Let’s be honest: South America isn’t the first place that comes to mind when you think of rich brewing heritage. As I boarded my flight to Montevideo, I half-expected to spend the entire trip longing for a crisp Czech pilsner or wishing I’d packed my own stash. For the most part, those fears held up. The continent’s mass-market beers tend to be notoriously watery—great for the casual crowd, but a disappointment if you prefer a beer with actual personality. But just as I was ready to give up hope, I stumbled onto South America’s emerging craft beer revolution. Microbreweries in Chile and Argentina proved there’s life beyond light lagers, raising an intriguing question: What are the best beers of Peru? Here is what I found on the ground.

Cerveza Popular

The Backus and Johnston Brewery has, of course not counting craft beers, a monopoly over the beer market in Peru. Backus itself is part of the globally acting SABMiller from London. All previously independently managed mainstream breweries are now incorporated into Backus. Read up on the history of Backus on Wikipedia if you like. The main brands by Backus are available almost everywhere in Peru, the beer market splits up into those three main contenders:

Pilsen

In 1994 Backus took control of the National Beer Company (Compañía Nacional de Cerveza S.A.), and since then has the rights over the Pilsen Callao brand. Pilsen Callao is a blond lager which comes in a bottle, as a can and on tap.

Cusqueña

Cusqueña was acquired in 2000 by Backus. It is the most popular brand in the south of Peru and comes in four flavors: Roja (a red lager), Dorada (a golden lager), Negra (a dark lager) and Trigo (a wheat bear). I tested the red and golden lager.

Cristal

Cristal is a lager which is now brewed in every brewery of Backus, i.e. in Ate (Lima), Motupe (Chiclayo), Trujillo, Arequipa, Cusco and Pucallpa.

Cerveza Artesanal

Nuevo Mundo Cervecería

The Nuevo Mundo Cervecería from Lima serves five different beers: Cabo Blanco (a blond ale), Panam' (a pale ale), Pampa (a porter), Amaz' (an amber ale) and Premium (a triple). A Panam' pale ale miraculously found its way to me.

Sierra Andina

The Sierra Andina Brewing Company is located in the high Andeans, in Cascapampa, near Huaraz. They offer four Ales: Inti Golden Ale (a blond beer), Huaracina Pale Ale (an american pale), Alpamayo Amber Ale (an amber version) and Don Juan Porter (a porter). I got to taste the first three of them.

Barbarian

The Cervecería Barbarian is located in Lima. They brew a Red Ale, a Porter, an IPA, a Lime Pale Ale, and more. I was able to snatch a bottle of the Red Ale.

And the winner (i.e. my favorite) is...

In the category Cerveza Artesanal the trophy goes to Sierra Andina Inti Golden Ale, a nice and full blond ale, rich in taste and color. Cusqueña Dorada wins in the category Cerveza Popular, because sometimes also the packaging counts, and as before, blond is always better.