How to drink beer like a Brazilian

Right now it is quite chilly in Rio. In fact it has been cold for the last few weeks and I have to say I am starting to feel somewhat aggrieved – this is not what someone from my part of the world expects from ‘Sunny Rio’. Thankfully, most of the year the weather is just how I like it – hot, very hot or boiling. And the drink of choice when you are in need of refreshment? Cerveja! [ser-VAY-zha]

In the course of my (ahem) exhaustive research I uncovered some interesting beer facts. Brazil is the fifth largest beer producer in the world, making nearly 10 billion litres each year. Most of this is made by an evil company called Ambev which has something approaching a monopoly here. But I was surprised to discover that the average Brazilian drinks just 53 litres each year – compare this to the average Czech who drinks 158:

Top drinking from the Czechs. No big surprise to find Ireland near the top! (http://snippets.com/how-much-does-beer-consumption-vary-by-country.htm)

 

On reflection, perhaps this isn’t so surprising – although a lot of Cariocas (natives of Rio) drink beer, they don’t usually drink the huge volumes required to get blind drunk (as is so common in some countries). Perhaps this is reflected in the choice of drinking vessel. The typical beer glass in Brazil is called the Copo Americano. It holds a measly 190ml!

The Copo Americano has been around since the 1940s and is seen as a Brazilian design classic. You need almost 3 of these to make a pint.

 
Drinking beer the Brazilian way
Here’s how to drink beer like a Brazilian:

The waiter will slam a glass in front of each person sitting at the table.

There is always a little water at the bottom – pour this away.

One large bottle of ice cold beer will arrive in the middle of the table. Fill everyone’s glass.

Chink glasses and say Chin-chin (this sounds more like ching-ching). Don’t forget to chink the bottle too – this is to show thanks to the source of the beer and ask that it never runs dry!

Try not to drink it too quickly.

I included that last point because I am still trying to adjust to the Brazilian drinking tempo. I have spent the majority of my boozing years drinking from a pint glass (568ml) and so, after a hot day at work, that first 190ml of beer disappears in one gulp. I am then left watching my Brazilian friends chat and sip and chat some more. I find myself glaring at their beers, willing them to get past that crucial half-way point, beyond which I deem it acceptable to helpfully re-fill everyone’s glass (including my own).
Despite the frustrations, I am slowly adjusting to the Brazilian way and I must say it makes a lot of sense. The small glass ensures the beer doesn’t have time to warm up, as does sharing the bottle. But more than that, there is something lovely about drinking the bottle together this way. Far nicer than slogging your way through those huge pint glasses alone. And be honest, who really likes that last warm, flat mouthful at the bottom of a pint?
Brazilian beer is terrible
That inflammatory statement isn’t 100% true. There are some great Brazilian beers made by small breweries, particularly in the south of the country. There are also a couple of reasonable beers that are more readily available – Antartica Original and Bohemia. But the everyday beers (Skol, Brahma, Itaipava) that are served in the everyday bars are genuinely terrible – every Brazilian I’ve discussed this with has agreed.

I have it on authority that this is the worst beer in Brazil. Nova Schin – just don’t.

To digress briefly, I once spent 5 tedious hours waiting in a public office for a stamp in my passport. I waited and watched with growing frustration as various staff members went back and forth, stamping documents of various colours that had been filled out in triplicate, sifting and shuffling papers between filing cabinets – it was complete mayhem without a computer in sight. I turned to my (Brazilian) wife and made a flippant remark about “Order and Progress” (the words on the Brazilian flag) being in short supply. Let’s just say that this did NOT go down well and thus I learned not to be disrespectful to my adopted country – it is OK for them to do it, but you most certainly may not!
However, I think I can safely criticise the average Brazilian beer without causing too much offence. The problem is lack of flavour – my wife refers to these lagers as ‘beer soda’ and that pretty much sums them up. When they are extremely cold they are thirst quenching, but once they warm up even a little, you have a weak, beer flavoured fizz. And so the trick is to serve it bem gelado
Well, you wouldn’t want a warm beer, would you?

When I go to the fridge for a beer, I will invariably ask my wife if she wants one too (I’m nice like that). Before accepting, she will ask whether the beer is cold. And this is not as simple a question as you might think. If the beer has been in the fridge for less than 3 hours I will reply that it is ‘English-cold’ but not yet ‘Brazilian-cold’, at which point she loses interest.

Ideally, the beer should be just this side of freezing. “So cold it hurts!” I often gasp after my first swig. And that’s just what you want when it’s 45 degrees (113 F) outside. And if you don’t have time to cool your beers in the freezer, follow this advice I received from a guy in my office: Fill a bucket with water and plenty of ice, immerse your beers and finally add a cup of salt – your beers will be chilled in no time. I got this great explanation from the US Department of Energy:
As the salt dissolves in the meltwater, intermolecular bonds between water molecules in the
ice lattice are broken. Bond breaking processes require energy. The energy flow to enable the bond breaking process comes from the surroundings causing rapid cooling.

Here is my translation: As the salt makes the ice melt, the cold goes from the ice into the beer. Try it next time you’re in the mood for a ‘Brazilian-cold’ cerveja.

