Is there good beer in Brazil?

When it comes to beer in Brazil, there is only one rule – the colder the better.

It makes sense right? Brazil is a hot country so what is better than an ice cold cerveja?

The problem is that often the temperature of the beer is the only consideration, and quite often that is at the expense of taste.

A typical way to serve beer in Brazil

Brazil is the 3^rd largest producer of beer in the world, but much of it tastes the same. The biggest beer brands in Brazil, Skol, Brahma, Bohemia, Antárctica, and the majority of the smaller brands are very light pilsner style lagers. They're pretty interchangeable with each other and as long as it is served cold, locals don't seem to mind which beer is served.

When I say cold, I mean really cold.

When you go to a typical bar here, you'll quite likely be served a bottle of beer that has been kept in a freezer, or at least in the fridge on it's lowest setting. To ensure that it stays cold when it has been brought to your table, your bottle will likely be served in its own cooler or a bucket of ice. To cap things off, you (and whomever you're sharing the bottle with) will be given tiny glasses to drink your beer out of, to make sure the warmth of your hand does not warm up your beer.

To Brazilians, cold beer is serious business.

While the big local brands dominate, some imported beers have made inroads in Brazil. Unfortunately, they're much the same as the local product. Budweiser, Heineken and Stella Artois are available in many bars, but much like the big Brazilian brands, they light watery lagers.

Tiny beer glasses

So is it all bleak for beer drinkers looking for taste in Brazil? Not quite.

Micro breweries and bars for more discerning beer drinkers are gaining in popularity and quietly producing some very good beer. Fortunately for me, much of this good beer production is based in the south of the country which is home to historically large German populations.

Blumenau in the neighbouring state of Santa Catarina seems to be at the heart of beer production in Brazil and hosts its own Oktoberfest every year which is the biggest of the Americas, and one of the biggest outside of Germany. Recently, Blumenau hosted the Festival Brasileiro Da Cerveja (Brazilian Beer Festival) where breweries from all over the country brought their best beers to compete and share the love of beer that is not only cold, but full of flavour and character.

Steilen Berg pale ale - a good local drop

With categories like Belgian Style Dubbel, Chilli Pepper Beer, Coffee Beer, Scotch Ale and even Australian Style Pale Ale, there were varieties to match any taste and shows what can be achieved when people make beer with passion.

In all, 226 medals were awarded throughout the festival and the good news for Gaúchos is, that 79 of those were awarded to beers from Rio Grande do Sul. Local beers like Tupiniquim, Baldhead, Lagom, Imigração, Perro Libre, Rasen Bier, IrmãosFerraro and Seasons, among many others, represented the state of Rio Grande do Sul and did their fellow Gaúchos proud by taking home numerous awards.

I've had the pleasure of tasting many of these brews personally, but I will endeavor to try as many of them as possible. It's a tough job, but somebody has to do it!

Rasen Bier, one of many good reasons to visit Gramado (chocolate is another)

While it can still be difficult to find a bar serving some of these top brews (more on that in the coming weeks) its clear the people of Porto Alegre and Brazil as a whole are starting to rn to appreciate good quality beer – and that makes this Aussie Gaúcho a happy man.