperature of 96 degrees Celsius and then transferred to the fermentation house.
After 18 days, they were moved to the packaging house for filtering and packaging into bottles and cans.
The competition winners were subsequently treated to a party with lots of Maluti beer, braai meat and music.
One of the tour participants, Khotso Putsoa from Ha Mokhathi said that he learned a lot, adding he would serve as MMB’s brand ambassador.
“There is this myth among beer drinkers that some bottles of Maluti have more alcohol than others or that the bottles were not cleaned effectively,” Putsoa told Xpress People on the sidelines of the event.
“Today I was able to learn that the beers attain a certain percentage of alcohol based on the number of days they spent in the fermentation house. I also saw how the bottles are cleaned and beer is packaged.
“From today I will be able to educate other beer drinkers about the brewing process and how cautious MMB is when preparing the beer we consume,” he added.