A shebeen was originally an illicit bar or club where accessible alcoholic beverages were sold without a license. The term has spread far from its origins in Ireland, to Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Zimbabwe, the English-speaking Caribbean, Namibia, Malawi, and South Africa. In modern South Africa, many shebeens are now fully legal.

Beer in Africa, especially lager, is produced commercially in most African countries, and indigenous people also make varieties of beer. Beer is served in various locales, from neighbourhood shebeens to upscale bars. Many countries have standardized beer bottle sizes, which are cleaned and re-used, so when buying beer at a store, people often must pay a deposit on the bottle and the price of the beer. An alternative to glass-bottle beers is local beer sold in tetra-pak style paper cartons.