BarBarian (Lima, Peru)

Lima's newest addition to the growing Peruvian craft beer scene is Cerveceria Barbarian's taproom in Miraflores: BarBarian.

Located half a block from Miraflores' main park, on Calle Bonilla, BarBarian taproom has been open only since March, and already it is a popular, standing-room-only, joint late into a Friday night.  It has a friendly, open atmosphere, and the back portion is dominated by a colorful mural and a wall display of several hundred beer bottles collected over seven years by the owners.

The twety-three taps offer a mix of Barbarian's own brews and guest beers from other Peruvian craft brewers such as Nuevo Mundo, La Magdalena, Cumbres, and Sierra Andina.  All are available in 100-ml tasters, or in 200-ml and 400-ml pours.  

In addition, there is a selection of bottled Peruvian craft and import beers available for consumption on the spot or to go (currently at a 30% discount relative to the in-house price!).

There is also a kitchen, offering burgers, chicken wings, and other pub-type fare, making  this a good place for lunch, dinner, or a late night snack, washed down with quality beer.

Jacho and I had already had dinner at La Costanera 700, also in Miraflores, so we didn't eat at BarBarian -other than the complimentary cancha- but we did each enjoy some rather tasty brews!

Superba bar

Long known for its cocktails and sandwiches prepared with house-made ham, the Superba has been one of Lima's favorite "old-school" haunts since its opening in 1938. (As for the name, many believe that it was originally "Superbar" and that the final "r" was dropped, but it has actually always been just "Superba".)

A couple of years ago, the original owner retired, and passed the management to his children. They've kept the place intact, while quietly turning it into one Lima's best spots for craft beer. 

A sign on the bar states that they have 90 beers on hand , but the staff told me it is more than that.  All of them are bottled (draught beer is not very common here yet), and while they may have a cooler in back somewhere, it looks like most are just kept on the shelves or counters at room temperature.

The beer geek draw however, is the couple of display fridges in the dining room, both of which are well-stocked with a pick of imported (mostly Belgian and Spanish) beers, and lots of Peruvian craft beers.

Just in the one, I counted beers from Cumbres, Sierra Andina, Beer Stache, Nuevo Mundo, Invictus, and a few others.

If one is in need of a good beer in the Limce/San Isidro area, the Superba is a go-to spot.  Their traditional Peruvian mixed drinks are good as well, as are their sandwiches, of course.

Looking back...

At the Lima airport, on my way back, on August 3rd.

So, looking back, how was the trip?

Obviously, it was excellent in all the ways that matter: time with family and friends.

Did I do or accomplish all that I wanted?  Yes, mostly.

Liz and I had our amazing meal at Central, and the fun pachamanca gathering at Diego's new home.  I did get to celebrate my birthday with the extended family and I was able to make it to Toti and Marina's anniversary celebration, even though I was not able to dance.

As for books, I had a small list, and I got them all, so I'm good on that front.

Unfortunately, my ability to get around and do stuff was curtailed by the injury to my knee, which kept me practically house-bound for a couple of weeks, so I didn't get to a couple of exhibits and talks that I wanted to attend, for example.

I did have on my list for the trip getting to know the Lima craft beer scene better --or indeed, at all.

I did know the Barranco Beer Company already and Cerveza De Tomas already --neither of which I was able to return to, despite my wishes-- but now I wanted to get to know more of the offerings, and if I could, installations, of other breweries.

Altogether, I tried twenty-seven different Peruvian beers on this trip.  That alone signals a seachange from when what was available were a smattering of offerings from Backus & Johnston and  Cerveceria del Sur, being principally lower or higher quality variations of the same type of golden or dark lagers.

I did not get to visit Cerveza Magdalena's brewhouse, despite having a personal invite to do so, due to my leg injury, but I did manage to tour Nuevo Mundo's brewhouse and attend the soft opening of their tap room, which was a lot of fun.  I also discovered the Hops brewery. It is nice having a brew-on-premises brewpub so easily accessible from San Felipe.

So, all in all, it was a good trip --which, but for my knee issue, could have been a bit better-- and I am already looking forward to next year.

Lima Craft Beer: Cerveza Hops

The first craft brewery I visited on this trip was actually Hops in Lima's Pueblo Libre district, just down the street from the Queirolo tavern and kitty-corner across the plaza from the Archaeology and Anthropology Museum.

