Of All the Beers in Peru, Pilsen Callao is My Hands-Down Favorite...May 19 '05 Write an essay on this topic.
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When in Peru, drink like the Peruvians. Aside from copious cups of Pisco Sour --- the national drink --- Peruvians drink lots of beer. You don't have to ask me twice whether I want a Pisco Sour, and I don't believe the words "No thanks, I've had enough" have ever escaped my lips when being offered a chilly cerveza. Now as to how "favorite" these beers are to me, and how "hard to find", well, let's equivocate. Given the choice between a goblet of Rodenbach Grand Cru and a glass of cold Peruvian Cristal beer, I'd naturally let me tongue guide my hand over to the Rodenbach, but when in Peru, you can't buy Rodenbach (or really any imported beers, for that matter). Besides, whenever folks ask me what my favorite beer is, the answer is usually "yes". Sometimes I'll respond with "free", "chilly", or "whatcha got?" But let's cut the B.S... When in Peru, my favorite beer is Pilsen Callao. In my opinion, Pilsen Callao is the best overall performer sold in the country. The dark malta beers are bigger and more distinctive, but I don't generally like them as much as the lighter bodied but hoppier and generally well crafted pilsners of Callao and Trujillo. Sometimes, I like the softer character of the Cusqueña lager, but it's really Pilsen Callao that is my favorite Peruvian beer. Here's some tasting notes that help understand how I get to Pilsen Callao as my favorite... Tasting Peruvian Beers... Peruvian beers tend to be typical of all South American beers. That basically means bland American-style lagers brewed with plenty of adjuncts and dumbed down for modern "tastes". That is especially true of Cristal, which fits the ugly stereotype to an absolute "T". Cristal is Peru's most "popular" beer --- but it's also the worst --- a solid one-star under-performer, if ever there was one. Once you get away from Cristal, the beers are noticeably better, and would be considered a big improvement over most U.S. brewed industrial brands. The beers labeled "pilsen" actually do exhibit some true pilsner character, and they are reliably better than Cristal. Bottled beer is sold everywhere, cans rarely, and draft in almost any sizable restaurant or bar. While draft beer is called "cerveza de barril" in most latin countries, in Peru, they use the Brazilian term "chopp", which, being spanish speakers, they pronounce just like it looks (see my if you want to know how to order a draft beer in Brazil...) The only thing to be aware of as far as ordering chopp is that, in most bars, the "standard glass of beer" is a litre (though it's sometimes called a "jarra") --- hope you're thirsty! Around Lima, the most common draft brands are Cristal, Pilsen Callao, and Cusquena --- roughly in that order. I'll tell you one very good thing about drinking beer in Peru though....it's absolutely impossible to find "light" beer anywhere! It just doesn't exist! It's a cachito of beer drinking heaven! Tasting notes.... Cristal: Extremely pale light color, thin body, slight head. A little initial sweetness, but the malt aspects are really more of a sulfury corn character (almost certainly from heavy doses of adjunct grains) than they are soft malt. Hops are extremely low. This beer is a dead ringer for Coors, IMHO. On tap, it's very, very smooth, with a consistency, texture, and mouthfeel approaching tap water. Marketers would call this beer "refreshing". I use a more scatalogical term... Pilsen Callao: Pilsen Callao is the 2nd biggest brand in Peru, and while it's hardly what I'd consider a stellar example of the art of pilsner brewing (if I had to compare it with Czech or German pilsners), it does have a fairly nice firm malt base with some sweetness, no off characteristics, and a fragrantly floral hop bouquet with a classically peppery hop flavor. It leaves a soft floral hop aftertaste and is actually a very decent, quaffable pint. It's also brewed at several different localized breweries and is so popular that it can't help but be served fresh anywhere in Peru. Cusqueña: Cusquena is Peru's brewing face to the world --- it's been widely exported for many years. Cristal and Callao are exported too, but it's Cusqueña that really has the foreign following. Personally, I find the golden Cusqueña to be a competent basic lager, and one that I think competes quite well against basic imported lagers like Red Stripe or Sapporo, but that fall far short of the mark of distinction you'd find in most German or even Dutch lagers. There's some sweetness, not much corn, no real funk, a little kiss of the hops --- but nothing I'd call a really notable hop character. It's inoffensive, but totally average, in my opinion. I won't be going out of my way to find this beer in the U.S., but in Peru, where its ubiquitous, it's a perfectly good, everyday drinking beer. Cusqueña Malta: The maltas in Peru remind me of some of the sweeter Brazilian dark lagers in that they