Similarly, sorghum with predominantly floury endosperm is preferred for malting. Distilled alcohol can also be produced with suitable modifications and sorghum may have good potential in the industry. Distilled spirits are produced from sorghum in China, where the alcoholic beverage industry is a major consumer of sorghum grain. Traditional opaque beer, for which sorghum and millets are valuable raw materials, is a popular beverage in several countries in Africa. It is called chibuku in Zimbabwe, impeke in Burundi, dolo in Mali and Burkina Faso and pito in Nigeria.
Opaque beer is more a food than a beverage.
It contains high proportions of starch and sugars, besides proteins, fat, vitamins and minerals. In its manufacture white sorghum with less polyphenols is preferred, although red and brown sorghum varieties are also used. Red sorghum imparts a pinkish-brown colour to the beer. Hightannin sorghum is not desirable for beer production. The malt used for the manufacture of beer should have high diastatic activity and solubility.