Hops does not seem to emphasize its beer production side very much, but rather seems to have put its focus on its role as a multi-story discotheque and event space, with a brew-on-premises pub and restaurant included.   For example, the fermentation tanks are visible to the public, but are located on a second story and in a part of the building that, while open, is not utilized during the day.

That is too bad, because one of the challenges that craft brewers have in Peru is overcoming Peruvians' unfamiliarity with brewing and beer styles other than Pilsner-style lagers and dark lagers, and educating the public on them can only help the craft beer market grow.  And I think people would be interested, and that in itself would draw more customers.

The house beer menu

In any case, Hops has a decent selection of house beers brewed right on the premises, and even claims to have Peru's first and, so far, only beer made with  smoked malt.

Unfortunately, they were out of the Smoked beer and of both the Bock and the Stout, on the day I visited, but I did get to try some of the others.

The beers were nice.  Not as good as what we'd expect from a quality craft brewery here in the US, but definitely drinkable and enjoyable.  We must remember that the craft brewing scene in Peru is very new and ingredients --particularly hop varieties and specialty yeast strains-- are hard to come by.  Given those constraints Hops deserves to be commended for being one of the pioneers of craft brewing in Lima, having been established nine years ago.

After enjoying the Pale in the afternoon, with lunch, I returned in the evening to sample more accompanied by my dad. (One can tell that this visit was earlier than my visit to Nuevo Mundo brewery because my hair hand't yet been trimmed.)

I liked all the beers I tried, but I particularly liked the Dunkel. It could easily have been a lager with some color added, but instead it had more body and a slight roasted character which I liked and, actually, was looking for (I had really wanted to try the stout).

Pale ale

Dunkel

Wheat beer

Hops
Av. General Manuel Vivanco N° 785
Pueblo Libre - Lima - Peru

Lima Craft Beer: Nuevo Mundo brewery and draft bar

 Two weeks ago, while trying to locate a craft brewery that I had an invitation to tour, I injured my knee and so, even once I had the correct address, I was forced to take a pass on the invitation.  Then, a few days later, I had to skip another brewery tour and guest list-only soft opening of their tap room.

Last Friday, I was finally well enough that I felt able to take on the tour, and so I got myself and Juancho on the guest list for it.   The young woman signing us in was somewhat incredulous that there were two of us with the same name and surname, until she saw our IDs!

The brewery was Nuevo Mundo, in Surquillo.

Their facilities are small, producing only 75 barrels a month, but they are expanding into a building that is being constructed next door, on the same property, that will allow them to install larger kettles and fermenters.

The brewery was started by a couple of Frenchmen, one of whom, Alain -originally from Alsace- gave us the tour and explained the brewing process, ingredients, and different beer styles.  No small feat, considering that most Peruvians have not had exposure to many styles of beer and brewing terminology.

Unfortunately, it hasn't been easy for small brewers to break into the beer market, although Cereveceria Barbarian, has done a lot to pave the way by getting its products into several major grocery store chains - Metro, Wong, and Plaza Vea.  Most access to craft beers is through a few restaurants and by directly ordering from the brewery.

Nuevo Mundo does have a small bottle shop and bar at the brewery where one can buy bottles --or cases!-- of brew, or put down a few draughts of their selection of British and Belgian-style ales.  However, they are hoping to expand their exposure and sales volume through their new Nuevo Mundo Draft Bar located in an upstairs space right across the street from the mian park in Miraflores, on busy and touristy Avenida Larco.

Miraflores city hall hasn't come back with the final permit approvals, so Nuevo Mundo has been carrying out an extended soft-opening of the Draft Bar for invited guests.   As part of our tour event we had entry to that evening's session, for which Nuevo Mundo had secured a number of guest beers --including a yummy sour ale with sauco from the Cerverceria del Valle Sagrado, in Cusco-- and rolled out a brand new special offering of their own, an imperial India pale ale (about 8% ABV).  We also got the opportunity to compare the bottle and draft versions of their Barihuait barley wine (which I like a lot!).

The space is nice and well-appointed, and the staff is quite nice.  I hope the bar does well for the brewery.

I think it will.


Nuevo Mundo brewery
1227 Prolongacion San Lorenzo
Surquillo - Lima

Nuevo Mundo Draft Bar
Av. Larco 421 (upstairs)
Miraflores - Lima

Craft Beer Stand at the Lima Book Fair

I had a hard time at the book fair, I must say.

