Beer Stories

THE INS AND OUTS OF CHILEAN BEER By Kristian de Leeuw ([email protected])

BEER IN CHILE: A BIT OF HISTORY

The world’s most popular alcoholic beverage has a long history. Beer brewing is as old as agriculture. In fact, it’s probably as old as or even older then bread - as either beer or bread may have been a by-product of the other. Indeed, a beer is more then just a beer: This tasty drink was once brewed by Babylon women priestesses, while Egyptian Pharaohs also consumed beer as an important part of their daily diet. Still, the sacred drink needed a bit longer to find its way to Chilean throats. It wasn’t until the colonial period that the Spanish settlers – not much of a beer drinking people to begin with - introduced beer or “cerveza” in Chile’s central valley; at that time part of the viceroyalty of Peru. Unfortunately the experiment failed, as the “mestizo” (mixed blood) and indigenous population preferred their strong liquors over the lighter weight beer. The successful introduction and widespread distribution of beer in Chile dates back to the nineteenth century. At the beginning of the nineteenth century Valparaiso had transformed itself into an international port city with a large contingent of foreigners living there. Their growing demands for expensive imported beer, led British medic Andrés Blest in 1825 to open up Valparaiso’s first brewery. Other breweries followed, although the quality would remain mediocre. Brewing took place in an artisan way with a British brewing process being maintained (fermentation took place at 15 degrees Celsius). But during the 1850s the British brewing tradition was replaced by German style brewing (with fermentation taking place at two or three degrees Celsius). After the independence (1810), the Chilean government tried to settle its southern territories through immigration. This led to the arrival of the first German immigrants in the 1850s. And as is the case with German immigrants any where in the world, wherever they go, they take their beer along. Throughout the second half of the twentieth century, German immigrants founded breweries throughout the country (although two of Valparaiso’s breweries were owned by Italians). But beer production and distribution took place mostly on a local level. That is, until the arrival of the Anwaldter-family in southern Chile’s Valdivia. Legend goes that pharmacist Karl or Carlos Anwaldter first started brewing to provide his wife with her daily glass of beer, just like back home in Germany. Karl had a German

brewing degree and in 1851 he decided to found the Anwaldter brewery. Using imported German machinery, Karl and after him his sons, would continue to expand and improve the Anwaldter brewery. And by the turn of the century Anwaldter was producing high quality beers that found their way to countries all over South America. Records show that by 1876 a total of 70 registered beer producers (mostly of German origin) existed in Chile, with breweries located throughout the country. Beer consumption had originally been limited to foreigners and the country’s elite, but by the turn of the century people all over Chile were drinking “cerveza.” By the 1890s, large scale industrial brewing found its way to the Chilean beer producers. And 50 years later, beer consumption had increased considerably -turning it into one of the most popular alcoholic beverages in Chile. But almost all Chilean beers were now coming from one sole industrial producer; Compañía Cervecerías Unidas (CCU) - the company that to this day on is the country’s largest commercial brewery. Around 1900 CCU began consolidating breweries and by 1916 the company had grown to such a size that it was even able to buy out its biggest competitor in Chile - the Anwaldter brewery. From there on, Chile’s beer history gets a bit boring and things went bad for Chile beer drinkers. Until just recently.

CHILE’S BEER INDUSTRY TODAY

Today CCU controls 86 percent of the Chilean beer market. Not only does it own all the mayor Chilean beers – including the country’s two biggest beer brands, watery Cristal and Escudo - it also owns other slightly better tasting beers such as Royal Guard and Austral (from Punta Arenas, bought up in 2000). And for those that think they can enjoy the original taste of Dutch beer brand Heineken or German brand Paulaner; think again. These beers are made here in Chile by CCU - and taste like it! CCU is the country’s biggest producer of soft drinks, beers and other beverages (the company also invested recently in Chile’s wine and pisco industry). The company is owned by one of Chile’s leading economic conglomerates, the Luksic group. It is licensed to produce beer brands such as Heineken and Paulaner, while other beers such as Budweiser and Guinness get imported and distributed by them.

THE GOOD NEWS: CRAFT BEER

But there’s also good news. Nowadays there’s a bigger variety of beer sold in Chile, including not only foreign beers, but also homemade artisan beers. Craft beer or “cerveza artesanal” generally refers to unfiltered all-malt beers that contain fewer additives than mass-produced beers like Escudo and Cristal. This is a difference that one especially notices the following day. Escudo and Cristal, if consumed in large amounts, can destroy your entire next day - as you’ll most likely prefer to “stay in” for the day.

