Judging begins

The bus is at 8:00. So I rise a little before 7:00. I could have done with another couple of hours kip. But isn’t that almost always the case?

I have breakfast with Alex. There’s no bacon, so I go for scrambled egg and cheese. Plus some fruit for pudding. I don’t eat a huge amount. Not feeling that hungry.

As Alex worked for Bass Charrington, the conversation turns to Runcorn. Which Alex helped shut down. I’m weirdly obsessed by the brewery. Alex tells me that not only was the packaging plant miles away from the brewhouse, it was also downhill. Such a great design.

There’s a bit of messing around to start. Like logging onto the wifi. Meaning it’s a while before we get our first flight. But it’s not too much of a delay. I’ve experienced much worse.

My fellow judges are:

Claudia Di Battista Morin – Uruguay.
Gean Carlo Vila Lobos – Brazil.

We start with Bohemian Pilsner. There are a couple of quite good ones but also some real stinkers. Plenty of DMS and oxidation kicking around. 12 samples.

Vienna Lager next. None that I really liked. A couple are just about OK. 12 samples.

I have lunch with Alex, too. Just a bit of beef and salad, as I’m still not that hungry. I studiously avoid the multiple carbs on offer. Unlike the Brazilians, who pile three or four of them onto their plate.

We kick off the afternoon with European Dark Lager. The first two beers lull me into a false sense of security. Most of the beers that follow are awful. A couple make me gag, they’re so unpleasant. 12 samples.

Munich Dunkel. I didn’t really like any of them. 7 samples.

English Pale Ale. A few quite nice ones.  7 samples.

English Brown Ale. Some real stinkers.  7 samples.

I have a look at the style guidelines for English Brown Ale. 4.2% to 6% ABV, they say. I explain to my fellow judges that, apart from Newcastle Brown and Vaux Double Maxim, there are no examples that fall into that strength range. And that most are around 3% ABV. The handful of Brown Ales that are still brewed.

I’m not sure they totally believe me, as Gean Carlo looks up Manns Brown Ale on the internet. He looks quite surprised when he discovers that it’s just 2.8% ABV.

It’s 17:45 by the time we’re done. By which time I’m totally done. Plenty of other tables are still in full swing. The bus to Thapyoka is at 18:30. Supposedly. I chat with a Norwegian judge while we wait. It’s well after 19:00 when the bus finally leaves.

I sit at a table, expecting some people I know to show up. None do. Eventually, Eduardo Pelizzon, a jolly Brazilian comes over:

“Are you sitting by yourself? Join us on our table.” Where he gives me some Catharina Sour. Which is good, as I remember the draught beer here being crap. While the Catharina Sour is pretty good.

The second bus hasn’t arrived and they haven’t even put the buffet out. Looks like we won’t be eating until 20:30, at the earliest. So we decide to share an Uber and eat elsewhere. I really don’t want another late night.

I decide that I’ve enough food in my room. I’ve a roll left over from yesterday and some cheese and salami. That’ll do me. Along with whatever that spirit is I got in the supermarket – 51. I only bought it because it was dead cheap. In typical Brazilian fashion, it comes in a weird size bottle: 965 ml.

This is great. I’ve got a few hours to relax. I watch some stuff on my flipflop. Internet Today then, after firing up the VPN, Boarders from the BBC iplayer. I’m really happy to get a couple of hours to myself. Lazing around doing nothing. Much more fun than whatever might be happening in Thapyoka.

I don’t stay up too late. Propelled into sleep by whatever that spirit Ypioca is.



Choperia e Restaurante Thapyoka
R. XV de Novembro, 160
Centro, Blumenau
SC, 89010-001.
https://thapyoka.com.br/