The fair is set up under a tent erected over the central part of park, covering a fountain and a number of steps.  The floor is thus of plywood sheets over a frame, and covered with carpeting, all of which makes in a bit uneven in many spots.  With my aching and sensitive knee, it made walking difficult, and even a bit perilous.   It was also very hot under the tent, and my off-gait was causing me to expend extra effort as it was.

Fortunately, there is a craft beer stand in the food court, set up and run by a small distributor representing four small breweries - three from Lima and one from Cusco.

I chose two beers to try.

First, I opted for the Ayrampo Roja from the Sacred Valley Brewery, whose beers I had never tried before.

The Ayrampo Roja (6% ABV, 35 IBU) is a red beer (hence the roja) coloured with caramel malt and the fruit of the ayrampo cactus, which is native to the Peruvian Andes and has long been used to color foods in the highlands.  The beer was good, and there was no ayrampo flavour (it can taste a bit like red beets).

Next, I went for one from the Cumbres brewery.  I have tried one other of Cumbres' beers, their Quinoa Kolsch, so I was anxioux to try another of their offerings.

I opted for the Maracumanto (6.2 % ABV).   Maracumanto is a Belgian Pale Ale, fermented with maracuuyá and aguaymanto  fruit.   I half expected it to be sour, owing to the presence of the maracuyá, but it was not sour at all.  It was actually very refreshing, and relatively low in fruit notes in the mouth, even though they came through in the nose.

Needless to say, I then felt quite refreshed!

Musical Evenings in Barranco

After starting our evening last Wednesday at the Barranco Beer Company, Jacho, Diego and I, headed around the block to the La Noche cultural center to take in an evening of Urban Singer-Songwriters.

We had such a good time that we returned the next evening to catch a one-man show by Daniel F.

Daniel F (ne Daniel Augusto Valdivia Fernandez) is a singer, composer, and poet (though he rejects that label because, he says, poetry is something higher that what he does), who's been instrumental in the Lima punk/rock scene particularly, and in Peru generally, ever since the he was the frontman for Leuzemia, a seminal Lima band.

While in Leuzemia he wrote songs such as Al colegio no voy mas (I ain't going back to school), Asesino de la ilusion (Killer of hope),  and El hombre que no podia dejar de masturbarse (The man who couldn't stop masturbating) which became well-loved classics.

On Thursday he performed all of those, as well as other older pieces and newer compositions.   The crowd, generally, seemed to know the songs and often sang along during the choruses.

As for me, it was my first time seeing Daniel F on stage and I rather enjoyed it even though I could sing along like 'most everyone else seemed to.

Craft Beer in Barranco

 On Wednesday Jacho and I returned, accompanied this time by Diego, to a spot that we had earlier checked out with Liz while she was still here: the Barranco Beer Company.

Located in downtown Barranco, a half a block from the plaza and the "boulevard" containing the bulk of dance clubs, the Barranco Beer Company was started judging from the press reports I've seen, by a trio of enterprising friends by the members of "a family with a passion for beer". A couple of them, or perhaps all three more several, had spent time abroad and been exposed to the growing craft beer scene in the US and Europe.

They somehow raised the capital and put in a set of (60 barrel?) stainless steel conical fermenters which are visible to visitors at the back of the establishment through  a plate glass divider, while the brew kettles are visible behind the bar itself.

The Barranco Beer Company is, as far as I can tell, the second brew-on-premised beer pub in Lima - after the Cerverceria De Tomas (aka Mi Cebi-Chela) in San Borja.

From L to R: Fifti Lager, Bulls Ay, Weiss Presidente

Their bill does lack a heftier, toastier beer like a porter or stout, and they do do some odd stuff - like combining beer with soda- which is unfortunate because their beer is actually quite good on its own merits, with the "Weiss Presidente" and the "Bulls Ay" being perhaps their best offerings.

Even with the beer being relatively expensive compared to what a similar serving of the mass-produced beers cost, the place is a hit and did not lack for business either night that we were there.

A pitcher of Weiss Presidente

I'd certainly keep coming back just for that weiss!



Barranco Beer Company
Avenida Grau 308
Barranco - Lima - Peru
www.facebook.com/BarrancoBeerCompany

Jiron Quilca

This afternoon I headed back downtown, again to Jiron Quilca.

Quilca is a street that stands out in several ways.   One that is not very obvious from the ground -although it could become evident with a bit of thought- is that it does not conform to the grid pattern of downtown Lima, but rather comes off of Plaza San Martin at an agle.

In the photo below, Jiron Quilca can be appreciated in the foreground, approaching the plaza at an angle rather at odds with the regularity of the surrounding streets.

