Heilig Schuim

The once-exiled brewer John Christian Kavakure returns to conflict-scarred Burundi to fulfil his old dream: a brewery that frees Burundians from dependence on multinational Heineken. With locally brewed banana beer, made according to his grandmother’s special recipe.

For brewer John Christian Kavakure, beer is not just a drink. It is a constant companion in moments of birth, love and loss. Beer is an essential part of life in his homeland Burundi, a country ravaged by extreme poverty and civil war. Years ago, John tried to establish a brewery there – by and for Burundians – to break the dominance of Heineken. But after receiving multiple death threats, he fled his homeland in the early 1990s amid a violent civil war.

Since then, he has built a successful career in Belgium with a new brewery and has become known as ‘The Black Belgian Brewer’. Yet despite his European success, something continues to trouble him. Although the brewery in Burundi remained operational, much to John’s frustration it never truly managed to rival Heineken. Now it is time for what may be the most important journey of his life. Can he finally realize the dream he left behind?