Notwithstanding the big advantage of having a hangover-free day, there are more advantages to drinking craft beers. And Chileans also seem to have picked up on that as the craft beer industry here is rapidly expanding. The situation today is a bit similar to that of the United States at the beginning of the 1990s. At that time American microbreweries saw their market share increase as many US-consumers preferred to pay a bit more for a naturally brewed beer instead of the industrial ones. Today records show that the microbreweries have a market share of 5 percent of the total beer market in the U.S. In Chile a similar process is taking place with an increasing amount of microbreweries setting up shop. These microbreweries focus on quality rather then quantity. Unfortunately industrial beer production in Chile still accounts for 98 percent of total domestic brewing, but things are definitely looking better for beer drinkers here. The last couple of years artisan beer breweries have been popping up all over Chile and the nation’s domestic craft beer market continues to grow by 12 percent each year. Chile’s craft beer market is still very young though. The recent boom of Chile’s craft beer started in the mid 1990s when “Kunstmann” and other small breweries revived the German craft beer tradition of the nineteenth century. To fight the beer “giants” of CCU, the country’s leading craft beer breweries recently decided to join forces to increase their market share by founding the Association of Artisan Beer Breweries. The brewer’s guild aims to promote artisan beers by organizing and supporting tasting events and beer festivals such as the “Oktoberfest” held annually in Malloco near Santiago.

CRAFT BEER: WHERE AND WHAT, AND WHY SO MUCH?

But an average tourist will find it hard to encounter craft beers in typical Chilean restaurants, as most of them still only serve the cheaper mass produced “cervezas.” Which also brings us to another problem of Chilean craft beer; it’s still a very upscale alcoholic beverage. You’re most likely to find your “cerveza artesanal” in the better but also more expensive bars and restaurants in and outside Santiago. And you’ll feel that in your pocket. A good craft beer also has its price card say, in Europe for instance, but in Chile the bill will hit you even harder – especially compared to other products which are considerably cheaper here then in most other continents. An artisan beer will cost you anywhere in between a 1000 pesos (US$2 if you’re lucky) and 3000 pesos (US$6 if you’re in a rip-off upscale joint). Most are bottled, although some bars offer draft artisan beers as well. As for buying a Chilean craft beer in a supermarket or store; that won’t be an easy job. Chilean supermarkets outside Santiago tend to sell the locally brewed “artesanal.” But in the capital most supermarkets only offer Kunstmann, as that gets distributed by CCU (although most Chilean microbrewers say that CCU does more then just distribution nowadays).

The only supermarket that has a nice variety of domestic craft beers is “Jumbo,” stores which are mostly located in the upscale neighborhoods of the capital. Jumbo offers a good -but expensive- variety of “artesanales.” Until now, stores that sell craft beers have strangely enough been non existent (besides from the “aperetivo” internet store), and asking for a “cerveza artesanal” in your local liquor store or “botillería” won’t get you very far either. They only sell the industrial ones. But the industry is growing rapidly. So, hopefully, we’ll see stores and “botillerías” specialized in craft beers opening up soon.

INDUSTRIAL BEER; EASY TASTE AND CHEAP DRINKING

An industrial beer in most Chilean bars is served out as a half a liter or liter draft beer or just from the typical 1000 cc-bottle. The big bottle is definitely one of the greater advantages of the mass produced beer, as you can share it with your friends. These bottles really are made to enhance the group feeling, especially after drinking a couple of them when you’ll find yourself complementing your fellow drinkers on just about anything. And they 1000 cc bottles are quite cheap as most cost around 1000 pesos in supermarkets and liquor stores or 1500 pesos in bars and restaurants. To map Chile’s beer options is a hard task, especially considering the fact that the beer industry is rapidly developing and diversifying in this country. In late 2007 we tried out a new Chilean craft beer that wasn’t on the menu yet, nor had the waiter heard of it. It’s hard to keep up with the latest craft beers. Therefore we start out with a selection of the more traditional, industrial beers. 1) AUSTRAL: From Punta Arenas, tastes alright. Mass produced beer for those with a slightly more refined taste. 2) AUSTRAL CALAFATE: comes in small bottles, supposed to compete with craft beers but is in fact industrial and tastes bitter and sour. 3) BALTIKA: not to be mistaken with Russia’s most popular domestic beer which carries the same name.) 5) BECKER: best option if you’re going for the mass produced beer. 6) BRAHMA (Brazilian brand, but you’ll find it anywhere in Chile). Tastes just like Escudos. 7) CRISTAL: yellow tab water with alcohol in it. 8) CRISTAL NEGRA: Cristal’s latest invention; dark beer flavored carbonated water 9) CRISTAL RED ALE: looks and tastes like fermented sewage water. 10) DORADA: extra strong beer, alcohol percentage; 6.0 11) ESCUDO: watery taste, but it has a certain edge to it.

