Beer Is A Tasty Beverage Part I
By Asado Argentina on Nov 22, 2006 in Drinks
Probably one of the top 10 things I miss about the U.S. is the large selection of beers, both international and domestic, available throughout most of the country. I miss the days of going to the liquor store or supermarket, finding new beers to try or stocking up on favorites that never fail. Having to wait three-damn-too-long-quarters of a year to be able to savor mouth watering seasonal micro brews. Parties or BBQs where everyone brings different beers to sample; except there is always one who ruins it by bringing Miller Lite. Attending a party where you don’t know what to expect until they point you toward the cooler and upon opening it you find 5 different brands of beer. Like opening up a treasure chest. For some wine has the same effect, but for me it is beer. I love beer. Good beer that is. And when I drink beer I like to drink it from the bottle, a nice cold 12 oz. bottle. In Argentina, things are a bit different, not always in a bad way, just different.
For one thing, liter-sized bottles dominate. Go to a local restaurant and you are more likely to see a group at a table sharing a liter bottle with small glasses than off the tap or individual cans/bottles. You go to the supermarket and you see the beer isle filled mostly with liter bottles then a small section of cans and bottles; offered individually or in six-packs. Liter bottles are cheap. Individual-sized bottles/cans are sometimes not that far off from the price of a liter bottle. Also, there is a system in Argentina where buying in bulk does not mean paying less. It rarely exists. Buy a six pack or a case of beer and you will pay the individual price per can. Sometimes there are promos where you get a beer for free but not often.
So when throwing an asado or having a party, you can see that it would be quite costly to have a cooler full of individual beers instead of the cheaper option of just having liters.
Up next: Beer that’s available.
Whenever I’m in Argentina and throwing a big party, we get a keg. We have a house in Carlos Paz near Cordoba and they have a decent selection. But when I want to try something different I head into the Sierras, because there are so many micro breweries and good imported German and Belgium beer. I guess because they get a lot of tourists from that neck of the woods…
John Labriola | Nov 23, 2006 | Reply
Yeah I hear there is some good beer out there. Need to head over into those parts one day.
Administrator | Nov 23, 2006 | Reply
Now this is a post that’s close to my heart!
I was going to write a blog post about the beer choice in Argentina (well, more specifically Buenos Aires) sometime, but seeing as you have beaten me to the punch with your first leg I’ll see what you say with the next installment and it will probably make the post I was planning redundant
I too am missing my beer from home, though in my case it is English beer (yes, us with the warm pints!)
Alan Patrick | Nov 23, 2006 | Reply
I’m on the other side of the equation
I miss going to a bar with friends in BA, getting a few litres of Quilmes, and kicking back. Over here it costs me $8 or more for a 12 oz bottle of decent beer when I go out, though admittedly, it’s great to have the choice, especially when you buy it at the store.
Cesar Gonzalez | Nov 27, 2006 | Reply
Alan:
The more info out there the better imho. Actually I didn’t want to go into much detail but felt a little bit was necessary to what I will ultimately post. Which hopefully will be up today.
Cesar:
Oh I hear ya. I’d probably have the same feelings if I was away from Argentina for a while. Funny how it always works out that way.
Administrator | Nov 30, 2006 | Reply
Hello John Labriola, the reason why there are so many german beers in las Sierras (Villa General Belgrano)is because the very large german influence. Villa General Belgrano is a german city. It was created in 1932 and the first 15 resident familys were germans. Here is a web address where you can check more about it’s history, hope you undesrtain some spanish.
http://www.villageneralbelgrano.org/historia.php
Regards from Cancun Mexico
Diego | May 30, 2007 | Reply