are a type of artisanal, “indigenous” beers that are not subjected to a filtration process during production of the wort and thus have a thick consistency. Many of these are African in origin, and probably the best known is the Sudanese/Nubian drink bouza, which has been known since Pharaonic times. In a bygone age, the drink would have been made from barley or emmer, but nowadays other grains, such as maize, are often used. According to Edward Lane in the 19th century,

boozeh or boozah, which is an intoxicating liquor made from barley-bread, crumbled, mixed with water, strained and left to ferment, is commonly drunk by the boatmen of the Nile, and by other persons of the lower orders.

Alfred Lucas examined 16 samples of bouza from various Cairo retailers in the 1920s and reported that they were all similar in appearance and all had the texture of thin gruel. Samples contained much yeast and were in a state of active fermentation; they had all been made from coarsely ground wheat. Alcoholic content varied from 6.2% to 8.1% alcohol by volume (average 7.1%). Starting with a late Roman account by Zozimos of Panapolis, the bread-based brewing process for bouza is well documented.

Because of the lack of filtration after fermentation, such beers are usually highly nutritious, because nearly all of the nutrients from the raw materials end up in the final product. In this context, there is speculation that wusa, an ancient beer of the Israelites, may have been the original “manna from heaven.”

Based on their consistency, many African sorghum and millet beers would qualify for inclusion in this beer category; merissa, pito, and pombe are examples. Some types are actually porridge-like and others are merely very turbid. They are often subject to some degree to spontaneous fermentation, and some are sour in flavor. To this day, production of such beers remains a cottage industry throughout parts of Africa and is an important part of traditional village life, as it has been for centuries. In Central and South America, traditional corn-based chicha broadly fits into the porridge beer category as well.

See also chicha.