12) MALTA MORENITA: dark beer, easy taste, nice aromas, good for a breakfast “malta con huevo” (check out the recipe below). 13) PAULANER: brewed since 1991 in Chile according to the German medieval “reinheitsgebot” or purification law. That sounds cool, but it still tastes like an industrial beer. 14) ROYAL GUARD: Chile’s oldest premium beer, not much body but goof choice if you’re going to drink in big quantities. FAMED CHILEAN BEERMIXES

1) “TSUNAMI” or “ERUPCIÓN:” A lethal mix of beer, wine and pisco. Add ice cubes to cool it off. 2) “MALTA CON HUEVO”: Perfect drink for breakfast, especially when you have a hangover or “caña.” Try to use a blender. Toss in one bottle of “Malta Morenita” beer; add one or two eggs, four tablespoons of sugar and a dash of cinnamon. If you don’t trust us on this recipe, check out the Chilean movie “Malta con Huevo.” 3) “YUGOSLAVO:” Mix a bottle of cheap white wine with a 1000cc bottle of preferably Cristal. LISTING OF CRAFT BEERS

1) CALLE CALLE, local Valdivian microbrewery. We’ve never tried it. 2) CAPITAL, from Santiago, a favorite among general crowds in the capital. A bit too much sweet and sour aromas though. 3) COLONOS DE LLANQUIHUE, lager, from lake Lanquihue, easy taste, but full bodied. 4) CRATER, Golden Ale and Porter Ale, from Villarica, region IX, available in southern Chile. 5) DEL PUERTO, Ale, Barba Roja, Barba Negra, from the port city of Valparaiso, home to Chile’s first beer breweries. This beer is definitely one of Chile’s best. We recommend the Ale. 6) DIE-M, Helles, Dunkel, Rot, We only tried the dark beer or “dunkel, but it tasted great. 7) D’OLBEK, Pilsen Lager, from Aísen, region XI, owner Carlos de Smet d´Olbecke is a child of Belgian immigrants. Nice taste but misses body. 8) GRASSAU, lager and “trigo” (“weissbier or white beer”) together with cerveza Pucon and cerveza Crater is the only beer from the Araucania region (region IX). Only available at bars and supermarkets in this region. We would really like to taste the “trigo.” 9) J.BELLO, rubia and negra, another craft beer from Valdivia, we didn’t like the lager very much. The “negra” or dark beer is nice though.

10) KROSS, Golden Ale and Stout, both great beers with full flavors, the Golden Ale was voted Best Beer by the Santiagoradio-staff. 11) KUNSTMANN, Pale Ale, Dark, Lager and Miel. 12) MESTRA, Pale Ale and Negra 13) OCEANIK, Amber, Dark, nice, although both types are a bit to sweet. But the dark beer’s bitter aftertaste makes up for that. 14) PUCON (this beer is still in the making, the brewery is expected to open soon, is together with cerveza Grassau and Crater from Villarica, the only beer from the Araucania region (region IX). 15) QUIMERA, Amber Ale and Imperial Stout. Microbrewery located in Santiago’s Quinta Normal (Metro Quinta Normal), open for visits and guided tours. Experts say it’s one of the best. We haven’t tried it though. 16) SZOT, Pale Ale, Amber Ale, Negra Stout, Strong Ale. Amber Lager (rubia al vapor) Wide variety and generally consider to be Chile’s best microbrewery. 17) TAJANO, Rubia, Roja, Negra, new in town, from El Monte, metropolitan area, opened up in 2007. 18) TUBINGER, Red Ale, Pale Ale, Dark Ale, two German language professors were wise enough to switch teaching for brewing in 2001. Good beer. Brewed and sold in Santiago. 19) VALBIER, Red Ale (summer 2008 will see a Stout come on the market) Another beer from Chile’s beer capital, Valdivia. Available in restaurants and bars in Santiago. Valdivia’s best microbrew. WHERE TO ENJOY A CRAFT BEER (IN SANTIAGO):

Just a couple of suggestions…. 1) Café Pub Sicosis, José Miguel de la Barra 544, just off Bellas Artes metro stop.Wide selection of bottled domestic craft beers. Keeping up to date with the latest microbrew developments. 2) Eurohappy, Maturana 516, just off metro Cumming. Over two hundred beers from around the world. 3) Berry, Rosal 321, enjoy an Oceanik on draft in a beautiful surrounding. On weekends go upstairs and talk to our favorite barman, Carlos. A good variety of Chilean bottled craft beers. They also serve a great Berry-hamburger. 4) HBH, big chain of beer bars. On several locations in Santiago. Limited assortment though. 5) Budapest, three different locations in Santiago. One of Chile’s best craft beers, On draft! Try the one at Av. Bilbao 5351.

Let us know what do you think. Send us an email with comments and info on your favorite Chilean pubs and craft beers.