are not really good examples of any "standard" beer styles that U.S. beer critics or judges would acknowledge. I've heard Cusqueña Malta described as "a schwarzbier", but one sip tells you that this is no schwarzbier. The difference is in the balance, which tips far towards the sweet side of the spectrum. In Cusquena Malta, the beer has a flavor of scorched cane sugar and a consistency that reminds me of Mackeson Stout (but obviously without Mackeson's smooth lactose signature). The signature of Cusqueña Malta is sucrose, and while I find it intriguing for a few sips, I quickly grow to detest it as a fundamentally unbalanced beer with a somewhat cloying mouthfeel. Arequipeña Malta: Arequipeña isn't widely sold around Lima --- it's more of a southern regional label and the closer you get to the Chilean border, the more likely you are to find it. I found a few places in Lima that had Arequipeña though. It was interesting to compare the Arequipeña with the Cusqueña, especially since both beers share a common Cervesur heritage. All of the general aspects of Cusqueña were present in Arequipeña as well, though to my tongue, the Arequipeña Malta felt slightly thinner and less cloying, and as a result, better balanced. It will still never be a house favorite of mine, but at least I could finish an entire glass of it. State of the Industry... Decades ago, there were several brewing companies in Peru. There are still several breweries, but while they sometimes use their old names, they're actually all united under common corporate leadership and ownership through the consortium known as Grupo Backus (formed in 1996, with Cervesur being added to the group just 5 years ago). The Backus name comes from the Cerveceria Backus y Johnston --- Peru's largest brewery. When you hear or see names like Cerveceria San Juan, Cervecera de Trujillo, or even Cervesur, the names are at least partly nostalgic. The non-nostalgic part of it is that regional brands continue to be produced at the regional breweries (although sometimes the brand is picked up at another site as well so that distribution can be expanded). According to Modern Brewery Age, there are six breweries operating in Peru. These are the six, along with additional details when I could find 'em on the Grupo Backus web site: * Backus y Johnston (Planta Ate, Lima): This is the Rimac brewery, largest in Peru with an annual production of more than 3.4 million hectolitres, it's huge and ultra-modern. Traditional house brand: Cristal Current production: Cristal, Pilsen Callao * Backus y Johnson (Planta Motupe, Lima), formerly the Compania Nacional de Cerveza plant: This is in the Callao section of Lima, not far from the airport. It's a modern plant (built in 1972) with an annual production of more than 1 million hectolitres. Traditional house brand: Pilsen Callao, Cerveza Real (regional brand, Lima area) Current production: Pilsen Callao, Cerveza Real, Cristal * Trujillo: Located in the Libertad section of Trujillo, on the northern Pacific coast of Peru, this regional-size brewery produces less than a half million hectoliters per year. Traditional house brand: Pilsen Trujillo Current production: Pilsen Trujillo, Pilsen Callao * Cerveceria San Juan: Built in 1971, this regional-class brewery, located in Pucallpa, produces just over a half million hectolitres per year. Traditional house brand: San Juan (regional brand) Current production: Cristal, Pilsen Callao * Cervesur (Cusco): The Compania Cervecera del Sur del Peru (aka, Cervesur) was founded in 1898. Both this and the Arequipa brewery have been updated recently, but I don't know the history or capacity of either one. Traditional and current brands: Cusqueña and Malta Cusqueña * Cervesur (Arequipa): Traditional and current brands: Arequipeña, Malta Arequipeña Recomendations... I wouldn't go far out of my way to seek out most Peruvian beers. As a rule, they're average light lagers that aren't particularly noteworthy, however when in Peru, they're all you'll be able to find. That's not a bad thing either since the warm, breezy, dry climate of the Peruvian coastal areas is an environment that really calls out for light, clean, refreshing lagers --- and that's what most Peruvian beers deliver. When in Peru, drink like the Peruvians, but if you want the best beer sold in the country, you'll be ordering up Pilsen Callao. I won't buy it back in Houston, but in Peru, no other beer would go down quite as well. Closely Related Reviews.... Beer critic Michael Jackson likes to joke that he can't even think of a reason to go to South America. He has a point. Most latin American breweries don't produce world-class 5-star beers --- they just don't ---but I still find lots to intrigue me in every glass I taste. Here's a few other explorations into the wild jungles of Latin American brewing... * Beer in Brazil * Beer in Ecuador * Beer in Panama, Part 1 * Beer in Panama, Part 2 * Beer in Mexico * Xingu (Brazilian) * Polar (Venezuelan)  |
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