Suwa

Siwa (Tigrinya: ሰዋ, romanized: säwa), Amharic: ጠላ, is a beer originating from Tigray. Traditionally home-brewed, siwa remains locally popular during social events, after (manual) work, and as an incentive for farmers and labourers. Thousands of traditional beer houses (Enda Siwa) straddle the Tigrayan urban and rural landscapes. In almost every rural household of Tigray, the woman knows how to prepare the local beer, siwa in Tigrinya language. Basic ingredients are water; a home-baked and toasted flatbread commonly made from barley in the highlands, and from sorghum, finger millet or maize in the lowlands; some yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae); and dried leaves of gesho (Rhamnus prinoides) that serve as a catalyst.[citation needed] The brew is allowed to ferment for a few days, after which it is served, sometimes with the pieces of bread floating on it (the customer will gently blow them to one side of the beaker). The alcoholic content is 2% to 5%. Siwa has a smoky flavour (originating from the toasted bread) and a typical sourness, bitterness, and sweetness (pH between 4 and 5). Most of the coarser part of the brew, the atella, remains back and is used as cattle feed. The three traditional bowls in which siwa is served are: clay beakers (shekhla or wancha), hollowed gourds, and, less frequently, cattle horns. Recently, plastic or metal beakers and tins have become much used. Meknen is commonly served in one-litre glass bottles. The siwa itself is conserved in large clay vases, called etriro, which tend to get replaced with plastic drums. In the hotter lowlands, the etriro continues to be used because it has the particularity to keep the brew fresh.

Source: Wikipedia