Kristian de Leeuw ([email protected])

WHAT IS HOPS? ...STORY OF ´CAPITAL´ BEERS By Julia Thompson ([email protected]) I’ve been to the breweries. I’ve seen the enormous boilers and mechanical stirring machines. I can differentiate which beers have more hops than others, and I can even taste subtle aromas of coffee when I drink a brown ale and of honey when I drink certain pale ones. And, in the case of Capital’s pale ale, I am convinced of a citrusey bite at the end of a long, hard sip. But why? This was my next quest in my beer column adventure: to figure out why the heck a beer claiming to follow the age-old German Purity Law (only hops, yeast, barley and water) can taste like it’s been infused with lemon or spiced up with a teaspoon of espresso. I learned almost all the answers from Capital’s founder and owner, Álvaro Artiagoitía, who—to my pleasant surprise—was more interested in talking about beer in general than solely promoting his own. Last week, Suzanne—my friend and a marketer for The Santiago Times—and I went to Álvaro’s office at his beautiful house. Despite being in Santiago’s Providencia district, the house had the feeling of being very far away from the city. It had uneven wooden floors, frumpy woolen rugs—probably bought somewhere in southern Patagonia—and an enormous garden out back. Was I on a farm? The house reflected Álvaro’s calm, joyful and humble disposition; he seemed very far away from the cutthroat competition of the business world. Before we got into a deep discussion about his beer, he asked me if I had ever seen hops or the barley that beer is made from. He showed Suzanne and me some fresh hops he took out of a refrigerator he keeps in his office. To tell you the truth, the hops looked exactly like marijuana, except the buds were a pale brownish color rather than green like ganja. He explained to me that the hops plant and the Cannabis plant are closely related and in the same plant family, Cannabinacea. The process of harvesting hops is identical to that of harvesting marijuana. “Both marijuana and hops are the sticky secretions of glands on their flowers and leaves,” Álvaro said. “The female hops plants are the ones that produce the hops buds that you use for beer-making, just like the female cannabis plant buds are what some people smoke.” He pointed to his pile of hops. “These are the buds.” He squished a bud between his fingers and put his fingers up to my nose. “Smell.”

The

resin

on

his

fingers

smelled

just

like

marijuana!

Álvaro continued, “The hops that you add at the beginning of the beer-making process are what give the beer a bitter taste. If or when you add them at the end of the process, the flavor of actual hops arises, perhaps giving the beer a flowery or citrusey aroma.” So that is hops. I felt a weight lifted off my chest. Finally, I could conjure the hops smell before the beer process and understand why beer has fruity or flowery aromas. Excited at the prospect at learning all this technical information, I also asked Álvaro why beer can have coffee aromas when there is no coffee added. He presented two jars, both filled with barley. One was dark in color, and the other was light brown. “So, let me explain why the beer tastes like coffee,” he said. “First, you get barley seeds. You put a whole bunch of these seeds in water and add heat. Just as the seeds open up, you take them out of the water and kill them by blanching and then roasting the seeds. The reason you let them germinate first is to awaken the enzymes that promote a sugary flavor. You then roast the barley at different levels of temperature and humidity. For example, when you cook the seeds at a high temperature with low humidity, the seeds are dry and dark—completely roasted. These are the seeds that have the coffee flavor because coffee beans undergo exactly the same roasting process. A lot of what you are tasting when you drink coffee is related to how the coffee bean is roasted.” Álvaro was in the wine business before the beer one. He and his wife owned a couple of small vineyards in Chile. In the late ‘90s, they traveled to California, in part to promote their wines and in part to learn English. What they didn’t know was that the trip would really mark an absolute career change for Álvaro. Before Álvaro moved to the States, he thought there was only one kind of beer: “the regular one.” That regular one was Cristal, Chile’s watery national beer produced by Compañía Cervecerías Unidas (CCU), which currently owns 86 percent of the Chilean beer market. However, after Álvaro arrived in California, fate had it that he shared a home with a man who home-brewed his own beer. “I had always loved beer,” Álvaro said, “but I didn’t know there were so many different types of beer—like wine.” So, Alvaro’s housemate took him to a bunch of different bars in California, where Álvaro tasted “nearly 30 beers from different microbreweries, all with different tastes. I had always been a wine-tasting man, so tasting beer came very easily to me. After drinking my first couple of microbrews, I almost felt there were more layers of taste in a pint of beer than in a glass of wine!” Though Álvaro’s American friend wasn’t an authorized beer master, he taught him how to brew his own beer in his home in California. I mean, in my mind, who really cares? I see it like needing an Ivy League degree to be a good journalist; if you can make a quality product or write a good story, the credentials don’t really matter. In his office in Providencia, Álvaro walked over to his refrigerator, opened it, and stuck his head in it for about thirty seconds, looking for something. The stench of something rotting filled the room. He pulled out a bottle that looked relatively old. “This is the first

