Peru beer list

Popular Peruvian Beer Brands

Despite some fierce brand loyalties among Peruvians, there isn’t exactly a major battle of the beers going on in Peru. Backus produces all of the most popular beers in Peru, including:

• Pilsen Callao
• Cusqueña
• Cristal
• Pilsen Trujillo
• Barena
• Arequipeña
• San Juan

Pilsen Callao, Cusqueña and Cristal are the three most popular beers in Peru. In terms of quality, most Peruvians go for either Pilsen Callao or Cusqueña, with Cristal sometimes thrown into the mix. Brand loyalty is often tied in with regional loyalties (drinking Pilsen Trujillo in Trujillo, for example) as well as soccer-related considerations (such as club sponsorship and even the naming of teams -- take, for example, Sporting Cristal).

Traditional Beer Drinking Customs

Whether you’re sat around a table in a bar, huddled in a group near a disco dance floor or partaking in an impromptu drinking session on a street corner, you might find yourself drinking in the traditional Peruvian style.
The most notable aspect of this drinking custom is the use of one glass among the gathered group, which is passed from person to person.
To explain the process, imagine Javier and Paolo are knocking back a few beers in a group of five -- with one bottle of beer and one glass:

• Javier fills the glass then passes the bottle to Paolo (sitting next to him). Paolo waits with bottle in hand while Javier drinks.
• Javier quickly drains the glass before flicking the froth from the glass onto the ground (this is standard procedure).
• Javier then passes the glass to Paolo (the bottle holder).
• Paolo takes the glass and refills it before passing the bottle to the next person. He then drains the glass, flicks out the froth and passes it to the person holding the bottle.
• The bottle is passed around -- followed by the one glass -- until the beer is finished (at which point someone will normally buy another bottle).

It’s not the most hygienic way of drinking, but it does promote a communal drinking spirit. The glass moves around quite quickly, making it easy to lose track of how much you’ve actually drunk. The speed of drinking also makes rapid inebriation a distinct possibility...