If you've ever suspected those local beers you
buy in brown recyclable bottles are actually
the same watery golden lager with different labels, you're not
alone. Now, armed to the teeth with paper bags and quasi-scientific
method, Luke McMahon aims to find
out once and for all.
In the interests of scientific credibility, our first step was
to consult with master statistician Sean Rider (not of Happy Mondays
fame but close enough) to design a double-blind beer tasting test
that would stand up to the most rigorous scrutiny. We then imposed
on Winca's Hostel Bar to find 20 willing test subjects, and made
each of them compare five pairs of beer samples from unmarked
bottles. 30% of the drinkers were Argentine, and the rest international.
Nobody knew what was being poured except the silent scientific
observer (me).
After sampling each pair, the drinkers were asked two questions
by the bar staff: whether they thought both samples were the same
or different beers, and if they thought they were different, which
one they preferred.
Unknown to anyone involved, the beers being sampled in random
combinations were federal favourite Quilmes, local hero Andes,
supermarket cheapie Biekert, underdog Brahma, and lounge-lizard
fave Iguana. Interestingly, all these beers are actually brewed
by Quilmes, along with virtually all the brands we didn't test.
Yes, including Stella Artois. Little surprise the company boasts
80% market share.
Do Argentine beers taste different?
Our results showed an apparent flavour difference between Quilmes
and Iguana. Nobody thought they were the same. 60% of people thought
Iguana tasted better.
There was less clear difference between other beers. 50% of people
thought Andes and Iguana were the same beer. Generally more than
a third of people thought any given combination of our five test
beers were actually the same beer. Interestingly, the Argentines
were slightly more likely to be confused by the similarity of
flavours than the international tasters.
So which is better?
It's tough to pick a winner. When people could tell the difference,
Andes and Brahma fared best, with tasters preferring them against
all other beers 22.9% of the time. The least popular was Biekert,
at 15.7%.
On individual side-by-side comparisons, Andes rated as the top
beer, judged better on average than Brahma, Biekert, and Iguana.
Brahma rated second, judged better than Quilmes and Biekert. Biekert
and Iguana rated third equal, each judged better than one of the
competition and equal to one another.
Quilmes rated last, better on average than only one other beer.
Which was Andes, funnily enough.
So it's hardly a comprehensive victory but Mendocinos can feel
proud. When Sean Rider analysed the results he declared Andes
as the preferred overall flavour, even if 50% of people thought
it tasted the same as Iguana, and people tended to prefer Quilmes
in head-to-head comparisons.
"I know what I like."
If you think you already have a favourite local beer, you are
probably a victim either of marketing or self-delusion. Each taster
in our experiment was asked what their favourite Argentine beer
was before starting the test. Only 10% of tasters actually demonstrated
a preference for the beer they thought they liked. 65% demonstrated
a preference for beer other than their nominated favourite.
Winca's bar manager Barret Davies was not surprised by the results.
"It's definitely a sign of an under-developed beer culture
in Argentina," he said, in some ways similar to the immature
wine industry ten years ago which focussed on pumping out quantity
over quality.
Whether the local beer industry can lift its game the way the
bodegas have remains to be seen. For now, it seems these beers
are either the same stuff with different labels, or they might
as well be. Nobody, not even the locals, can taste the difference.
So perhaps the best advice is to drink which ever beer is cheapest,
and use your savings to buy a decent Malbec.
THE FINE ART OF THE ARTESANAL ALE
If light golden lager isn't your thing, there are other options
- and not only the 'bocks' and 'negras'
pumped out under the various Quilmes brands, which are also suspiciously
similar tasting
with a flavour best characterised as sweet, caramel brown ale.
Here's a run-down of some of the artesanal (micro-brewed) beers
available in Mendoza.
Be warned: different does not necessarily mean better.
Antares
Slick, slick, slick. With premium hops, shiny packaging and
a chain of brew-pubs across Bariloche and Buenos Aires, Antares
are hovering just below the major league. They do a range of seven
beers, including two stouts, a porter, a Scotch ale and a barley
wine. The beer names are mostly wishful thinking rather than accurate
descriptions, but we like the ambition. The sweetness of many
of the range may be slightly disconcerting - but try for yourself.
Availability: There's no branch in Mendoza, but you can find the
range at some supermarkets. Try Jumbo.
El Bolsón
A couple of hours south of Bariloche, El Bolsón used to have
a reputation as the town to go to when you wanted to turn on,
tune in and drop out. Now it's the source of premium hops varieties
and one of the largest and most established ranges of artesanal
beers in Argentina. Varieties range from good honest pilsner,
wheat, and dark porter styles through to Belgian-styled sweet
fruit beers, and the downright weird hot chilli beer.
Availability: Widely available in Patagonia and Buenos Aires,
but sadly, very hard to find in Mendoza - try Jumbo.
Jerome
Jerome is Mendoza's own micro-brewery, based in Potrerillos,
where according to the official website "magical fairies
inspire us to make great beer". It's not all down to the
fairies though - the brewmaster learnt his art in the Czech Republic,
and there are now a range of varieties available on the local
market, from light ale to strong Belgian-style clear ale. Jerome,
incidentally, was named after the family dog.
Availability: Some supermarkets, better bars and restaurants.
Lúpulo
Lúpulo is Spanish for hops, so this brew-pub's intentions ought
to be clear. The degustación tray offers five artesenal beers,
including one half-half blend, labelled somewhat inventively as
Pale Ale through to Stout. While the slightly sticky fruit-syrup
character of all these varieties might not be quite what you expect,
the beers are refreshing and offer a fuller body and a nice change
of pace from the standard litre-bottle tipples.
Availability: Lúpulo Bar, on Arístides Villanueva.
Otro Mundo
Otro Mundo is a 2-year old operation based in a 130-year-old
brewery in Sante Fé. This is a good few hours upstream of Buenos
Aires so they have reasonably clean water to work with, at least.
Their two flavours are Golden Ale, a light, sweet and fruity beer;
and Strong Red Ale, a stronger and redder variety. Utilising premium
hop varieties and small amounts of imported German malts to supplement
the locally produced Pilsner base, Otro Mundo won't quite send
you into orbit but it's worth a look.
Availability: Carrefour, Jumbo and Wal-Mart.
Warsteiner
Okay, so it's not artesanal, but rather one of the many foreign
beers brewed locally under licence. But Warsteiner stands out
amongst the domestic and imported beers as the only widely available,
competitively priced beer with a genuine hoppy bitterness.
Availability: most supermarkets, better bars and restaurants.Antares
Slick, slick, slick. With premium hops, shiny packaging and a
chain of brew-pubs across Bariloche and Buenos Aires, Antares
are hovering just below the major league. They do a range of seven
beers, including two stouts, a porter, a Scotch ale and a barley
wine. The beer names are mostly wishful thinking rather than accurate
descriptions, but we like the ambition. The sweetness of many
of the range may be slightly disconcerting - but try for yourself.
Availability: There's no branch in Mendoza, but you can find the
range at some supermarkets. Try Jumbo.