beer I brewed in California.” He presented the bottle to Suzanne and me with a grin pasted across his face. “Wow, cool,” I said. “Can you drink it?” Suzanne asked. “No, I hold onto it as a memory,” Álvaro replied. “I think by this point it wouldn’t be very safe to drink.” I found this very endearing in that saving-the-first-ball-that-you-hit-out-of-the-park kind of way. When Álvaro came back to Chile from California, he came with hops hidden in his suitcases. He went home and set up his very own home brewery, where he made superhoppy IPA (Indian Pale Ale—very bitter beer) that he served to his friends and family. “Their reaction was positive, but these people have never had hops—real hops—before,” Álvaro recalled. “So, I think the bitter taste was a bit too surprising. It’s something Chileans need to get used to.” This experience explains why he chose to produce a pale ale and an amber ale instead of a super-hoppy IPA. “I think the process of integrating quality beer into Chilean society is slow. People just aren’t accustomed to strong flavors that come along with super-hoppy brews and dark beers.” Capital now has two beers on the market. Neither of them is very bitter, though both are tasty and full-bodied yet light on the palate. The pale ale tastes a little bit like a Blue Moon with a citrusey aroma not to be confused with sweet fruit but closer to a lemon or a grapefruit. The amber ale has a bit more body but still maintains a light, refreshing taste. The color is a very pale red with pretty good transparency, suggesting Álvaro’s recipe might call for longer fermentation at lower temperatures, yielding a clearer color, a less carbonated flavor, and a smooth aftertaste. Capital’s beers are different than the other Chilean artisan brews I’ve tried. They are both very light, but in a good way, more similar to a light Belgian wheat beer than to the earthy, full-bodied, hoppy taste of other amber ales and pale ales on Chile’s craft beer scene. Both Capital’s amber ale and pale ale are perfect aperitivos or friends for an all-night dance party. The pale ale is also perfect with a pizza because it’s not too heavy on the stomach. In fact, the other night I went out for a pizza at a specialty pizzeria called Voraz on Avenida Providencia. The restaurant serves all of Chile’s craft beers, and I opted for a Capital Pale ale. Arugula-covered pizza and a Capital pale ale—perfect.

By Julia Thompson ([email protected])

TUBINGER: THE NEW BREWERY ON THE BLOCK By Julia Thompson ([email protected]) One of Chile’s newest—if not its newest—craft beers is Tubinger, owned, operated and conceived by Christoph Flaskamp, a German man very passionate about beer. He’s so passionate that he used to brew his own homemade ale in the backyard of his house during a time when beer-making ingredients such as hops were very hard to come by in Chile. Passion drove Christoph into the beer industry. He was born in Germany, grew up in Chile, and studied in England. After his studies, he returned to Chile, where he worked as an English professor. He had always loved beer, and after he started brewing his own, he decided to make his passion his profession. For Christoph, who learned his craft under the guidance of a German brew master, the tradition of beer became of utmost importance. “Beer has a very long and intricate tradition. It’s important to create beers that respect and honor the traditions originated by microbreweries before pasteurization and big-business brewing took over the market,” he said. With ruddy cheeks, an extensive vocabulary to describe beers and an intricate knowledge of beer’s history, to me he seems to be the man who can and will forge the path toward getting Chileans not only to drink good craft beers—like Tubinger’s—but also to appreciate beer at the same level they appreciate a fine wine. I believe this because he did call me out on a few issues regarding my knowledge of beer and Chile. I’ll get to that later. I asked Christoph for his thoughts on Compañía Cervecerías Unidas (CCU), Chile’s largest commercial brewery. CCU owns 86 percent of country’s beer market, including not only the major Chilean beers—such as the country’s two biggest beer brands, watery Cristal and Escudo—but also Royal Guard, Austral and Kunstmann. In addition, CCU has the license to produce beer brands like Heineken and Paulnar. Since I have started this column, my mild distaste for CCU’s products has grown into hatred. It’s almost as if I have found a life calling in sharing with everyone just how bad CCU products and business practices are. Christoph agreed. “CCU is tricking all of Chile into thinking that they have diversified their products when in fact all the beers, regardless of their name and color, pretty much taste the same: like alcoholic water with a bit of coloring.” I added that Kunstmann was a sad excuse for a microbrewery. This is where I was corrected. Christoph explained to me that Kunstmann actually forged the path for other microbreweries by reviving the tradition of quality beer production in Chile. “Before Kunstmann, Chile went through a long period where the only beer available was Cristal,” he said. “If it wasn’t for Kunstmann, none of us microbreweries

would have any business.” He added, “When you drink a Kunstmann in Valdivia, the beer actually maintains the quality it had before the company owner sold out to CCU because the beer is brewed in a separate factory from CCU’s, while the Kunstmann you buy in Santiago is produced in CCU factories.” So far, Tubinger has three beers on the market: a brown ale, a red ale and a pale ale. I tried the brown and pale ales, and they are both great. The brown ale is nice because it’s lighter than a stout but still has the earthy flavors that a stout carries. The Tubinger brown ale is a rarity because most brown ales taste like watered-down mild ale—even in England! Christoph told me he tried to “restore brown ale’s historic value as a dark ale with a large portion of roasted malt.” The taste has a strong hint of chocolate with a rounded, bitter aftertaste: wonderful beer! As for the Tubinger pale ale, it’s refreshing and fruity without being too sweet. “Our pale ale is not like others that sometime add sweeteners that just result in too sugary a beverage,” Christoph said. “The fruitiness of our beer comes from top fermentation with brewers yeast fermented at high temperatures and, of course, a good dose of German Hallertaur hops.” You can enjoy a Tubinger on tap at the Purammente Bar in Providencia on the corner of Bilbao and Miguel Claro. The bar is also where the biggest group of Santiago city cyclers meet in the early evening almost daily; they love their Tubinger! You can also find Tubinger at Jumbo supermarkets and select restaurants throughout Santiago For

