Kunun-zaki” is a highly relished traditional, non-alcoholic beverage of about 80 million Nigerians that is prepared from pre-gelatinized cereal starch and left to ferment by chance microorganisms. This study was aimed at using selected lactic acid bacteria with dual biochemical roles of hydrolyzing sorghum starch and also converting sugars to lactic acid and other flavour-enhancing compounds in kunun-zaki. Fourty random samples of hawked kunun zaki in Jos metropolis, Nigeria were screened for prevalence of lactic acid bacteria using De -Mans, Rogosa Sharpe Agar (MRSA) as medium and other conventional standard bacteriological procedures. The bacterial isolates were subjected to secondary screening for amylolytic activities measured by the degree of cleared zones of starch hydrolysis by each isolates grown on starch agar. The amylolytic lactic acid bacteria (ALAB) were then used as trial starter cultures in the production of kunun-zaki at the laboratory phase. Control experiment (using malted rice as enzyme source and chance micro flora) was also set up at 350C. Glucose content, pH, Titratable acidity and sensory properties were analyzed at regular intervals during the laboratory production of kunun-zaki in order to assess the saccharification and acid production efficacies of the organisms. Twelve lactic acid bacteria, namely; Lactobacillus plantarum, L. bulgaricus, L. helveticus, L. delbrueckii, L. casei, L. brevis, L. fermentum, L. pointis, Lactococcus lactis, Leuconostoc mesenteroides and Streptococcus sp were isolated from samples of hawked kunun zaki. Three of the lactic acid bacteria, L. fermentum, L. brevis and L. acidophilus were found to exhibit high simultaneous saccharification and co-fermentation of kunun zaki with L. fermentum being the most efficacious. The optimized fermentation without the use of a cereal based starch- hydrolyzing enzyme (malted rice) will reduce time and cost of industrial production of kunun zaki.