Where to drink beer in Rio

Beer drinkers coming to Rio may be disappointed at first – many bars and restaurants only serve the lightest of beers such as Brahma, Skol and Antarctica. The near absence of flavour in these beers is primarily due to the use of up to 45% unmalted cereals, primarily corn and rice. This lack of flavour is why Mrs Eat Rio refers to these as ‘beer soda’; some people even debate whether you can honestly call these beverages ‘beer’ at all.

Moving up the food chain a little, the fancier beach kiosks and even some beach vendors are starting to stock Heineken. It might not be a wonder-beer exactly, but it has significantly more flavour and bite than the bog-standard beer sodas.

Carioca Beer Enthusiasts

With this background of terrible beer, you might be surprised to hear that during my time in Rio I have met more beer enthusiasts then in any other city. My theory is that if you spend your early drinking years indulging in tasteless budget beers like Itaipava and Nova Schin, then when you finally taste something decent, it blows your mind. I picture an 18 year old Brazilian tasting his/her first Guinness or Duvel, realising that real beer has real depth of flavour and embarking on a journey of beer discovery.

Where to drink beer in Rio

To cater for all those Carioca connoisseurs, there are quite a few places serving up decent beers. Probably top of the pile is Botto Bar in Praça da Bandeira – they have a massive selection of beers (imported and national). However, if the schlep out to Praça da Bandeira is too much for the Zona Sul based drinkers there are plenty of other options:

• Espaço Lapa Café – If the cheap caipirinhas and cans of Brahma get too much for you on a night out in Lapa, head for Lapa Café. They reckon they’ve got 400 beers on their menu and they have often have live music.
• Delirium Café – Right in the heart of Ipanema, Delirium Café is the first branch of this Belgium-based franchise in South America. The building is emblazoned with the pink elephants of Delirium Tremens and boasts plenty of space for beer lovers. They also do tasting classes with a beer sommelier from time to time.
• Bier en Cultuur – Headed up by the charming and knowledgeable Conrado Sanches, Bier en Cultuur opened at the start of 2014. Located in the Quartier Ipanema shopping centre, this is a small, cosy bar worth seeking out.

Bier en Cultuur – a cosy place in Ipanema to drink great beer from Brazil and beyond.

• Boteco Colarinho – For the Botafogo-based beer drinker, this bar just across from the Metro station has a good selection of beers. As with many places in Rio, I’ve noticed that although they have an impressive menu, you will often find that they don’t actually have half the beers in stock.
• O Plebeu – Another Botafogo bar, this one isn’t so much of a beer specialist (you will notice most customers drinking the standard cheap beers), but they still have a good-sized menu of imported beers for those who fancy something tasty.

OK, so that is by no means a definitive list – let me know which other bars in Rio should go on this list and I’ll add them in. Next time around I’ll be sharing the results of the first Eat Rio beer tasting session.