Need I say more? Ok, I will say a little.
As mentioned in the Buenos Aires post, Argentina is also gaining some notoriety for their micro brewed beers. In particular, the mountain resort village of Bariloche seems to be a focal point. We spent a handful of days enjoying the lake district of Argentina. Our home base was a small apartment in the village with this amazing view of the Catedral de San Carlos de Bariloche and Nahuel Huapi lake.
From a gastronomical perspective, Bariloche is well known for three things: chocolates, beer, and ahumados (smoked meat and fish). Yes, grilled meats too but that is the rumor for all of Argentina. We hit up four brew pubs during our short stay.
First was Familia Weiss in the village. Here we sampled a traditional 'tabla de ahumados' and their two handcrafted beers on draft (i.e. 'chopp'). The first was the Rubia which is basically an ale. The second was the Negra which is probably meant to be a bock beer but ends up somewhere between a bock and a stout. We actually, thought it came closer to being a stout. Sorry no pictures for this first stop.
Next up was Blest about 12km away from the center of the village. Again we sampled a plate of smoked meats and cheeses and a few of their beers on draft.
Average, at best.
Hint of caramel.
Blest Negra (no pic, sorry) - Water. Yeah, a bit light. Closer to a porter. Flavor profile included hints of chocolate and coffee.
Blest Frambuesa (no pic, sorry) - Think pink lemonade as the color profile and not the typical red color of Belgian rasberry ales. Regardless of the color, this was the best beer we tasted from them.
About 150 meters down the road you can find Berlina. From what we understand Berlina is no longer a simple micro brewery. They have grown extensively and though the locals may take pride in its origins, they don't necessarily promote it. We stopped by after our lunch at Blest to pickup a couple of beers:
Referred to as their classic beer, this is an ale (i.e. Rubia). Ok.
Was hoping for something similar to the Guiness Foreign Stout. Did not come close. However, I did like the burnt coffee flavor profile but a bit light like the Blest Negra.
Our favorite by far. Australis, located 80km from Bariloche on the outskirts of the resort town of Villa La Angostura, truly fit the spirit of an artisanal brewery. Here you can taste their four handcrafted brews via a sampler menu and enjoy common pub fare. What you can't do is take it home because they don't bottle it. What a shame as we found their beers beers (in particular, the stout) to be the best ones we tasted in Argentina.
Pilsen - Refreshing.
Strong Pale Ale - Similar to a scotch ale. Yummy.
India Pale Ale - Bitter but I liked it.
Stout - Best in class. Full. Good balance of chocolate and coffee (i.e. mocha).
Also, while in Ushuaia (End of the World), I picked up a malt beer at a coffee house.
.JPG)
Color profile - Dark. Flavor profile - Not Good. But I did finish it.
Recap:
Artisanal Beers
Familia Weiss - Bariloche, Get some of their smoked meat and fish products
Blest - Bariloche KM11.6
Berlina - Bariloche KM11.75
Australis - Villa La Angostura, MUST VISIT
What beer we would buy to stock in the fridge
Australis Stout
Australis Strong Pale Ale
Contacts
www.cerveceriaaustralis.com.ar
www.ahumaderoweiss.com
www.cervezaberlina.com
www.cervezablest.com.ar
