Kenbrew beer was for ‘omundu strong’

There were alcoholic drinks in Kenya, and then there was Kenbrew Extra. Its early 1990s television adverts even featured wrestlers, seeing as it is Kenbrew had knock-out horse power to floor even the most battle-hardened.

Frothed up rumour mills had it that Kenbrew was named in honour of opposition firebrand, Ken Matiba, who at the time was receiving medical treatment in London, and on his return, actually thanked Kenya Breweries for naming a beer after him.

Matiba was a one-time head honcho at KBL, where it’s said he began working in the cleaning department (to learn the inner workings of the company) and on to the bottling line, and before anyone knew it, he was the MD!

As minister for Transport, Matiba also boarded matatus at random and incognito.

Back to Kenbrew, which was a drink for ‘omundu strong', it was launched in 1992 as a “high quality gravity beer” at the ‘Show Ground’ where boozers were asked to write their names before drinking. After just two lagers, handwritings seemed to resemble what your primary school teacher said was kuandika kama kuku!

Kenya had just had its first multi-party elections. Inflation, as it does after elections, had come calling. Beer lovers were hard-pressed to afford bottled stuff. To keep off cheap onywaji, KBL introduced the potent Kenbrew with its five per cent alcohol content that saw healthy male adults, with parental hair on their chests, going jelly at the knees after a very short time in the pub.

Affordable Kenbrew enjoyed a very short, but memorable stint before going the way of Tusker Export Kubwa.