Apiwe Nxusani-Mawela

Apiwe Nxusani-Mawela (b 1984) is a South African brewmaster. Nxusani-Mawela is the first person from South Africa to earn a National Diploma in clear fermented beverages. She is also the first black woman in South Africa to found a microbrewery. Her company, Brewsters Craft, introduces students to the science of beer making through training and provides professional breweries a service through beer quality testing. She helped organize International Women's Collaboration Brew Day (IWCBD) events in South Africa.

Early life Apiwe Nxusani was born in 1984 and grew up in Butterworth in the Eastern Cape. Her parents are school teachers; she is the middle of three children. She is married to Rudzani Mawela and they have two kids. In 2006, she joined South African Breweries (SABMiller) through the company’s graduate recruitment program; she completed an 18-month brewing internship. She completed both a Diploma in Brewing and the Master Brewer Diploma through the Institute of Brewing and Distilling. She earned a certification to judge beer from the Beer Judge Certification Program (based in the United States).

Nxusani-Mawela worked at SABMiller for 8 years, working as brand brewer, brewery manager, project brewer, and craft brewer. While at Brewhogs, she brewed a pilsner, a red lager, an India Pale Lager (IPL) and a black IPL. In 2017, she sold her shares at Brewhogs to focus on her own company, Brewsters Craft. It is notable for being the first black female majority owned brewing company in South Africa. The first beer she brewed there was a sorghum pilsner, which had the traditional taste and feel of umqombothi, but without it being thick." "Like in any other industry, we need equal representation of women, she said, "we all face similar challenges [in opening a brewery] like licensing and funding. But for women, it’s more challenging because there are not as many women in the industry.” In 2020, Nxusani-Mawela noted that "ur struggles today are paving a path for the next generation of women in our workspace, so they do not have to go through what we went or are going through ... One day, having women in male-dominated fields will be the norm."

She organized International Women's Collaboration Brew Day events and led the brewing process for the 2019 South African Breweries “Bold Brew” (also called Brewing the Bold) beer, which was a limited edition beer designed and brewed by women and released on International Women's Day. The beer’s ingredients were selected by a poll on the South African Breweries' social media pages and made by five women in the industry. Of this beer, Pranisha Maharaj (SAB & AB InBev’s Corporate Reputation Manager), said “We wanted to make a beer that embodied the characteristics of strong, independent women."