Craft beer in Zimbabwe: The River Brewing Co in Victoria Falls

Published: August 1, 2024

On the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe, not far from the point where these two countries meet with Namibia and Botswana, the mighty Zambezi River rushes over a rock wall, drops down more than 100 meters and forms one of the most amazing waterfalls in the world, the Victoria Falls. These more than 1700 meters wide falls see a huge amount of visitors every year, and many of them also visit the Victoria Falls town in Zimbabwe. This tourist town is of course most famous as a base to visit the falls and the Mosi-oa-Tunya national park, but another attraction, at least for beer geeks who want to drink local craft beer Zimbabwe, is The River Brewing Co!

Brewing right next to the world-famous Victoria Falls

During our travels in East Africa, we had a chance to make a short “side-trip” from Zambia (where we also got to know the local craft beer scene of course) to Zimbabwe, and to visit the breathtakingly stunning waterfalls from there. And how happy we were to learn, that there is local craft beer in Zimbabwe, and microbreweries also in the town of Victoria Falls! The River Brewing Co brews quality craft beers just a short walk from the falls, and you can actually hear the roar of the waterfalls while enjoying a fresh beer on the terrace of the brewery taproom. Just how great is that!?

The River Brewing Co is the largest micro-brewery in Victoria Falls, and one of the few artisan breweries who brew craft beer in Zimbabwe. The story of the brewery began in Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe, where a teacher, world-traveler and home-brewer Lionel McCauley, originally from Alaska, had moved from Norway. As you know, beer-lovers tend to find each other, and so also Lionel met a couple of other beer geeks in Harare, and they started a beer club and home-brewed together. A bit later, during a “meeting” around a beer keg, they got a brilliant idea to leave their jobs, to move to Victoria Falls and to establish a microbrewery there. Apparently the idea seemed viable also the next morning, since they really took a leap and made it happen. Founding a brewery required quite some paperwork, and the brewery building needed a big renovation, but eventually everything was completed, and the brewery was opened at the end of 2017.

The River Brewing Co was born out of passion towards quality craft beer, and has grown during the years from a brewpub to a microbrewery that produces craft beers in a wide variety of styles. In their artisan beers they use the pure Zambezi water, malts from Belgium, hops from all over the world and some local ingredients too, like baobab flower and resurrection plant. The availability of raw materials can be a challenge sometimes, as can the power cuts, but the brewery crew is dedicated to make things work.

Right next to the brewery is the spacious, beautifully decorated taproom restaurant known as the River. It’s a wonderful venue to gather together over beers and food, after admiring the beauty of the Victoria Falls. Furthermore, this restaurant is said to be the home of live music in Victoria Falls town, with great gigs every weekend!

Tasting The River Brewing Co craft beers

The River Brewing Co beers include both classic styles and modern craft beers, and there is always also something new, more experimental stuff cooking! We tasted seven different beers, and definitely liked them all! Our favorites were their herbal Resurrection Ale spiced with resurrection plant leaves and the nicely roasted Jack Tar Porter. Also the best-seller beer, Painted Dog Pale Ale, is a lovely brew, a light and easy, moderately bitter APA. Jump from the links to beer cards with more info about these beers.

The River Brewing Co sells a lot of their beer production in the taproom, but part of their beers are canned too, and delivered elsewhere in Zimbabwe. In Victoria Falls River Brewing beers are available on tap in a handful of other restaurants – check the up-to-date list from the brewery website.