The primary beer brewed and consumed in Chile is pale lager, though the country also has a tradition of brewing corn beer, known as chicha. Chile's beer history has a strong German influence – some of the bigger beer producers are from the country's southern lake district, a region populated by a great number of German immigrants during the 19th century. Chile also produces English ale-style craft beers while developing its own craft beer identity. www.beerandbrewer.com retrieved August 9
The city of Valdivia in southern Chile is often referred as Chile's "beer capital".
History There is long tradition of brewing a drink called chichaAncient Peru's ritual beer binges, BBC, July 31, 2004, sec. Americas. Retrieved 31 August 2008 that might be classified as corn beer by modern standards, though is not considered as such in South America. Chicha was originally brewed with corn, influenced by the Andean cultures of northern Chile and Peru, but during colonial times apple and grape chicha started to be brewed across the country as a cheaper alternative to wine. There were at least four major alcoholic drinks during colonial times in Chile: wine, pisco, aguardiente, and chicha.
Modern beer (Spanish, cerveza chilena) history in Chile began in the 19th century when European beer was first introduced in the years after Chile gained independence.La cerveza en Chile en el sigrlo XIX With the arrival of German immigrants to southern Chile around 1850, massive beer production began. Chile's first beer brewery was established in Valdivia in 1851 by Carl Anwandter. The introduction of beer is credited for causing a decline in chicha production in areas that traditionally supplied Valdivia with that drink such as Máfil. By the end of the 19th century, beer was consumed all over the country. Beer consumption and culture then spread across the country from cities with high immigrant populations such as Valdivia and Valparaíso. In 1907, 20 million litres of beer were produced in Valdivia.Investigación aplicada sobre Geografía Urbana: Un caso práctico en la ciudad de Valdivia Víctor Figueroa, Jorge Gayoso, Edgardo Oyarzun, Lenia PlanasGestion Turistica, UACh. A study by the Association of Chilean Beer Brewers (Spanish: Asociación de Productores de Cerveza de Chile, ACECHI) informed that beer consumption had been rising steadily in Chile, with a peak in 2021 of 65,6 liters per capita before falling to 59 liters per capita in 2022.
Economy Pisco, wine and rum are popular alcoholic drinks in Chile but there has been a slow increase in the sales of lager and pale ale from local microbreweries and imported pale lager. Although Chilean beer consumption is low compared to the rest of the South American region, beer is still the most consumed alcoholic beverage and takes 60% of the total market share for alcoholic drinks. Premium beers alone hold an 18% share of the total market, the highest share seen among the countries of the region.Chile lidera consumo per cápita de cervezas premium Economía y Negocios, Constanza Rodríguez, June 05, 2013 retrieved August 8, 2013 Craft beers in Chile.Las variedades de cervezas que presenta Chile cnnchile.com June 18, 2013, retrieved August 08,02013 Part of the so-called premium sector, craft beers have gained ground in recent years,Five of Chile's best craft brewers www.thisischile.cl/ November 15, 2011, retrieved August 9, 2013 and today there are more than 300 micro-breweries in Chile. Cía Cervecerías Unidas SA, a local company, is the leading Chilean beer company, producing mainly lager beers.euromonitor.com Retrieved 31 August 2008
Chilean beers
There are two main big industrial large-scale beer producers in Chile: Compañía de Cervecerías Unidas (CCU) and Cervecería Chile. All others are considered small producers (low volume) and/or craft producers.
