Beer (Part I)
21:24Among the cultural differences of different countries, one of the first to be investigated is the beer. Bottoms up!
The most popular beer in Argentina. Named after some ruins that Russ and I decided not to bother with as we were having a mare on a ripio road into a headwind. Reasonable enough lager. Coming across a shack of a farmstead, a beaten up Quilmes sign outside caught our attention. Soon we were offered a place to camp and homemade food and a trusty bottle of lager.
Salta***
An alternative lager. Similar to Quilmes in many respects.
Imperial****
Slight improvement on Quilmes and Salta. Bit stronger and crisper flavour.
Antares*****
Five stars don't get given out lightly. It is a dark porter with a toasted malty taste. Is it a cliché to describe it as chocolatey? Nice to drink something a bit English in the midst of all these lagers. I got one in a weird little campsite beside the river on the way to El Chalten. The place was run by a gang of hippies, with spacey ambient music, wooden cutlery and purple swirls painted on the cafe walls.
Chile***
Spending the festive period in Patagonia necessitated drinking quite a bit of Chilean beer. So I have a fondness for it.
Cerveza Cristal***
The most popular Chilean lager. Similar to Quilmes.
Escudo**
Refreshing but weak beer. Has a weird golden brown colour and tastes slightly bitter and grainy.
The most popular Chilean lager. Similar to Quilmes.
Escudo**
Refreshing but weak beer. Has a weird golden brown colour and tastes slightly bitter and grainy.
Kuntsmann*** (perhaps **** for the bock)
Example of the German influence on Chile and her beer selection. There are several types of these. I tried the bock and the lager. The bock was a nice caramel flavoured dark brown thing and the lager was just an average lager.
Cerveza Austral****
Made in the most southerly brewery on the planet, this is a better than average lager. Probably due to using unpolluted polar water.
Bolivia**
Bit of a let down in terms of beer but this is of little consequence in such a spectacular country. Made up for the lack of quality with quantity.
Huari**
Fairly rough but drinkable. This is what you get more or less everywhere. Nice label.
Bolivia**
Bit of a let down in terms of beer but this is of little consequence in such a spectacular country. Made up for the lack of quality with quantity.
Huari**
Fairly rough but drinkable. This is what you get more or less everywhere. Nice label.
Potosína***
Maybe the best lager in Bolivia but that is hardly a compliment. In Potosí, where the brewery is, (no doubt the "highest brewery in the world") it comes out with an insane quantity of fizz.
Auténtica*
Revolting.
Paceña***
Made by Cervecería Boliviana Nacional, who also make Huari, this stuff is a tad better. It is supposed to be slightly more like a French lager but I didn't really get that.
Peru
It is too early to tell (so wait for Part II). So far I have only tried Cusqueña (maybe ***) which I have nothing against. It is an inoffensive and middle-of-the-road beer.
Cheers!
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