Brazilian beer

mmm, Brahma chopp!

Brazilians like beer. It´s the most popular alcoholic drink in that country and it may even be the most popular drink, period. Who knows?

Bohemia and friends are always a party

Unfortuantely, I don´t like beer all that much. It´s a character flaw, I realize, but what can I do? We all have our opinions about things. Actually, Hegui´s sister, Tinha, agrees with me. She says that Brazilian beer is agua choca or stagnant water. She suggested agua suja or dirty water as an alternative. Few Brazilians would agree with that opinion though.

Skol may be at the top of the heap but it's not for me

While travelling in Brazil, it is a necessity to drink Brazilian beer, whether you like it or not. There aren´t a lot of imported beers there though I did have Heineken once. Most cervejas are made in the country itself. They have their own names, flavors, partisans and detractors. After futebol AKA soccer to Americans, I think that the average Brazilian is most engaged in disputes over beer. That´s probably an exaggeration. Just like us at home, mostly Brazilians drink the stuff and talk about other things.

Brazil is happy to host visitors, like this Heineken here

Generally, these beers are pilsner style drinks that are fairly low in alcohol. The few that we really looked at had about 5% EtOH. There seem to be zillions of varieties. I’ll name a few of them that we tried or saw: Skol, Bohemia, Brahma, Antartica, Baden Baden and Nova Schin. Hegui’s sister, Ana, loves Skol and finds Bohemia too amarga or bitter. I think the opposite. To me Skol is more bitter but overall has no flavor or body. I think that it’s sort of like colored water. Bohemia has a bit more structure and taste. Plus I’m turned on by it’s sense of history. Bohemia claims to be the first beer ever produced in Brazil. Neat. Brahma really appeals a lot to me, too.

Like in the U.S., beer is available everywhere in cans, bottles or on tap. If served on tap, it’s called chopp. When it comes in large bottles, it’s usually in a form-fitting thermos-like container to help keep it cold. Brazil is hot after all. We drank a lot of this stuff over our three week stay: at restaurants, at home, on the beach, in the airport, on planes, at parties and so on. You get the idea. Beer is popular here. Saúde!

this Brazilian Therezopolis was excellent though not widely known

where could this Brahma truck be heading?

these great little coolers keep your beer just right in the intense heat

lots and lots of beer choices at the supermarket

Baden Baden is excellent and a bit higher in alcohol than other Brazilian beers

don't let anyone fool you, chopp is the undisputed king of Brazilian beers

Thirsty yet?