The cradle of craft beer in America is in Quito, where the first beer on the continent was produced, now rescued after "resurrect" a yeast from the 16th century, at a time of revival of this tradition that is beginning to put the capital of Ecuador on the world map of signature beers, with a beer festival included.
It was in 1566 when the Belgian friar Jodoco Ricke brewed the first beer in America, inside the convent of San Francisco de Quito, the same one that is currently one of the most visited historic buildings in the old town of the Ecuadorian capital, with a museum where they are the barrels that housed the fermented drink.
Until now, it has not been possible to document a beer older than this in America, and this was what caught the attention of Javier Carvajal, researcher and professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador (PUCE), who set out to recreate that historic beer.
The investigation took Carvajal more than a decade after finding the original recipe and, above all, "resurrect" a brewing yeast found in the old wooden barrels of the Franciscan abbey of Quito, thanks to techniques developed by himself over several years of experiments.
He also built a microbrewery to recreate the process of the time and thus obtained Quito 1566, Fray Jodoco Ricke’s beer.
The result has "a unique flavor"as described by Carvajal, because it is bittersweet but with a touch of cinnamon, and of a mestizo character, by adding the flavors of chicha, the sacred fermented corn drink, made by pre-Hispanic civilizations, such as the Incas, to the traditional flamenco preparation.
Between 7,000 and 7,500 bottles a month can come out of its plant, and its profits are used to finance scholarships for PUCE students.
RESURGENCE WITH AWARDS
Quito’s centennial brewing legacy is experiencing a revival with the emergence of a number of craft and independent breweries that have begun to gain an international reputation.
"For us it is a pride to have that historical foundation"affirms Andrés Bermeo, Production Manager of Sinners Micro CervecerÃa, whose Capuccino Stout beer has been the first produced in Ecuador to be recently awarded at the World Beer Awards (WBA), where it won a bronze medal.
It is the most important international award achieved so far by an Ecuadorian beer, although it has not been the only one, since other breweries have also been recognized in other competitions.
"That has been drawing us much better on the beer map of Latin America. Until a few years ago we were practically invisible, but now people already know about beers from Ecuador and foreigners come looking for our beers"Bermeo says.
The world medal-winning beer is English-based style, brewed with roasted malts, "sweet stout"lactose, oats and specialty coffee, of the caturra type, harvested in Loja, the coffee province par excellence of Ecuador.
"We make quite daring and different beers. We like to play around a lot by adding spices, fruits and local ingredients from Ecuador. This beer was born with the concept of being a low-alcohol content beer that can emulate what it is like to have a coffee in the morning."adds Bermeo.
650 BEERS IN COMPETITION
That will be just one of the multitude of beers available to taste during the "beer week"a contest that from August 22 to 28 will turn Quito into the beer capital of Latin America.
In total, there are about 650 beers registered to compete in the sixth edition of the Middle of the World Beer Cup, practically half of them Ecuadorian, but there will also be representatives from all over the continent, highlights the executive director of the Association of Breweries of Ecuador (Asocerv). , Kathy Garate.
Among the countries represented in this competition are Brazil, Chile, Peru, Colombia, Argentina, Mexico, Panama, Honduras, El Salvador and Uruguay.
Within the national elaborations, Gárate explains that Ecuador stands out for its beers with chicha, precisely as Jodoco Ricke did more than 400 years ago.
The winners will be announced on August 26, but in the previous days there will be beer tours around the city, promotions, talks, seminars with international experts and even a discussion of women brewers.
Among the specialists announced are the American brewing engineer Peter Bouckaert and the American journalist and writer Stan Hieronymus, author of four books published on the American Brewers Association.