In pre-industrial eighteenth century England, beer produced by common (i.e. commercial) brewers was the staple drink of working people and people bought their beer for cash. The large, London brewing industry was therefore a very important stimulus to specialization and improvement because of the London brewing industry’s big demand for high quality barley for malting. The same was not the case with Addis Ababa in our period because the alcoholic drinks most largely consumed, talla and tej, were (and are) made and consumed at home. Some people must have bought barley, gesho and honey in the market to make their liquor but the Gibi, lords and gentry would have had their own stores of these basic supplies for making talla and tej.

 Source: Research by David Chapple, made before the 1974 Revolution