more

information

about

Tubinger,

By Julia Thompson ([email protected])

visit

their

website:

www.tubinger.cl

A NATIONAL SECRET: THERE IS SURPRISINGLY GOOD BEER IN CHILE! By Julia Thompson ([email protected]) I am a beer drinker. Six months ago, I moved to Chile from New York, where I was a regular at the many bars that have now become very popular in the States for their excellent and diverse selections of beers. I always veered towards the darker beers like Dogfish Indian Brown Ale, but sometimes indulged in a good pale ale like Sierra Nevada. I came to Chile with no expectations about the country’s beer, but assumed I would find some decent brands I could enjoy after a hard day’s work or to take the stress away from spending day after day struggling with Spanish. I was more than disappointed when I had my first Escudo, and even more disappointed after drinking my first bottle of Cristal. I made a vow to myself that I would stop drinking beer altogether and stick to Chile’s famous wines and notoriously strong pisco. But my snobbery fail me after a few weeks, and I began getting used to the stale flavor of Escudo and Cristal. I opted to drink the stuff as long as I poured it into a cold glass and consumed it with a moderate amount of thirst. Some Chilean friends told me about Kunstmann and Austral, brands my local botillería sold, but again, I was disappointed by the sweetness of the beer. Neither brand lived up to the hype. Weeks turned into months, and always stuck with the disappointing local brew. Then, luckily, last week, my editor asked if any of us writers were interested in writing a column about local artisan beers. I jumped at the opportunity, though I was really doubtful that quality beer existed in Chile. I thought to myself, ‘Well, I enjoy writing about food, wine and art, so why not beer?’ And just now I have had my first bottle of Szot Microbrewery’s “Negra Stout.” I had to call a fellow American beer drinker and proclaim, “Liz, there IS good beer in Chile, really, really good beer in Chile!” Negra Stout is just as a good stout should be: The taste is bitter, the foam is creamy, the color is a rich brown, and you can taste the roasted aromas of barley. Szot’s stout is the best beer I have tasted in Chile, with all the hops needed to create a taste with a bitter kick. It is perfect for the palate, especially alongside grilled meat or chocolate. My experience might explain why the Wine-Lovers’ Club (Club de Amantes del Vino, CAV) placed Negra Stout at the top of its ranking of beers sold in Chile, a list mostly comprised of reputable European brews. Negra Stout also figures among the top 6 percent of beers in the world on the artisan beer-lovers’ website: ratebeer.com.

The owner and founder of Szot Microbrewery, Kevin Szot, explained to me that creating combinations of beer and food is an intricate process. “It’s not just wine and food that combine into delicious and newly realized-flavors (…). So does beer. The stout goes with grilled meats and cheese, while the pale ale is the perfect accompaniment to lighter fares like shellfish, appetizers and salads.” Kevin started his brewery in December of 2007. Born and raised in California, he moved to South America 20 years ago while working for Citibank and was stationed throughout South America and Puerto Rico until 2006. He met Karen, his wife and current business partner, during his first trip to Chile. He believed Chile — a country where he was amazed at how bad the local beer was — was the perfect place to start up a craft beer company. While he was living in Chile in the ‘80s, 100 percent of the market was owned by CCU, which produces Cristal and Escudo and now boasts seven of the 10 most popular beers in Chile. To combat these bad-tasting, big-business beers that “essentially come from the same tank,” he began his own line of craft beers that now includes seven unique brews, including two lagers and five ales. I met with Kevin early this week at his brewery, a tiny enterprise with only a handful of tanks and four employees, at an industrial park in the outskirts of Santiago. Up until a few months ago, Kevin and his wife had been doing all distribution, bottling and labeling by themselves. Now they work with a distribution company, and the brewery is beginning to grow. What differentiates Kevin’s beer from other artisan brews is the varying types he produces, all of which embody unique flavors and processes. All seven beers are unfiltered, without preservatives and naturally carbonated by yeast. They also undergo a second fermentation in the bottle. Another award-winning and remarkable Szot beer is the “Rubia al Vapor,” which is brewed in the San Francisco steam style. Steam beer is highly effervescent and is made by brewing lager yeasts at ale fermentation temperatures. Szot’s Chilean version is better and a tad lighter and richer in flavor than its San Francisco inspiration, “Anchor Steam.” Of course, one has every right to expect excellent taste from an artisan beer, but it would be unjust if I left out Szot’s beautiful label. It’s almost as if each bottle is — internally and externally — a work of art. Kevin designed most of the labels himself, including the microbrewery's signature label, which features an interpretation of a mid-18th-century tapestry depicting a massive earthquake. Other labels were created by renowned Chilean artist Paloma Valdivia, who now resides in Barcelona. Kevin explained he is marketing a unisex beer, a product both sexes can enjoy rather than one only attractive to men. This also could be attributed to his wife’s significant role in the company. She told me, “I do just about everything. This job really requires a lot of time devotion and passion.” Szot Microbrewery’s distribution is now about 6,000 to 7,000 liters per month. When I asked Kevin if the beer world beat the banking world, he responded: “We are going to be fine, but I wouldn’t consider this a very lucrative industry yet. Still, I believe it has the potential to be one. Since Chile has such a strong economy here in South America and

