At
the end of 1923, a group of Belgian investors led by the Banque de Bruxelles
came together to build a brewery in Leopoldville. Given the pervasiveness of the golden brew in Kinshasa
today, it may seem curious that the city had already been established for forty
years before this step was taken. However, the colonial model was based on
production of raw materials by the colony and import of manufactured goods from
the metropole, including beer.
Recall, as well, that the Charles Lejeune company’s first commercial
transaction in Congo was to insure a shipment of beer from Bremen to Boma in
1886 (See Aug. 1, 2013).
Imported
beer was expensive. Postal agent
Leon Tondeur reported in 1900 that a bottle selling for Fr.1 in Matadi cost
three times that in Leopoldville.
When District Commissioner Costermans was assigned a warehouse manager
who happened to be a brewer, he ordered equipment from Europe and installed a
brewery opposite his office on Avenue du Roi Souverain (now the location of
INBTP on the Matadi road in Commune de Ngaliema (See Feb. 20, 2011). But, the local brew could never shake
its disparaging moniker, “liquid manure”, and the operation folded after the
second brewer died in February 1903.
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| Avenue du Roi Souverain looking towards the River. District Commissioner's Residence at left. |
A
site for the new Brasserie de Leopoldville was located on the river at Ndolo and
construction commenced in 1924.
December 27, 1926, the first bottle came off the production line, which
had a capacity of 35,000 bottles per month. When the plant became fully operational the following year,
it produced 815,500 bottles of beer as well as 252,000 bottles of mineral water
and 825 tons of ice. In 1928, beer production exceeded 1.1 million bottles,
plus 720,000 bottles of water and over 2000T ice. Plans were in the works to double output.
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| The Brewery under construction |
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| The Brewery nearing completion |
Inquiring
minds might wonder, who was drinking all this beer? In 1928 there were about
2500 Europeans in Leopoldville and another 800 across the river in Brazzaville,
or about one bottle per person daily. The development of European breweries in
Congo and elsewhere in Africa was frequently justified on the basis of
providing an alternative to locally distilled “lotoko” alcohol or palm wine. At the time, Congolese were forbidden
to buy alcohol. An ordinance in July 1911 prohibited the sale of alcohol to
Congolese in Leopoldville between the hours of noon Saturday to Monday morning.
It was not until July 1932 that Congolese were allowed sell alcohol to other Congolese,
which led to the establishment of a number bars in the Cite (an informal
color bar prevented Africans from purchasing in European establishments until
the late 1950s). Palm wine was popular, though limited by lack of a significant
number of palms that could be tapped within a radius of the city; allowing the naturally
fermenting beverage to remain fresh (See Feb. 12, 2012). Some enterprising Congolese in
Bas-Congo shipped “bidons” of freshly tapped wine on the railroad, but this was
not a significant source for a town of 40,000 in 1930.
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| Sofrigo ice plant in foreground, established in 1928 |
The
Depression nearly sank the brewery.
Incomes and purchasing power declined and a significant number of its European
clientele lost their jobs and were repatriated to Europe. This loss of market no doubt
contributed to the decision to allow the sale of beer to Congolese. The company’s marketing campaign was
lackluster and its less-than-premium product was priced at only 1 franc less
(10 francs) than Beck's Beer imported from Germany. During this time, Dutch brewer Heineken invested in the
Brasserie de Leopoldville.
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| Advertisement from 1933 ("Etoile de l'AEF", Brazzaville) |
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| Anticipating 7-Up's "uncola"campaign by four decades |
In
1933, a new brewer, Anselme Visez, was hired with a mandate to purchase new
equipment to improve the quality of the beer. The brewery introduced three grades of Primus and rolled out
a new line of carbonated drinks.
Within a year, Visez claimed steadily increasing sales despite a
declining market and stiff competition (such as Beck’s and Holsten which was marketed
by Sedec). The Brewery hosted influential visitors to further get the word
out. The Touring Club du Congo
Belge toured the facilities in September 1934, praising the ultra-modern
equipment that precluded any contact between the workers’ hands and the liquid,
a procedure “not to be scorned in Africa”. Governor General Renard of French Equatorial Africa
visited from Brazzaville in December 1934. After inspecting grain storage
facilities, fermentation tanks, the brewing hall, bottling line and sampling
the product, he told Visez that his beer was better than the imports, and he
should know, as he “consumes it regularly”. Throughout the 1930s, the brewery
continued to expand production.
The company marketed Coolerator iceboxes, manufactured in Duluth,
Minnesota, to enable customers to keep their beverages cold (with blocks of ice
purchased from its ice plant, bien sur).