12 replies
  1. John
    John says:

    Put the the beers, cover with a lot of ice, then, put some water, alcohool, and finaly salt (sal grosso).
    You got your beer practicaly frozen within 3 minutes. 3 MINUTES!!!

    Reply
  2. Midas
    Midas says:

    lol

    I am brazilian and I can tell your description is very accurate!

    I’ll just let some tips about reasons behind some behaviors:

    1 – We drink in small glasses and ask 1 bottle at a time so it is always cold. Don’t bother wait for ppl to refil their cups to refil yours. Drink as you want and ask as much as you want, just keep in mind not letting beer getting warm on the table.

    2 – Order and Progress. wtf is that? The only one who knew that here is probably the guy that putted it on the flag. Some ppl might get sensitive with criticism on that, but I belive many of them (including me) is just going to laugh. It IS really a joke isn’t it?

    3 – Ppl get drunk mostly with “Caipinhinha” and beers are more like refresh drink. That is probably the reason for a low percapita consumption index

    Reply
    • tomlemes
      tomlemes says:

      Hi Midas! This is one of my first ever posts, so it’s really nice to come back and have another look at it :D

      When I wrote this I was still adjusting to the way Brazilians drink beer, but now I’m completely cool with it! It makes complete sense when the weather is so hot.

      Your point 2 made me laugh out loud! But only you Brazilians can say something like that… ;)

      Point 3 – Yes, I feel that in my 2+ years here I have taken on a lot of Brazilian habits. Beer is for refreshment, Caipirinha is for getting drunk!

      Reply
    • tomlemes
      tomlemes says:

      Hey Jason! You’re going to think I’m trying to get you into trouble with this one, but if you’re talking about the large cooler that they put the big beer bottles into, the word is camisinha. Yes, as in the same word for condom! Good luck finding one :)

      Reply
  3. Stacey
    Stacey says:

    The first beer I had when I arrived at my friend’s apartment in Rio, not an hour after my flight landed, was Original 360. I was amazed it had ice crystals. We went to eat a boteca, and I was told to bring my can to finish. They made up tables to fit all 9 of us, my friends ordered food and beer, and at first I thought it funny that they brought those small glasses. Looking back, I was probably drinking too quickly, but my friend always made sure my glass was never empty.

    Of all the bears I tried: 360, Skol, Original, Antarctica, Brahma, Bohemia, Itaipava; the only one I could not stand was Itaipava. It took me 3 times to convince my friend I wanted one, and after the first few sips, I conceded he was right, it was terrible. I even liked to drink Antarctica after the can got warm.

    I really miss the “Sharing of the bottle” idea from Brazil.

    Reply
    • tomlemes
      tomlemes says:

      Hi Stacey! Wow, I wrote this one almost 2 years ago – nice to know people are still reading it :)

      I agree with you – of the commonly available beers, Itaipava is the worst isn’t it? We had a lot of Brahma and Antarctica left over from our New Year’s Eve party (I’m still drinking them now!) and I’m actually quite liking them now! As long as they’re bem gelada it’s all good!

      I like the sharing the bottle thing too – it’s a nice communal way to drink isn’t it?

      Reply
  4. Albert DaBoin
    Albert DaBoin says:

    I am American too, 4 years in Brazil now. I agree 100% to all your comments but one. I like Itaipava. Maybe it is an adquired taste. One other thing: some beers taste better in different areas. The Skol you can drink in Bahia is great, taste different than the one in Sao Paulo. They say it is the water. I also recommend drinking Bandem Badem and Cerpa. They are in my opinion the best. However they have here over 200 brands and I haven´t tasted them all (yet). It is hot here today, I´ll be having my first beer today in a few minutes.

    Reply
    • tomlemes
      tomlemes says:

      Hey Albert – good call, Cerpa is nice and Baden Baden is even better! Have you tried Noi yet? It is made over in Niteroi and I tried it for the first time a couple of weeks ago – highly recommended! :)

      Reply
  5. Kamomile
    Kamomile says:

    Hello.
    Thank you for your post.
    I was in Porto Alegre about 10 years ago. I had a beer there which was real cold, mild, and tasted very good, not so bitter like a lot of beers I have had, and I felt it so fast, I mean it got me real quick. It remained like an ideal kind of beer in my memory. I always regretted that I didn’t ask what kind of beer it was, and always wanted to find out what kind of beer it was. A friend told me it was Chop. I thought for a while that that good quality was because of the beer kind and brand, but now I think it is not so much because of brand and kind as it is because of the fact that it is made real cold. Am I right? I still like so much to go to the same place in Porto Alegre and have the same beer. But I don’t remember what place it was. Or, maybe I can get the same beer experience I had in Porto Alegre by freezing a can of Heineken too?

    Reply
    • tomlemes
      tomlemes says:

      Hi Kamomile! Thanks for your comment and for sharing your memory :) Very cold, mild beers are pretty much Brazil’s standard. I definitely think that when beers are really cold their flavour isn’t so marked. I’m sure serving a light pilsner at very close to freezing (just before the ice crystals start to form) would be a good place to start :) Cheers!

      Reply

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