Our story
Two friends, one garage and a lot of sorghum
Brass & Bloom began in 2019 with a 50 litre kit in Barnawa. Six years on we brew 1,800 litres a week and still taste every batch before it reaches the bar.
Why we brew
Beer that tastes of where it was made
Most beer in Kaduna is brewed far away, the same way, for everyone. Femi and Kelechi wanted something smaller: beer you could trace back to a farm near Kachia and a hibiscus trader in Zaria, brewed slowly by people you could meet at the bar.
They started in Femi's garage on Gwari Avenue, using sorghum because it grows well here and gives lager a dry, clean finish. The neighbours came to taste. Then the neighbours' friends. By 2022 the garage had become a taproom and the yard a garden.
From the start we wanted guests who do not drink alcohol to feel just as welcome. That is why Bloom Zero and our house sodas are brewed on the same kit, by the same people, with the same care.
Timeline
From garage to garden
- 2019
A garage on Gwari Avenue
Two friends, a 50 litre kit and a question: could Kaduna sorghum make a lager worth drinking slowly?
- 2020
Zobo Saison
A batch with hibiscus from Zaria market becomes the beer people ask for by name.
- 2021
The brewhouse
A 600 litre brewhouse arrives in pieces from Lagos and takes three months to assemble.
- 2022
The taproom opens
The garage becomes a bar, the yard a garden. Highlife Fridays start with a three-piece band.
- 2024
Bloom Zero
After 19 test batches, an alcohol-free lager that tastes of malt and lime, not water.
House rules
What we hold to
- 01
Adults only
The taproom is for guests aged 18 and over. We ask for ID when in doubt, politely.
- 02
Alcohol-free, always
Every table, every event, every menu has alcohol-free choices made in house.
- 03
Small pours first
We serve 150ml tasting glasses so guests can try without overdoing it.
- 04
Home safely
Never drink and drive. The bar calls rides and keeps a list of trusted drivers.
The team
People behind the bar and the tanks
Femi Akande
Head brewer
Trained as a chemist in Zaria. Keeps a notebook for every batch since the first garage brew.
Rahila Yusuf
Taproom manager
Runs the floor, the bookings and the house rules, warmly and firmly.
Bitrus Danjuma
Kitchen lead
Grills suya over charcoal and writes the food pairings for each beer.
Ese Okon
Alcohol-free and sodas
Develops Bloom Zero, Zobo Fizz and Ginger Bloom, and runs the soda bar.
Invented names and example details for this demo.
Behind the brass door
Inside the brewery
Select a photo to see it larger.
- Open larger photo: Two brewers tasting samples beside steel tanks
- Open larger photo: Wooden barrels resting on a wooden floor
- Open larger photo: Boxes stacked beside grey brewing tanks
- Open larger photo: Brewer standing beside stainless steel equipment
- Open larger photo: Row of bottles with caps, close up
- Open larger photo: Close view of grains
Pull up a chair in Barnawa.
Book a table for Friday highlife, a quiet Tuesday tasting or a Sunday afternoon in the garden. Adults only, with alcohol-free choices on every table.