Food & Beer Culture

In São Paulo state, beer is drunk in the boteco, a simple bar with a counter, plastic chairs, and a display case full of snacks. This is where the evening begins after work, known in the country as happy hour. The Pinguim in Ribeirão Preto is a famous example, with draft Chopp and tables where groups linger for hours.

Chopp comes with the pastel. The dough is rolled out paper-thin, filled with cheese, ground meat, or hearts of palm, and deep-fried until crisp. It's hot, greasy, and salty, and the cold of the Chopp cuts right through it. Anyone who's eaten the two together understands the pairing instantly.

Other classics include coxinha, a teardrop-shaped chicken croquette, and torresmo, crispy pork crackling. A portion of fried mandioca, the cassava pieces golden brown outside and mealy within, turns up on almost every table. At the Mercado Municipal in São Paulo stands the mortadella sandwich, piled so thick you need both hands to hold it.

One rule of the evening: you rarely drink alone. Beer is usually ordered for the whole table, and everyone tops up the others before a glass runs dry. The word saideira refers to the last round people treat themselves to, even well past midnight. It's not about glorifying drunkenness, but about being together.

Craft beers like Colorado have added a new dimension to this culture. People order a Demoiselle with dinner at a restaurant, pair an Indica with something off the grill, or match a Cauim with spicy cassava dishes. Alongside the Chopp at the Pinguim now stands beer with a story, and both belong to the same evening in the interior.