Latin America Rising!

There was a time, not all that long ago, when the outlook for craft beer in North America – and, to a slightly lesser degree, western Europe – was nothing but rosy. Year-to-year growth was solidly in the double digits; competition for tap handles was against the hoary mass-market labels rather than between fellow craft beers; and brewers were content to make beer that tasted like beer rather than breakfast cereal or commercial snack cakes.

It’s almost enough to make a person nostalgic.

Thing is, nostalgia will only get you so far, whereas a trip to many parts of Latin America will plunge you directly into a beer scene that echoes of the early 2000s. In countries like Argentina, Mexico, Ecuador and especially Brazil, while market penetration might still be low, creativity and camaraderie are all sky high.

What’s more, Latin Americans aren’t just aping their neighbours to the north any more. In many cases, they are actually reimagining ways to brew!

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Stephen Beaumont

Having spent several days judging at the Copa Cerveza Mitad del Mundo in Quito, Ecuador – ‘Middle of the World Beer Cup,’ so-called for the equatorial positioning of the host city – I returned tremendously impressed with the spirit demonstrated by the brewers responsible for the over 600 ales, lagers and mixed fermentation beers entered. And contrary to what might have been reasonable expectations in so youthful a beer market, the general quality level was impressively high.

This was immediately apparent in the first category I was asked to arbitrate, Spice, Herb or Vegetable Beer, a class which, when assigned to a table of experienced judges, generally elicits groans and trepidation. Thanks to the skills put on display by the brewers of Latin America, however, sampling these beers was a joy, from the chai-flavoured brown ale that turned out to be the locally-produced Achachai Brown Ale from Bandido Brewing to the Panamanian La Rana Dorada Coco Porter and another local, Guayusafrom Sabai Beer, which highlights the indigenous and highly caffeinatedguayusa leaf.

The star of that particular show, however, was a beer from Cervejaria Lohn in the Santa Catarina province of Brazil: an Imperial stout called Carvoeira flavoured with tonka beans and, believe it or not, dried mushrooms. And here we get to how Latin American brewers are doing things a little differently.

Having been travelling for beer to Latin America for about a decade now, I’ve been able to witness first-hand much of development in the major beer markets, beginning with a small festival in the southern Brazilian city of Blumenau in, I think it was, 2008 or 2009. It was the first major beer festival the country had seen, and featured almost as many amateursinterested-in-turning-pro as it did fully formed commercial craft brewers.

Predictably, most of the beers I sampled were riffs on accepted norms, from Scottish style wee heavies to American-inspired pale ales and IPAs. Even in such early days, however, a small number ventured ‘outside the box,’ most notably an Amburana Lager from Cervejaria Way, then decidedly still in start-up mode.

Amburana derived its name from an Amazonian wood, staves of which the lager had conditioned upon. It was a fascinating creation, with the uniquely spicy, cinnamony aromas and flavours of the wood manifesting themselves in a fashion unobtainable any other way. Although I didn’t know it at the time, the 9% alcohol amber beer was a harbinger of what Brazilian and, to a great extent, Latin American craft beer would become.

At this stage, you may find yourself saying, “So what? Lots of cultures use fruit and spice in their beers.” And I agree, but what makes Latin American brewers different is the way they work with their ingredients, viewing them not so much as flavourings as integral parts of the beer itself, aspivotal as hops or malt. So when a Latin brewer puts mushrooms andtonka beans into her stout, it is not simply for the flavour or even theumami, but as a means of elevating the entirety of the beer to anotherlevel, effectively creating something altogether new.

Stephen Beaumont

A professional beer writer for 29 years, Stephen Beaumont is an award-winning author or co-author of thirteen books on beer, including his latest, Will Travel for Beer: 101 Remarkable Journeys Every Beer Lover Should Experience.

He is also the co-author (with Tim Webb) of the recently released Pocket Beer Book, 3rd Edition, and 2016’s fully-revised and updated second edition of The World Atlas of Beer, as well as author of The Beer & Food Companion.

His new website is beaumontdrinks.com and he can be followed on both Twitter and Instagram @BeaumontDrinks