Two sorghum varieties were studied with a view to producing wort and evaporated wort (extract), in the form that the extract could keep for a longer period and used for brewing when required. When mashed using commercial brewing enzymes, the sorghum samples produced sufficient sugars and amino acids required for yeast growth and alcohol production during fermentation. Fermentation studies showed that the normal brewing wort of sorghum produced marginally higher levels of alcohol than the evaporated wort (extract) of sorghum. Also, the beer brewed from the normal wort of sorghum was lighter in colour than that brewed from the re-dissolved extract (evaporated wort) of sorghum, The lower values of alcohol or higher colour of the beer brewed from sorghum extract was linked to the Maillard reaction, which occurred during the process of evaporating the wort to produce the extract. Organoleptic assessment confirmed that the beer brewed using the extract was generally acceptable. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.