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(San Francisco Chronicle) At 4 p.m., Peterson’s Bar in the dusty slum of Kibera is packed with dozens of noisy men sitting around poorly constructed wooden tables on an uneven dirt floor. Most are tossing back glasses of a lager known popularly as “Obama beer.”
“It’s very nice,” said Peter Mgaitha, a retired Army captain. “I drink 20 glasses every day.”
Although the beer’s red and gold label says “Senator,” Kenyans have dubbed it Obama after Democrat Barack Obama, whose late father was born in Kenya and who remains a popular figure here. (In the United States, Sixpoint Craft Ales, a Brooklyn, N.Y., brewery, has created an ale called “Hop Obama” in tribute to the Illinois senator).
Demand is soaring for “Obama,” which at 40 cents a glass is marketed to low-income consumers as an alternative to dangerous, cheap home brews. More than half of Kenya’s 32 million people live on less than $1 a day, and mainstream beers at $1 to $3 a bottle are out of reach for most. As a result, Senator has become the beer of choice in many slums and rural areas across Kenya.
Behind a thin wire screen, bartender Stanley Kiama dispenses 200 gallons of Senator beer daily. “It’s not expensive,” he said. “That’s why people love it.” (continue reading)