Photo: skyscrapercity.com

When Francisco Pizarro traced the layout for dowtown Lima, he followed the "damero" (checkerboard) pattern of manzanas (city blocks) separated by streets criss-crossing at right angles.  This pattern is repeated throughout Spanish America and is the reason that the core of downtown is sometimes referred to as the Damero de Pizarro.   Quilca, however, notably breaks that pattern, appearing almost as a gash in the city in the image above.

The story is that Quilca follows the path of an Inca road into the city, and that at the triangular plaza at the what is today the intersection of Quilca and Av. Garcilazo de la Vega (aka Av. Wilson) there was once a tambo, or Inca way station.

Quilca is also noted as a center of Lima's bohemian life.   For one thing, the stretch immediately contiguous to Plaza San Martin is lined with dive restaurants that come alive with at nightfall and spend the days sleepily puttering along, smelling of stale beer.

Quilca is, more meritoriously, also home to the Queirolo tavern, which was established in 1920 by relatives of the Queirolo wine and pisco-making family that owns the Santiago Queirolo distillery and Antigua Taberna Queirolo in Pueblo Libre.

The Queirolo, with its unchanged decor, is counted as one of Lima's classic bars and old-school eateries, and it fills up at lunch and in the evenings.

Quilca is also a locus of a more modern, youthful bohemian crowd, which tends toward the metal and punk "underground" scene.  Much of which is centered -spiritually, if no longer physically- on the El Averno cultural center.

The center, which housed gigs and promoted the arts in general, was a vibrant presence in Lima's "alternative" scene for more than a decade, but also a constant object of police interest, who regarded it as a locus of "delinquency", and as attracting "bad elements" and "pot smokers" (OK, so maybe that last one was true! LOL).  But, maybe even more than that, it was the fear instilled in institutional and bureaucratic conservatism by what is new, free, and transgressive.

The center was raided it on a number of occasions, with the cops -and on two occasions, hired thugs- tearing the doors out of their frames, looting the place, and sometimes violently attacking the young people they found inside. 

El Averno shut its doors for perhaps the last time last October, after losing an appeal against a municipal eviction order, but its building remains, vibrantly and wonderfully defiant.

And even though El Averno is closed, Quilca's punk and metal scene has hardly faded away, as tucked away among the many used bookstores that line the street, there are small shops selling CDs, DVDs, fanzines, and anarchist newspapers, and which serve as clearinghouses -as do the very walls of Quilca's buildings- of information on concerts and new releases.

Bravo Restobar

Last night, after leaving the clinic after visiting my nephew, and his girlfriend and their beautiful newborn girl, Liz, Jacho, Jose, Carla and I headed to Bravo Restobar for drinks and dinner.

Bravo Restobar, the creation of chef Christian Bravo, is a steady element in the Lima restaurant scene, and -as the autographed walls attest- it is frequently a stop for international pop stars and other personalities. The food incorporates Peruvian dishes and ingredients with touches of Asian and "international" cuisine.

Of course, we started off to drinks: some mojitos, pisco sour, caipirinha, and a signature drink which was akin to a chilcano, but made with a touch of ginger and star anise, and colored with ayrampo, a small cactus fruit used to color foods in the Andes.

This was followed by complimentary freshly baked breads with a trio of flavoured butters, some flat-bread chips with a huacatay-infused dipping sauce, and little cups full of a delicious Andean potato soup.

Our choices included a very tasty lomo saltado.  As I have mentioned elsewhere, lomo saltado - a sauteed mix of beef, tomatoes, onions and potatoes, with an Chinese touch- is a classic dish of Peruvian home and restaurant cooking.  It is very much comfort food for Peruvians, and any restaurant worth its salt will have it on the menu.   Of course, that makes it hard to impress Peruvians with a lomo saltado, as few will find one to be as good as mom's or that of their favourite hole-in-the-wall restaurant.

Bravo's lomo saltado did not disappoint.  The seasoning was right on, and the dish was upscaled a bit by the addition of mushrooms.   Even though it had the tubers on the side instead of mixed into the sautee -a recent trend in restaurants here, and one on which there are definitely two school of thought - that "deficiency" (I side with those who feel that the dish is better with the potatoes mixed in)was more than made up for by the crispness of the fries and the inclusion of fried yuca root.  That saltado was definitely the star of the night's meal.

Bravo Restobar

Av. Conquistadores 1005

San Isidro - Lima