since Chileans are traveling more than ever, they are more interested in specialty products than ever before.” Fellow beer-lovers can find more information about Szot Microbrewery at www.szot.cl By Julia Thompson ([email protected])

KROSSING CULTURES THROUGH BEERMAKING THE HISTORY OF BREWING COMPANY By Julia Thompson ([email protected]) Asbjorn Gerlach claims to be the only microbrewery owner in Chile with a brewing master’s degree, and a very prestigious one at that from the Technical University of Berlin. It’s been twenty years since his graduation, and he now co-owns the most internationally renowned microbrewery in Chile—Kross Brewing Company—along with three other fellows passionate about beer. One of those partners, José Tomás Infante, came to the Santiago Times for an interview last week. José, a good-looking, polite chileno with very stiff English—that is, until the conversation turned to tastes and varieties of beer—told me the story of Kross. The microbrewery came together by coincidence. Gerlach moved down to Chile about 20 years ago and began brewing his own stout in an industrial shed south of Santiago— about 50 kilometers north of Rancagua—with no real intention to start a company. He simply was pursuing his passion to refine his beer recipe—that is, until he met José Tomás. Prior to meeting José, Asbjorn had spent seven years brewing his stout for a couple of Santiago pubs, making almost no money and serving only a few hundred customers a week. He sold his premium stout to an Irish pub in Santiago. José was a trained wine man working in the exportation sector of the largest winery in Chile, Concha y Toro. While vacationing in Ireland, he became enchanted by beer. “Every region has its own special beer with a unique taste,” he explained. “Before Ireland, I didn’t know how much beer could vary in taste. I mean, think about it. The per capita intake of beer for an Irish person is 200 liters a year, while a Chilean drinks 33 liters per year. That must mean something about the quality.” When José returned to Chile from Ireland, he began tasting any beer he could find that wasn’t affiliated with the industrial beers owned by CCU. CCU is the country’s biggest beer producer, owning 86 percent of the Chilean beer market. One evening, by chance, he visited the pub where Asbjorn’s stout was sold on draft. After

his first sip, he wanted to meet the guy behind “one of the only good beers in Chile.” José contacted Asbjorn and suggested the two go into business together. They coined their business name, Kross, because they didn’t feel they were doing anything exactly traditional. Their beer name would symbolize the “Krossing” of cultures with a beer that was neither traditionally German nor Chilean. It also symbolized a “Kross” from simply specialized drafts to bottling and wider distribution. Upon trying my first sip of Kross’s Stout, I was delighted; now, I could list four different brands of beer in Chile that I considered fantastic. Kross’s Stout is a tad less alcoholic than Szot's Negra Stout but still boasts the bitterness that Chilean industrial beers just don’t have. It’s full-bodied with aromas of caramel and won a silver metal at the Australian Beer Awards. Kross’s Pilsner is my favorite Kross beer. It was a favorite at the New Zealand International Beer Awards, another prestigious contest where Kross won awards. “We won a silver for the Pilsner and Stout and a bronze for our Golden Ale,” José recalled. Pilsner originates from the Czech Republic and is characterized by its chemical process and ingredients. The barley ferments at a lower temperature. A specialized hops called Saaz Noble, which grows only in central Europe, is added to the mix. In Kross’s Pilsner, all that chemistry results in a citrusy taste with a tad of spice at the end of the sip, almost like pepper. On the other hand, their Golden Ale is what I would consider a sweet beer—not too sweet, but sweet enough that I prefer the Stout and the Pilsner. Kross has a total of four beers on the market: the Stout, the Pilsner, the Golden Ale, and the Malbock, which I haven’t tried. José assured me I can buy all four at my local Jumbo supermarket. After winning awards in both New Zealand and Australia, Kross started exporting to New Zealand. I asked José about exportation to the United States, because I want their good beer in my country. He told me, “There is U.S. interest, but beer exported to the States needs to be pasteurized.” I can’t say that I was surprised. This emphasizes you really drink some of the best beer here in Chile because it’s so natural. Kross’s beers, like the majority of Chilean microbrews, all abide by the German Purity Law that states beers must be unfiltered, unpasturized and without any added ingredients: just hops, barley and water. José told me, “Kross is not opposed to distributing in the United States and is actually excited about it, but it will take some time to acquire the best pasteurization equipment that does not greatly change the flavor of the brew. This equipment is very expensive, and we don’t want to risk changing the flavor of our beer just for wider distribution.” Something about that little bit of yeast at the bottom of the bottle is really romantic, telling me that the beer I am drinking is naturally carbonated. There is something wonderful about a beer whose shelf life can’t exceed five months. When I first started trying Chilean artisan beers, my immediate reaction was, “This beer is so fresh!” All the carbonation comes from the yeast and nothing else. This may seem revolutionary