Compañía de Cervecerías Unidas (CCU) Created in 1902 with the merge of Plagemann, Limache and Gubler & Cousiño beer companies. They produce their own brands of beer and some international brands, along with soft drinks and other alcoholic products.Compañía de Cervecerías Unidas retrieved August 9, 2013 Products include:
Cerveza Cristal and its varieties Cristal Light and Cristal Zero (non-alcoholic) Escudo Royal Guard and its variety Royal Guard Black Label Malta Morenita Dorada Lemon Stones (low-alcohol lemon-flavored beer mix) Heineken (under license) Tecate (under license) Coors and Coors Light (under license) Sol (under license)
Cervecería Chile Produce their own brands and also many known international brands:.Cervecería Chile retrieved August 9, 2013 Products include:
Baltica Becker Malta del sur Brahma (under license) Beck's (under license) Paceña (under license) Stella Artois (under license) Quilmes (under license)
Small producers and premium brands These include smaller volume beer producers and are considered premium brands.
Kunstmann: From the city of Valdivia, founded in 1850 as Anwandter Beer Company, destroyed in the 1960 Valdivia earthquake and refounded as Kunstmann Brewery, it is actually labeled as a craft beer, and is distributed by CCU. Produces a great variety of different types of beer including Torobayo, Lager, Bock, Honey, Blueberry, Wheat, Session IPA, Non-filtered and Non-alcoholic. Austral: Founded circa 1896 in the Patagonia region in Punta Arenas as Cervecería La Patagona, later Polar Beer. It is the most southern beer company in the world. Produces varieties such as Lager, Ale, Torres del Paine, Yagán Dark and Patagona Pale Ale.
Craft beer brands Other brands that are entirely considered as craft beers. They are generally low or very low volume producers. In Chile there are more than 150 craft beer producers distributed along the 15 Chilean Regions. The list is long, below are some of the most known:
Maihue, from Curicó, in the Maule RegionCerveza Artesanal Maihue retrieved 2011 Kross, from Curacaví near Santiago. Claims to have won more prizes than any other Chilean brewery in the last two years,Cervecería Kross retrieved August 9, 2013 and ranks first place as the most recognized brand associated with craft beer."Encuesta de Percepción de la Cerveza Artesanal en Chile 2017", TomoCerveza, July 2017 retrieved September 20, 2018 Del Puerto, from Valparaíso, in the Valparaíso RegionCervecería Del Puerto retrieved August 8, 2013 Cuello Negro, from Valdivia, in the Los Lagos Region.Cervecería Cuello Negro retrieved September 20, 2018 Best known brewery in the south of Chile."Encuesta de Percepción de la Cerveza Artesanal en Chile 2017", TomoCerveza, July 2017 retrieved September 20, 2018 Guayacán, from Coquimbo Region.Cervecería Guayacán retrieved September 20, 2018 Best known brewery in the north of Chile."Encuesta de Percepción de la Cerveza Artesanal en Chile 2017", TomoCerveza, July 2017 retrieved September 20, 2018 Tübinger, from Pirque near Santiago.Cervecería Tübinger retrieved September 20, 2018 Szot, from Talagante near SantiagoCervecería Szot retrieved September 20, 2018 Granizo, from Olmué, in the Valparaíso Region.Cervecería Granizo retrieved September 20, 2018 Volcanes del Sur, from Colbun, in the Maule Region.Cervecería Volcanes del Sur retrieved September 20, 2018 Jester, from Santiago.Cervecería Jester en TomoCerveza retrieved September 20, 2018 D'olbeck, from Coyhaique, in the Aysén del General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo RegionMarcas CCU retrieved September 20, 2018 Die M, from Paine near Santiago.Cervecería Die M retrieved September 20, 2018 Grassau, from Villarrica, in the La Araucanía RegionCervecería Grassau retrieved August 9, 2013 Mestra, from Paine near SantiagoCervecería Mestra retrieved August 8, 2013 Polar Imperial, from Punta Arenas in the Magallanes y la Antártica Chilena Region.Cervecería Polar Imperial en TomoCerveza retrieved September 20, 2018 Quimera, from Quinta Normal in SantiagoCervecería Quimera en TomoCerveza retrieved September 20, 2018 Capital, from Batuco, north of SantiagoCervecería Capital retrieved August 8, 2013
See also
Beer and breweries by region
References