h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: Chibuku "Shake Shake" - A939279
Author: Dr Montague Trout - U188966

Slurp slurp

Sounds almost as ghastly as Watneys Red Barrel

One typo - "After three days [of] fermentation,"

Would you care to tell us how you know about the details of tasting this product at its various stages Dr T?

Looking good DMT! My only comment would be that a slight expansion on what 'kwassa-kwassa' music is wouldn't go amiss- are we talking more techno or bongos here?

Jit Jive maybe?

Actually I'm driving - so I'll pass on this one.

Surely Shabeen is gaelic ?

You're thinking of 'Siobhan' I think

No - thats a name - shabeen is an illegal drinking den - if you remember Eliot Ness and The Untouchables (on tele) the Irish sargeant would refer to a shebeen. (Now how long has that been tucked away in the back of my head ? - I can even see his face - mind you with my skill at actors and films it was probably from The Wizard of Oz)

Kwassa-kwassa - this is how I understand it ... think Paul Simon: think the introductory few steel-stringed moments (5-6 seconds maybe) of Graceland, but thumpier with neither the production nor the vocals, repeated with little variation for about 20 minutes. Now dance like you've been filleted.

Mind you, I can't tell my garage from my house, or my rock from my roll, so how I am I supposed to know my kwassa from kwela? Anyway, to my untrained musical ear, that's pretty much what township music sounds like, and that's where the shabeens are. Allegedly.

Any musicians in the house?
Say woooh-oh
Woooh-oh
Any musicians in the house?
Say woooh-oh
Woooh-oh
Say Woh-oh-oh
Woh-oh-oh

Sorry, can't help with the music but that entry brought back memories - I went to school downwind of a Chibuku brewery. Thankfully just for one term, the smell could be stomach turningly strong.

Doing a bit of searching, for old times sake, I came across a comment that some years ago the brewing was State subsidised together with those other staples - bread and maize meal. And that the IMF had a hand in bringing this to an end. I couldn't find anything official to back this up though.

Other than that the only additional information I found was in the references to Chibuku Breweries contracting farmers to grow red sorghum for them. Knowing of no other reason why maize meal should be in any way pink I wondered if it was the red sorghum. Is red sorghum red?

http://www.fao.org/docrep/T0818E/T0818E0h.htm#Continue

"... Red sorghum imparts a pinkish-brown colour to the beer ..."

Thanks,

Hmmm, appetising. Can't really fault the entry, I'm sure it shouldn't have any trouble getting into the Edited Guide

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