to a North American, when, in fact, it’s simply history in a bottle. It’s the way it was originally done, the way German immigrants made their beer when they first emigrated to Chile in the 1800s and the way new microbreweries in Chile are creating their beers: naturally, with a twist of something different that comes from being in a country thousands of miles away from Europe. The beer that results isn’t uniquely German or Chilean but something of a “Kross.” By Julia Thompson ([email protected])

DRINKING IN CHILE MAD BRAD PROVES ONCE AGAIN THAT ALCOHOL IS THE SUREST PATH TO SELF CONFIDENCE. By Teddy Kahn ([email protected]) I have often used this column to disseminate potentially divisive opinions on Chilean cuisine and its general inferiority to what I have experienced in pretty much every other part of the world. In this, my final act as The Santiago Times’ resident food pundit, I hope to strike a more conciliatory, encouraging tone, and at the same time write about a theme that is close to my heart. So in the interest of harmony and promoting a better future for U.S-Chilean relations, and mainly because the Weekend Edition was struggling for copy, I will address a topic that truly forges a common ground among the peoples of the entire (well, non-Muslim) world: alcohol. Because alcohol is food (as the heroic Bavarian monks proved in the 15th Century when they survived their Lenten fasts by brewing a nutrient-rich and extra-potent “Starkbier” – a dark, delicious double bock with over 10 percent alcohol content that can still be enjoyed today – but I digress), and as such can teach us much about a country, its culture, and its national psyche. I have noticed during my time here a certain element of self-doubt among the Chileans I’ve encountered. They compare themselves, constantly and often unfavorably, with other nations – particularly their rivals across the Andes. Too often, I would argue, they sell themselves – and their country – short. Chile is nothing if not a remarkably diverse place – geographically, culturally, and, not surprisingly, alcoholically. From the German-inspired traditional breweries in the rustic south to world-acclaimed vineyards that flourish (miraculously, it would seem) just beyond the reach of Santiago’s sprawl; from the excellent micro-breweries right in the capital but unbeknownst to the majority of Santiaguinos to the picturesque pisco fields of the Elqui Valley, Chile provides an array of great ways to get drunk. Why, then, do Chileans drink Escudo?

Escudo, for the uninitiated, is the standard national beer. Available at every bar, restaurant, supermarket, mini-market, and house party the length of the country, it is cheap, tastes like nothing much, and leaves you with a cripplingly dehydrated hangover. So, the obvious answer is to my question is: It’s cheap. Which is fine. I have been known to happily slug 12 Budweisers (the American Escudo, although I should be shot for referring to it as such) on a warm summer’s evening. But note the crucial detail in that sentence: 12. Budweiser is great for serious drinking because it tastes like beer, nothing more and nothing less, packs a good punch but doesn’t hit too hard, and is relatively easy on the bank account. But if I want to sit down and relax with a beer or two, or am looking for a brew to accompany a fine dining experience, there’s no way in hell I’m ordering Budweiser. That’s when it’s time to explore the micro-brews, look for a non-Becks German export, or go absolutely crazy and order a glass of wine. When we’re talking about one or two drinks, the extra couple of bucks are worth it. But in Chile, it seems, it’s always Escudo – regardless of the context. While I’ve enjoyed many a litro de Escudo at a late-night carrete (party) while chatting up a few Chilenas, I’d frankly rather have prune juice with my meal. Escudo does not complement anything, taste-wise, except for more Escudo – both to wash away the unpleasant after-taste and to smooth out those always-tricky social interactions with the locals. Now, being a highly unpaid member of The Santiago Times writing staff, I can certainly understand saving money. But I fear Chilean drinkers are not taking full advantage of all their great nation has to offer. There’s so much out there beyond the familiar red shield and trusty eagle of the Escudo label (I’ll admit, it’s a solid label). But still, my final message to the Chilean people is this: The peso is strong! The price of copper has reached an all-time high! The discouraging economic forecast for 2008 has been modestly revised in recent weeks! Now is the time to splurge on that cerveza Capital, a superb Santiago micro-brew; or try a Kunstmann Bock, a sweet, slightly nutty dark beer from Valdivia’s favorite German immigrant family; or the intriguing, locally produced Tubinger beer; or get to know a bit of Chilean wine that does not come in box. In short, appreciate for once the best of what your country has to offer, because it is pretty damn good. After all, the beer-drinker who never experiences life after Escudo is like the avocadoeater who has never made guacamole. By Teddy Kahn ([email protected])