Colton Proveau, cofounder of Brothers Brewing in Guelph, Ontario, has a special interest in exotic beverages from around the world—his Instagram page shares his experiences brewing Ethiopian tej and tella as well as Eastern European kvass, Mexican colonche (prickly-pear wine), and more. Proveau’s recipe for tella, adapted here, is directly inspired by the process at the Selo Tella brewpub in Addis Ababa.
To brew the tella, you’ll also need to make kita, a traditional unleavened bread that goes into the mash. See the notes below for how.
ALL-GRAIN
Batch size: 5 gallons (19 liters)
Brewhouse efficiency: 72%
OG: 1.043 (10.7°P)
FG: 1.013 (3.3°P)
IBUs: 0
ABV: ~4%