East African Breweries Limited (EABL) has launched a new premium beer called Tusker Premium Ale as it seeks to capture the premium beer market in Kenya.

An Ale beer can be described as having a fruity taste compared to lager which has a crisp-clean taste.

The new Ale was launched under the company’s flagship brand Tusker, joining other Tusker brands in EABL’s stable – Tusker Lager, Tusker Malt, Tusker Lite and Tusker Cider.

The new brew has medium alcohol strength at 5% abv, has a golden colour and contains citrus, mangoes and orange flavours with slight pineapple. It also has woody notes (herbal, clove like).

“The Tusker Premium Ale is brewed with specialty hops providing a richer mouth feel, colour and flavour,” said KBL master brewer Valentine Wambui.

The beer is being sold in a stubby 500-mililitre bottle at a recommended retail price of Sh210 (N756).

Tusker brand is the leading beer brand in Kenya with a long heritage dating back to 1922. The last Tusker variant to be launched was Tusker Premium Cider in 2016 and has been successful in the market. EABL is planning to celebrate 98 years of the Tusker brand later in the year.

East African Breweries Limited (EABL) is the leading beer, spirits, and non-alcoholic beverage manufacturer in East Africa. It was founded in 1922, as Kenya Breweries Limited (KBL). The company acquired Tanganyika-based Tanganyika Breweries in 1935 and 1936, which merged to form East African Breweries Limited (EABL). The company has since grown and now has subsidiaries in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and South Sudan.

EABL was acquired in 2000 by British-based Diageo Plc. Tusker is the main brand of EABL with over 30% of the Kenyan beer market and it is also the largest African beer brand in the Diageo Group. Other brands it manufactures include White Cap Lager, White Cap Light, Pilsner Lager, Pilsner Ice, Guinness Foreign Extra Stout, Allsopps Lager, Senator Lager, President Extra Lager, Bell Lager and Serengeti Lager.

See Photos from the launch

L-R Eric Kiniti, Corporate Relations Manager; Daniel Njuguna, Brew Master; Jane Karuku, MD KBL; Valentine Wambui, Brew Master

L-R: Corporate Relations Director Erick Keniti, Daniel Njuguna KBL master brewer, Jayne Karuku Managing Director at Kenya Breweries and Valentine Wambui Master brewer at the launch of Tusker Premium Ale, made from crystal malt and aromatic hops