Beaumont on Brazil.

Have a look here for a Stephen Beaumont take on Brazilian beer, seen through the prism of the annual Blumenau beer fest. Sounds like large quantities of lager inspired equally by Oktoberfest and the warm climate. He promises to post again soon about any beers or breweries that particularly impressed him.

I'm learning daily that beery types in Europe and North America are curious about the Latin American scene... How is it developing now, and does the future look bright? Naturally nobody is more curious about this than Latin Americans themselves.

My usual response is that most national beer scenes in Central and South America still look something like the U.S. did in the late 1970s. Corporate pale lager dominates but there are a handful of promising upstarts. It is not at all inevitable that the 1980s will come to pass. If it does, it will likely be Argentina and Brazil, and possibly Mexico, leading the way on an entirely new path.

And some signs would suggest that it's already happening. Stay tuned.