So just what kind of beers are at one’s disposal her in Argentina. Well like the majority of every other beer loving country you have largely distributed domestic brands, large/medium/small imported brands, craft/micro brews, and brew pubs. Please forgive me if my reviews are lacking any kind of quality below; not that any of my writings do. I’m not going to write about how the beer pours and if one head has a slight tan color with a creamy taste that delicately slides off the tongue. If you are looking for that go to RateBeer.com.

The Leader

The number one beer brewer in Argentina, I guess you could say the Anheuser-Busch of Argentina, is Quilmes. But psst, Quilmes is actually controlled buy Quinsa, a Luxembourg-based holding company in which Ambev has a stake and plus others or something like that. Pretty confusing, but hey, what company isn’t part of a holding company these days. Well, I’ll spare you the history of the early beginnings, acquisitions, shares, and holdings for another day. Maybe not. If you want to know more check out Quinsa’s site. Let’s just leave out all of the technicalities for now and just say that Quilmes is Argentina.

Quilmes Cristal, the flagship of the company, is everywhere. The logo sporting the national colors and also resembles the flag can’t be missed. Quilmes Cristal is a lager and is somewhat decent for a mass produced beer. Much better than most large-scale brews of pale-type lagers in the U.S.

They also produce:

Quilmes Bock - Quilmes bock doesn’t really taste like a real bock, so the the only bock you get is in the actual name. Yes it has a higher alcohol content and caramel color it is seriously lacking in the taste department and quite metallic. Tastes a lot better on tap, well that is if the keg is “fresh”.

Quilmes Stout - Pure crap. Take Quilmes Cristal, add some Coca-Cola syrup, and voilà! No really, that’s what it tastes like. Overly sweet and that sweetness leaves an aftertaste that is on par with letting a spoonful of sugar disolve on your tongue.

Imperial - A pilsner that is only offered in 3/4 liter or liter bottles. Most often offered in restaurants or supermarkets. I like it better than Quilmes Cristal.

To sum it up the national beer brewer doesn’t have what I want. Whoever created the Bock and Stout needs to be thrown in jail for illegal assignments of brews that have no similarities to what they are supposed to represent.

Other large domestic beers

Isenbeck
Palermo
Schneider
Salta
Iguana
(A few others)

Most of these are fit into the pale lager class but some do offer dark beer selections as well. Again, they are nothing to write home about. Next!

Large International

The majority of these beers are known throughout many parts of the world and are either imported or bottled in or around Argentina. In Buenos Aires, all of them can be found. In other parts of the country they should be available in and around any area that has a decent population size, distribution point, or supermarket chain store. As with the domestics, these are typically offered in liters and individual sizes.

Brahma (Brazil)
Heineken (Holland)
Warsteiner (Germany)
Budweiser (U.S.A)
Stella Artois (Belgium)
(forgetting a couple others?)

Prices vary. Brahma and Budweiser are usually around the same price as Quilmes. Heineken, Warsteiner, and Stella Artois are slightly more expensive. Maybe 1 to 1.5 pesos more for liters. I drink many of these beers a lot but they still don’t offer what I want in terms of BBQ beer. But heck, sometimes I’ll even go for a Budweiser on occasion just to remind me of home. Yeah yeah it sucks but sentimental memories need to be refreshed from time to time.

Imports

Visit a large supermarket chain, duty free, specialty store, and sometimes even a kiosk and you might just find a small collection of imports from around the world. Also an ever increasing amount of bars and restaurants, particularly in Buenos Aires, but that’s not a place that one frequents to buy beer to take home or elsewhere so that’s as far as all go for not in that area. Obviously there is no point in listing them all but I’ll list some.

Leffe
Holsten
Duvel
Chimay
Bavaria
Corona
Guinness
Negro Modelo
Grolsch
Asahi
(And many more)

Wait, didn’t I say before that I miss having a wide variety of beers to choose from? Now you are probably thinking that is some contradiction after seeing just some of the beers listed above. You see there is a wide variety of beer to choose from in Argentina. The key is access. The most accessible place is Buenos Aires and perhaps a few other large cities. The problem is, even there, you don’t have a liquor store down the block or road that carries a large selection like what I was used to in the U.S.

Craft / Micro brews / Brewpubs

El Bolson
Antares
Patagonia
Barba Roja
Beagle
(And many many more)

Argentina has a decent amount of craft beers and brew pubs but like without a good distribution system, they’re usually limited to their own regions, cities, or towns. Also, as with all craft/micro brew beer they have their ups and downs. Some are great with a vast variety of flavors, ingredients, or methods of production. Others taste fantastic draft but don’t hold up well in bottles. Some have too much carbonation. A few have too much of a sour note. Extremely sensitive to how they are stored or delivered. Etc. Etc.

And So Far The Winner Is…..

So out of all of the bland mass produced beers, fancy imports, and local micro brews there is one brand that sticks out, quenches my thirst, and makes me say AAHHHH after each pull. It–whatever you refer a beer to as–has become my BBQ buddy. Of course I haven’t sampled every beer that is available somewhere in this country, but this one has satisfied my needs so far in the taste department.

Antares Porter.

Actually I like a few of their brews but haven’t been able to sample all of them yet.

I came across Antares years ago at The Clover in Buenos Aires. I remember clearly because that bar and a couple others had probably the most extensive beer lists in the city at the time. Antares Imperial Stout and Barley Wine on tap in pints and these beers pack not only flavor but serious punch. 8.5% alcohol for the Imperial Stout with a whopping 10% for Barley Wine. With the Barley Wine, I can only ingest about half a pint. A little bit too syrupy for me and the flavor is also quite strong. Perhaps a good after dinner drink.

Unfortunately, after I moved to the end of the world, I lost contact with my beloved happy hour companions. For over a year, I had to drink with the common folk like Quilmes, Heineken, and Warsteiner. There is a brew pub down the street from me which has remarkable beer, but doesn’t bottle it. Not to mention they don’t have an age restriction at night so whole families with their kids running around screaming and chasing each other like its a freaking Chuck E. Cheese doesn’t create a pleasurable environment.

About a month ago the sun broke through the clouds and ended my misery. No, I did not shrivel up into carbon powder from the lack of a decent ozone layer up above. Norte, a supermarket chain, decided to bring some of the Antares love to the far reaches of the Earth. However, only Porter and Kolsch.

This was the first time I tried the Porter and it was truly love at first taste. Did it rank up there with some of the best beers I’ve ever had in my life? In this class, very close. But it did immediately bring flashbacks of great beer from the good ‘ol days. This Porter, in my tastes at least, closely resembles a mixture of say Oktoberfest and Porters offered in the U.S. Decent notes of chocolate, caramel, and coffee yet with a slight amount of fruitiness. Clean and crisp yet lacks the slight syrupy texture that many porters carry.

Just the type of beer I absolutely love to barbecue or grill with.

Try them out if you have a chance. They might just end up being the Samuel Adams of Argentina. Cerveza Antares. I don’t think they had a brew pub in Buenos Aires when I moved so I’m definitely going to have to add that to my destination list. Can’t wait to try the Scotch Ale.