Pineapple sales soar 900% in South Africa amid alcohol ban

Pineapple sales have soared 900 percent in South Africa as the country’s alcohol ban fuels the folly of turning tropical fruit into a home-brewed beer.

Bars and licenses have been closed since March due to the coronavirus pandemic under a strict blockade imposed by President Cyril Ramaphosa.

With drinkers desperate for alternatives, a traditional recipe for pineapple beer has quickly spread online, sparking demand.

In Johannesburg alone, daily pineapple sales have soared from 10,000 to 100,000 and the price per kilogram has doubled.

A traditional recipe for pineapple beer has quickly spread online in South Africa, sparking demand in the midst of an alcohol ban during the blockade.

How to make your own pineapple beer

The recipe for Cape Town brewer Samantha Nolan is as follows:

Mix the following in a sterile container:

1 cayenne pineapple grated approximately including the skin

4 cups of sugar

2 liters of water

Cover and leave to ferment for four days at room temperature.

After four days, put it in plastic bottles and see if there is effervescence.

When it starts to bubble, refrigerate, but regularly release the top to let the gas out.

Drink your tropical beer before it’s too carbonated

The longer you leave it, the stronger it will become, but no more than seven days or it will skyrocket.

Samantha Nolan with one of her beers.

Samantha Nolan, president of Cape Town’s homebrew beer club, South Yeasters, said: ‘People clearly in these difficult times of confinement want to end the day with a strong drink.

“It’s been five weeks since alcohol was banned and bars closed, but in recent weeks an old traditional recipe for making beer with pineapples has just taken off,” said the 50-year-old man.

‘Ever since it hit social media, pineapples have been flying off the shelves and all you need is a sterile container and plenty of sugar and water, and then you can make your own beer.

‘Once you have mixed the three ingredients, just leave it alone and the yeast that is present on the pineapple skin begins to ferment and all the sugars in its infusion turn into alcohol.

“ The longer you leave your beer, the stronger it will get, but a week is enough to give you a tropical drink with a kick like a mule and then you put it in plastic bottles and chill it in the fridge.

“ Glass bottles explode, so you need to put the beer in plastic bottles and open the top regularly to let the gas out until you’re ready to drink, then enjoy happily pickling up the pineapples! ” she said.

Locals refer to a hearty drinking session as ‘pineapple’ and supermarkets now sell the fruit as a package with sugar and yeast.

A customer, Tony Parkins, said: ‘Now you can go into the stores and find pineapples, yeast and sugar, all in one place and put them in your basket and go to the boxes.

Half an hour later, your beer is bubbling and after a week you are eating it! It’s pretty sweet, but it’s served on ice, it’s a treat and it really does the job! ‘.

According to BusinessLIVE, 10,000 pineapples were sold in Johannesburg on the first day of closing.

As of last Monday, he said the number was 90,000 and industry experts say that number now exceeds 100,000 pineapples per day.

Prices were at 50p per kilogram at the end of March, but have now doubled to £ 1 with supermarkets, even considering rationing in sales.

Some supermarkets have even started selling pineapples, sugar, and yeast as a whole.

Jaco Oosthuizen, head of the RSA Group, which is a fresh produce sales organization, said: ‘The Covid-19 pandemic and the national shutdown has had an effect on the fresh produce markets.

“This can be seen in the price of pineapple, but this is simply the functioning free market and, as evidenced, there is always a market or buyer for a product at the right price.

Statistics from Google SA also show that searches for thirsty locals on how to make their own pineapple beer have increased by more than 500 percent in recent weeks.

There are also claims that Anchor Yeast brewer’s yeast, used to make homebrew indoors, will no longer be sold in stores to prevent diversion for nonessential use.

But Samantha Nolan, president of South Yeasters, said drinkers can do without yeast if necessary.

“The beauty of making pineapple beer is that the yeast is already naturally in the skin, so make sure all the skin is cut and mixed,” he said.

“If you add additional yeast, it speeds up the process and strengthens the beer if necessary, but basically all you need is pineapple, sugar and water and a clean container to make it.”