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| An advertisement from 1934 (note production levels are not quantified) |
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| New brewing equipment - 1930s |
When world war broke out in 1940, Brasserie de
Leopoldville joined the fight. At
the time, bottles were shipped in 24-count wooden crates enclosed in
basketry. The crates were so
flimsy and prone to breakage that Otraco, the state shipping agency (See Oct. 31, 2011), refused to accept them as
cargo. Citing the importance of maintaining the morale of up-river customers
providing raw materials for the war, the brewery persuaded the authorities to
declare beer part of the war effort.
The Brasserie also sent regular shipments of beer to the Allies in
Nigeria. In September 1943, the “New Columbia” left Matadi for Lagos
with 600 tons of beer. Called “Congo juice” in the bars of Apapa, merchant
seaman Harold Taylor of the “Thurland Castle” recalled loading a cargo of empty bottles destined for Matadi in December
1944 and returning with full ones.
In Leopoldville, consumption in licensed bars in the cité had increased to such an extent
that missionaries pressured government to impose restrictions. This initiative
was supported by certain industrial firms concerned about the impact of drinking
on productivity. The reduction
measures enabled the brewery to meet its contract with Nigeria and keep
Europeans in the bush well supplied.
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|
Bottles from the Brasserie were recovered from the
wreck of the “Thor”, which sank off
Milford Haven in Wales, December 18, 1943. |
Leopoldville’s
Territorial Administrator assigned to the Cité,
Emmanuel Cappelle, estimated sales there in 1946 at 500,000 bottles a month,
worth 50 million francs per year, surpassing consumption of palm wine. The Brasserie embarked on an upgrading
and expansion program to serve this burgeoning Congolese market. Architect Charles Van Nueten designed
new buildings. When completed in
early 1948, management reported to shareholders that the product was esteemed
for both quality and cost and held up to the competition. This allowed the
company to raise prices for the first time since the Depression. Beginning in 1947, the brewery
allocated 2 million francs per year to a welfare fund, today the Fondation
Bralima. Anticipating electric
power constraints of a growing capital, the company obtained a concession to a
potential 200 HP hydroelectric site on the Ndjili River (which explains why the
Quartier of Ndjili Brasserie in Ndjili Commune does not have a brewery). In 1947, as well, construction began on
a bottle factory, Bouteillerie de Leopoldville, on the Route du Camp Militaire
(Sgt. Moke) in what is now Quartier Socimat. The company also began building a brewery in Bukavu, the
capital of Kivu Province that was developing into a region of white settlement
similar to the Highlands in Kenya.
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| Brasserie de Leopoldville in the 1950s |
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| The facade of the building designed by Van Nueten - 2010 |
The
Brasserie’s venture into new markets was likely driven by the arrival of a
competitor in Leopoldville, the Brasserie du Bas-Congo. Bracongo’s investors included the Belgian
Brasserie de Haecht (controlled by retail and ranching firm SARMA) and two breweries
recently established in Stanleyville (Kisangani) and Luluabourg (Kananga). It constructed
its facility (also designed by Charles Van Nueten) near the mouth of the Funa
River in Kingabwa, part of the rapidly developing industrial zone of
Limete. The construction forced
the displacement of a Bateke fishing community. During excavation work, the
discovery of a number of cowries indicated the presence of a prehistoric
settlement here. The Bracongo
brewery was completed by Auxeltra-Beton in 1954.
Heineken
and the Brasserie de Leopoldville merged to form Brasseries Limonaderies et
Malteries Africaines (Bralima) in 1957.
At Independence in 1960, Bralima operated breweries in Leopoldville,
Bukavu, Stanleyville and Boma, as well as one in UN mandate territory of
Ruanda-Urundi. In 1959, Bracongo,
along with affiliated breweries in Stanleyville, Luluabourg and Paulis, merged
to form Unibra.
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| Labels and drink coasters - 1950s |
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| Brasserie de Leopoldville labels and coasters - 1950s |
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| Brasserie du Bas-Congo labels - 1950s |
Sources:
- Goerg, Odile. 1999, Fetes Urbaines en Afrique: espaces,
identites et pouvoirs, Ed: Karthalla.
- Gondola, Charles
Didier. 1996. Villes miroirs: Migrations et identites urbaines à Kinshasa et
Brazzaville, 1930-1970, Collection Villes et entreprises
- Lederer, Andre,
1983. “Les Transports au Congo Pendant la Seconde Guerre Mondiale”.
- La Prosperite, Sep. 9, 2013.
“L’Histoire d’un passé glorieux et d’un avenir meilleur” http://www.laprosperiteonline.net/affi_article.php?id=297
- Wikinshasa: http://www.wikinshasa.org/index.php/Bralima
