What People Drink in Pretoria: 6 Traditional Alcoholic Beverages

Set on the Highveld at over 1,300 meters, Pretoria’s dry winters and thunderstorm summers shape what locals drink: refreshing, communal brews in the heat, and warming spirits when evenings turn crisp. Grain agriculture to the south and fruit from the bushveld to the north meet in this administrative capital.

At weekend braais and in township shebeens, tradition thrives alongside modern bars and micro-distillers. The result is a distinctive mix of African opaque beers, bushveld fruit spirits, and Cape “firewater,” each tied to ritual, seasonality, and the city’s multicultural heritage.

Umqombothi is a traditional opaque beer brewed from malted sorghum (amabele), maize meal, and water—an indigenous, low-ABV beer (typically 2–4%, sometimes up to 6%). Brewers cook a porridge-like mash, cool it, and allow a short fermentation (12–48 hours), often using wild yeasts. The result is cloudy, with a pinkish-tan foam, a cereal-and-yoghurt aroma, and a tangy, lactic taste.

In Pretoria, you’ll encounter umqombothi at family rites and weekend gatherings, especially in township shebeens where it’s ladled from buckets into enamel mugs or calabashes and shared communally. The drink’s texture—thick and nourishing—makes it as much food as beverage, a feature well suited to hot Highveld afternoons. It’s brewed fresh and consumed quickly, reflecting a broader Southern African tradition where beer is tied to place, people, and moment rather than long-term storage.

Mampoer is a clear, high-proof fruit brandy distilled from fermented fruit other than grapes—classic examples include peach, apricot, naartjie (mandarin), and marula. Licensed micro-distillers crush ripe fruit, ferment the pulp with natural or wine yeast, then double-distill in copper pot stills, making careful cuts to separate heads and tails. Bottling strength typically ranges from 43–50% ABV, though the raw spirit can run much higher.

Expect intense stone-fruit aromatics, almond-kernel notes, and a clean, fiery palate that finishes dry. Historically associated with rural Afrikaner farmsteads and excise-era cat-and-mouse, mampoer today is a point of pride at Pretoria farmers’ markets and craft festivals. Locals sip small tots at winter braais or after a hearty meal, and some infuse it with naartjie peel or quince for a softer nose. In Pretoria’s cool, clear evenings, a measured tot of mampoer is both a digestif and a story starter.

Witblits—literally “white lightning”—is an unaged grape brandy akin to grappa, long made on Cape farms and traded across the country. Producers distill wine or fermented grape pomace in pot stills, bottle it unaged, and sometimes let the spirit rest briefly to knit. Typical bottlings sit between 43–50% ABV, though small-batch releases can be stronger.

In the glass, witblits often shows fresh grape skins, floral notes, and a bracing heat that clears the sinuses. In Pretoria, it arrives via traveling producers or specialty shops, and you’ll see it poured sparingly at braais alongside biltong and boerewors. Beyond sipping, it’s a traditional kitchen workhorse: a base for fruit preserves and tinctures, or a quick splash in a coffee on a cold Highveld night. It’s not subtle, but that’s half the charm—witblits is heritage in a shot glass.

Marula beer is a seasonal, naturally fermented drink made from the pulp of the marula fruit (Sclerocarya birrea), which ripens in the hot months of late summer. The fruit is deseeded, the pulp mashed, and spontaneous fermentation begins within hours; brewers often ferment in buckets or clay pots for 1–3 days. Alcohol levels vary with sugar and temperature, commonly around 3–8% ABV.

The aroma is tropical—think guava, lychee, and ripe pear—with a tangy, lightly effervescent palate and faint nuttiness from the fruit’s kernels. While the strongest marula traditions lie in the northern bushveld, Pretoria residents drink it when family and friends bring fresh batches to the city, or at seasonal markets and cultural gatherings. It’s consumed communally in the heat of the afternoon, and like umqombothi, it’s meant to be enjoyed fresh. When the marula harvest ends, the beer disappears until next summer.

Amarula Cream is a South African liqueur built on marula fruit spirit matured in French oak for about two years, then blended with dairy cream and sugar to 17% ABV. The base spirit starts as a marula wine, distilled to capture the fruit’s tropical profile before cask aging integrates caramel and vanilla notes.

The texture is lush and velvety, with aromas of caramel, vanilla, and banana-like esters over a core of marula. In Pretoria, hotels, restaurants, and home bars serve it as an after-dinner drink over ice, in coffee, or folded into desserts. Though commercial and export-focused, its identity is rooted in the same fruit that powers traditional marula beer. For travelers, it’s an accessible, shelf-stable way to taste the bushveld—no seasonality required.

Gemmerbier is a homemade South African ginger beer that can be nonalcoholic or lightly alcoholic (about 0.5–2.5% ABV), depending on fermentation time. Cooks grate fresh ginger, add sugar, lemon juice, water, and a small amount of yeast (or a ginger “bug”), then bottle for 24–72 hours. Plastic bottles are common to prevent dangerous glass explosions as CO2 builds.

The result is a cloudy, spicy-sweet refresher with citrus lift and a warming ginger bite—perfect for Pretoria’s hot summer days. Families pour it at church bazaars, school fundraisers, and weekend braais, sometimes spiking a glass with a splash of brandy or gin for grown-ups. While gentler than mampoer or witblits, gemmerbier belongs to the same practical tradition: ferment what’s at hand into something convivial, thirst-quenching, and proudly local.