Beers from Santa Catarina State elected best in Brazil in 2022

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Brazilian Beer Competition elected two beers from Santa Catarina as the best in the country in 2022. The first place went to Cerveja Blumenau, in the Itajaí Valley, and the second to Cervejaria Unika from Rancho Queimado, in Greater Florianópolis.

The preferred style is Grodziskie, which has almost become extinct and is made with wheat malt smoked in oak, low alcohol, and high carbonation. Right behind was Catharina Sour, with cashew and pitanga. Both styles were evaluated by a select panel of judges and stood out among the more than 3,500 entries. The result was celebrated on Tuesday night, March 8.

The B7 label, Experimental India Pale Ale style, was the third position, from Cervejaria Bragantina, from São Paulo. The competition takes place annually in Blumenau and awards Brazil’s best beers and breweries in multiple categories.

BLUMENAU HAS GOLD IN TWO MORE STYLES

Besides winning the “Best of Show”, Cerveja Blumenau also won gold in the Strong Ale and Brown Ale styles; silver in Other Strong Ale or Lager, Field Beer, and Specialty Beer; and bronze in the Historical Beer category.

The only representative from Santa Catarina in the Best Brewery award, Cerveja Blumenau, was also considered the second-best brewery in the country in 2022, behind only Além Bier, from Rio Grande do Sul.

2022 COMPETITION

In this year’s edition of the Brazilian Beer Competition, 3,635 labels were entered by 587 breweries in Brazil. It corresponds to an increase of 15% and 26%, respectively, over the 2021 event. India Pale Ale (IPA) was again the style with the most entries, 211 in all, followed by American Pale Ale (125) and the Brazilian Catharina Sour (117).

A group of more than 100 judges from 21 countries evaluated all styles. Based on the samples sent by the breweries, they blind-tasted those that stood out the most.