Restaurant owner instals microbrewery to tap into specialty drinks market

Ordinarily, when you go to a bar or restaurant and order a beer or two, your favourite brand will have been brewed and bottled elsewhere.

But at Sirville Brewery and Lounge, located at the Galleria Shopping Mall in Nairobi, customers’ beers are brewed right before their eyes.

The enterprise has set up a microbrewery that produces four beer brands, Tsavo Lager, Mara Pils, Amboseli Ale and Aberdare Bitter Ale.

The names of the beers, which are prepared by UK-trained brew master Henry Simila, are inspired by the country’s national parks. A 500ml mug of Aberdare Bitter Ale costs Sh250, while Tsavo Lager, Mara Pils and Amboseli Ale cost Sh200.

The lounge, which has 47 employees, serves an average 3,300 litres of its beers a month, raking in about Sh700,000.

Dream to reality

Charles Njogu, Sirville’s director, said the restaurant idea was jointly conceived by himself, his younger brother Patterson Njogu, and his childhood friends, economist Titus Waithaka and George Macharia, a loss adjuster.

“We got the idea way back in 2009, but it wasn’t until July this year that the dream became a reality,” said Mr Njogu.

“As a former group technical manager at one of the leading beer companies in East Africa, I have always had an interest in beer brewing equipment, as well as the production of beers, and we saw a gap in the market for customers looking for specialty drinks.”

The four agreed to go into business together and pool their resources to make a success of it. They then started to look for brewing equipment from various suppliers.

“We got quotations from the Czech Republic, United Kingdom, Italy, China, Germany and Belgium.”

They eventually settled on a German manufacturer and ordered 15 tanks for the establishment.

“We also ordered a steam boiler from Italy. The other equipment we have is a malt mill, process control equipment from Germany, reverse osmosis water treatment plant, among others,” said Njogu.

The brewing process is fully automated.

Brewing process

“All beers at Sirville are brewed according to the Purity Law, which states that beer can only be made from four ingredients: malt, hops, yeast and water. The water used is purified to the highest standards through reverse osmosis.”

The malt is sourced from Germany, while the yeast and hops are from the UK.

“We ensure all our products are made from the finest raw materials that meet the highest international standards,” said Mr Simila, who has over 30 years’ brewing experience.

Sirville’s brew master filters the beer and serves it after a 14-day brewing process.

Though the enterprise thrives on selling beer, Njogu said they encourage responsible drinking and only allow customers aged over 25 to enter Sirville, which can sit 250 customers.

“We encourage our customers to take water as they drink and also order food from our kitchen. A four-litre beer tower and platter of assorted meat, which includes pork, beef, mutton and sausages, is enough to feed a group of four and costs Sh3,800.”

A platter for two, with a three-litre beer tower costs Sh2,500.

“The restaurant also aims to be one-stop entertainment spot, which has seen us incorporate karaoke nights on Thursdays and dance nights on Fridays and Saturdays,” said Sarah Wanjiru, Sirville’s manager.

They also have plans to increase their offerings by inviting jazz artistes, and hosting live bands and popular disc jockeys.

Expansion plans

To appeal to sports lovers, the restaurant has installed television screens and a projector for screening football, tennis and golf matches.

Sirville also stocks other brands of drinks to cater to all tastes, including King George, which is sold at Sh4,500 a tot.

“A customer who buys King George is honoured by the barman who rings a bell and announces the customer’s name.”

But the entrepreneurs are intent on increasing the popularity of their own brands.

Njogu, who studied chemical engineering in the UK, said they have the capacity to produce more than 1,000 litres of beer per day, which is more than Sirville customers can consume.

They plan on packaging the excess for sale in restaurants across the country.

“In Nairobi, we are eying outlets in Westlands, along Ngong Road and Karen, among other areas,” said Njogu.

Sirville is also planning to participate in sporting events, such as the Safari Rally and rugby sevens tournaments, to raise awareness on its brands.

“For special occasions, we have a refrigerated 200-litre beer tank that can dispense our products at any venue. It is the only mobile beer tank of its type in East Africa.”