The Land of Alvaro

At present I am drinking Alvaro.  It is a “Non-alcoholic natural malt based drink with a refreshing taste of pear.”  It is actually pretty good.  It just tastes like pear soda (it kind of reminds me of that fruit soda you find at Noodles & Co.).  According to the label, 100 ml of Alvaro provides 221 kJ of energy.  Alvaro is brewed by Guinness. 

Guinness seems they have a rather commanding share of the drink market here.  They sell Guinness Beer of course(because when one is baking in the Ghanaian heat, the first thing one wants to drink is a thick, dark, sludgy Guinness …).  They also sell Star Beer “Ghana’s Favourite Beer.”  Star is cheap, light, and bubbly; a much more fitting choice given the climate (in my humble opinion).  In addition to selling Alvaro, Guinness also sells other malt-based non-alcoholic drinks, like Malta (if I’m not mistaken).  It seems these drinks are rather big in Ghana, I’m curious to know why they haven’t caught on in the states (“Non-alcoholic beer?!? What is the point of that?”). 

Many drinks (like Alvaro) come in glass bottles.  These bottles are re-used many times over (not melted down and re-cast, but just re-used).  You can tell how long a bottle has been in circulation by how scratched up it is around the edges.  Some stores will not sell you certain drinks if you do not bring them a glass bottle first.  Some eateries will not let you walk out with a glass bottle in hand.  Some stores will give you discounts if you bring them glass bottles.  These concepts took a bit of time to get used to.