Beer in Chile: history, traditions and breweries

History

Valdivia, 1850. A ship from Hamburg dropped anchor in southern Chile. On board was the pharmacist Carl Anwandter and his family, among the first German settlers the Chilean government had invited to the country. On arrival he spoke an oath that schoolchildren in Valdivia still know: the settlers wanted to become “honest and hard-working Chileans”.

By 1851 Anwandter was brewing beer in Valdivia – Chile’s first brewery. The cool, rainy climate, the river water and the many German immigrants turned the south into beer country. Soon German families were brewing in Osorno, Puerto Montt and other towns too.

Meanwhile industry grew in the north of the country. In 1902 several breweries merged to form the Compañía Cervecerías Unidas, CCU for short. It became Chile’s largest beer company and still brews brands such as Cristal and Escudo. In the far south, in Punta Arenas on the Strait of Magellan, beer was brewed from the 1890s for sailors, sheep farmers and gold prospectors.

On 22 May 1960 the earth shook near Valdivia – at magnitude 9.5 it was the strongest earthquake ever recorded. A tsunami followed. The city was hit hard, and the Anwandter brewery was destroyed too. A century of brewing tradition seemed to be over.

But Valdivia did not give up on beer. In the 1990s Armin Kunstmann, a descendant of German immigrants, began brewing again. The Kunstmann brewery took up Anwandter’s tradition, and today Valdivia likes to call itself Chile’s beer capital, with its own beer festival.

Today Chile has several hundred small breweries, from the Atacama Desert to Patagonia. Many brew with water from the Andes, hops from the south or even fruit such as calafate, a Patagonian berry with a legend: whoever eats it will return to Patagonia.

Traditions and drinking culture

In Chile you order a draught beer as a “schop” – the word comes from the German “Schoppen”. The “michelada” with lime and salt is popular too.

On the national holidays in September people drink chicha in the festival tents, the “fondas” – in Chile that is fermented grape or apple juice. The toast is “¡Salud!”.

Typical beer styles

• Pale lager
• Bock and dark beers
• Craft beer of every style

Beer cities and their stories

Beer cities of the world

Breweries and their stories

Timeline

1. 1851Valdivia

   Carl Anwandter founds Chile’s first brewery in Valdivia.

2. 1896Punta Arenas

   Beer is brewed in Punta Arenas on the Strait of Magellan.

3. 1902Santiago

   Several breweries merge to form CCU.

4. 1960Valdivia

   The strongest earthquake ever recorded destroys the Anwandter brewery.

5. 1991Valdivia

   Armin Kunstmann takes up Valdivia’s brewing tradition.