Abstract:
Traditional homemade brew is believed to represent the highest proportion of alcohol use in sub-
Saharan Africa. In Eldoret, Kenya, two types of brew are common: chang’aa, spirits, and busaa,
maize beer. Local residents refer to the amount of brew consumed by the amount of money spent,
suggesting a culturally relevant estimation method. The purposes of this study were to analyze
ethanol content of chang’aa and busaa; and to compare two methods of alcohol estimation: use by
cost, and use by volume, the latter the current international standard. Laboratory results showed
mean ethanol content was 34% (SD = 14%) for chang’aa and 4% (SD = 1%) for busaa. Standard
drink unit equivalents for chang’aa and busaa, respectively, were 2 and 1.3 (US) and 3.5 and 2.3
(Great Britain). Using a computational approach, both methods demonstrated comparable results.
We conclude that cost estimation of alcohol content is more culturally relevant and does not differ
in accuracy from the international standard.
