Sampling the Cervezas of Uruguay

Words and Photos by Matt Dursum

There’s a rain soaked glare on the streets of Montevideo as a Candombe troupe dances past us. We join in, mirroring the steps of a casual batucada salsa. We are happy to be a part of this. Normally I don’t join in parades with dancing people but, tonight, I felt extra jovial from drinking two pints of local craft beer and scarfing down patacón sandwiches—Venezuelan beef sandwiches with fried plantains instead of buns. 

This is our first time in Uruguay. The food, the land, and the people seem so beer oriented—relaxed, industrious, less pretentious than most of the world—that it surprised us to find little information about the country’s craft beer scene. With this in mind, we set off on the first round of our beer drinking journey, which led us here, dancing on the streets to the rhythm of conga drums and feet stepping into the puddles between the cobblestones. 

First Samplings at Mercado Ferrando 

We walk into Mercado Ferrando, a trendy food market that has wonderful food stalls and a cafe. We pass the eateries and the crowds of gregarious customers and head straight for OPB, the craft beer project created by friends Álvaro De León and Javier Rocha. In its inception, OPB, or Orientales la Patria y la Birra, functioned as an intelligent beer truck in 2016. Later, they added a mobile bar. In 2017, they opened their beer bar at Mercado Ferrando. OPB’s goal is simple and steadfast: bring the best craft beer in Uruguay and abroad to the consumer to push the country’s craft culture. 

We take our seats at the bar. The staff is patient and helpful, eager to point us towards what we want. There are dozens of beers from several Uruguayan breweries, both big and small. 

We start with a Milkshake IPA from Bizarra. Its creamy texture and rich malty aroma blow us away. Next we settle on the Lemon Haze from Beerbros. It has a phenomenal lemon cream sickle and lemon zest flavor with great texture and a lemon bite complimenting a long finish. 

We cap off our session at OPB by sampling two more local beers. By this time, business is picking up and we are shoulder to shoulder with two groups, all of which speak in booming voices about how much they love IPAs. 

First comes the IPA Maracuya (passionfruit) from Volcánica. It has intense floral aromas and notes of passion fruit and hops. A delicious aftertaste of caramel passion fruit souffle makes every sip delightful. 

Our last beer is called Summer by Ruca. The summer ale has a wonderful wheat taste with hints of refreshing lemon zest. This well-rounded summer beer made us excited to try more from Maldonado’s Ruca in the future. 

Matute

It’s the day after the dancing and we’re still in the mood for beer. We decide to scope out the brew pub Matute just down the street from our host’s pad. It’s empty and quiet. We’re here just minutes after they opened for the night, which, in a nocturnal city like Montevideo, is a strange thing to do. 

We grab a seat at the vacant bar, and the friendly servers assist us. We get an introduction to their beer brand Mist and their expansive list of guest beers. To start off the experience, we order a lager. Crisp, refreshing, and classic. 

Next up, we split their porter and red IPA. The porter is rich and malty with a deep dark color and a long finish capped by notes of roasted coffee. The red IPA is our favorite. Crisp hops, dark red malty aromas, and a lighter alcoholic punch at 6.1% abv. 

Malafama

It’s the following day and we’re heading over to visit the team at Malafama. Started by four siblings in 2018, the Malafama brewpub has become one of Uruguay’s flagships for great beer. We’re here not only to try their incredible beers but to meet the team to discuss a project with them as the focus—STAY TUNED!  

In their brewpub, you can find a massive selection of incredible beers, many of which are seasonal. Within this selection are their standout IPAs, sours, and lagers, not to mention their barrel aged seasonal beers that get them as excited as children at a zoo. My girlfriend and I fall in love with their beers, their vibe, their food, and their energy. They have another location in Punta del Este which, after finishing our pints, we were eager to visit.  

Sampling Maldonado

We arrive in Punta del Este, Maldonado, each sporting over 60 lbs of gear. I’m carrying a surfboard. It’s windy and damp and we walk several blocks through the desolate off-season streets. 

After my juvenile giddy-up to the ocean to surf, we decide to cruise down the street to check out the brewpub Capi Bar. Inside, a hodgepodge of surf photos and beach themed nostalgia cover the walls. Even though it’s the brunt of the off-season, hoards of thirsty customers are settled inside. 

We get a pint of CAPA, a deliciously malty and subtly sweet red ale. To round out our palates, we ask for a pint of coconut stout. It has a creamy head and refreshing notes of bitter chocolate. We enjoy the beers with Capi’s version of the chivito, the sandwich of all sandwiches containing steak, ham, lettuce, and tomato, topped off with a fried egg and mayo. 

Cerveceria Barbot 

It’s the last night in Uruguay and an end to our introduction into the country’s craft beer. The next day, we’re scheduled to board a ferry for the long and harrowing passage to Buenos Aires. Here in Colonia del Sacramento, gloomy weather bids us farewell. We make our way into Cerveceria Barbot and grab a table. 

We order the pumpkin ale. It comes out with a beautiful head and a bright golden color. It has a rich spicy fall aroma and clear pumpkin flavor. We look across approvingly at our server. She knows it’s good. 

Next up is the Monastere dubbel Belgian and the Dublin Stout. The Monastere is rich and malty with a reddish color and nice hop aromas. The Dublin is a classic stout with a slightly higher alcoholic kick that balanced out the rich toasty bitter chocolate perfectly. 

We just missed their 10-year anniversary and judging from their patronage and high-quality beers, it was an event to be remembered. We end our night at Barbot by ordering delicious small plates and splitting their Thames pale ale. The delicious combo of roasted carrots a la parrilla, wood-fired pizza, and pale ale made our last night in Uruguay special.  

Hopping Over the River

The shiny surface of Colonia del Sacramento’s cobblestone streets looks beautiful in the misty mornings. The brown waters of the Rio de la Plata look inviting enough, vaguely reminiscent of a cloudy Belgian tripel, one that I could almost imagine diving into. Clearing my head of such a strange thought, I haul my clumsy surfboard bag and heavy backpack and begin dancing a casual batucada on our way to the ferry.