Judging continues

I rise at 7:15, throw up and have a shower. Not at the same time, obviously.

I bump into Chris at breakfast.

“Where were you yesterday? Why weren’t you at the barbecue?” He asks.

“What barbecue?” It seems it was for European Beer Star judges so I didn’t get invited. That’s why almost no-one I knew was at Thapyoka. The bastards.

I have my standard breakfast: scrambled egg and cheese, followed by fruit. Lots of fruit. And quite a lot of coffee. I wouldn’t want to fall asleep at the judging table.

At least the bus is a little later, at 8:30.

Thomas joins us for breakfast. I sit next to him on the bus and we chat about beer history.

It’s 9:30 when we start judging. Not too late. Today my partners are:

Jary Rocha – Uruguay.
Nicolás Boan - Argentina.

We start with Franconian Rothbier. 5 examples. 1 pretty good, another one OK.

Hefeweizen. 12 samples. Best set so far. Almost no off flavours and a couple of really quite good ones.

Session IPA. 12 examples. Mostly OK to good.

We’ve been rumbling along at a good pace and are ready for lunch just after noon.

I have lunch with Chris and some other South Americans. As always, just meat and salad. I would say it’s because I’m very careful with my diet. In reality, I’m just not very hungry.

The organisers are getting really worries about the toilets. About them getting blocked with toilet paper. Which you aren’t supposed to put in the toilet here in Brazil.  Worrying that foreign judges might forget, the toilet cubicles are plastered with warnings.

After lunch, we begin with West Coast IPA. 8 examples. All are reasonably good and one totally outstanding, packed with complex tropical fruit flavours.

Wood- and Barrel-Aged Sour Beer. 4 examples. A mixed bunch.

American IPA midround. 12 examples. Several have obvious faults, including diacetyl and DMS.

Irish Red midround. 10 examples. I’ve nothing good to say about these. So I’ll keep quiet.

Brazilian wood aged beers midround. 8 examples. Lots of amburana – some very intense. One aged in amburana cachaça barrels is way over the top. Far too much of everything. Most base beers are Barley Wine, Quad or Imperial Stout. But the best was a Catharina Sour.

We finish off at about 17:30. Which isn’t too bad. Though I judged 71 beers. I never want to drink beer again. That’s how I feel at the moment. It’s been an exhausting day.

How can you be knackered when all you’ve done is drink beer all day? Judging is very tiring. If you take it seriously. Which I do as did everyone I’ve judged with. And there‘s precious little drinking involved. Though I do usually finish off any good beers. Just to be polite.

I sit next to Chris on the bus.

I debated about whether to go to Schornstein in Pomeroda for dinner. I’ve been there a couple of times before. And it’s 22 km outside Blumenau, meaning I can’t just get an Uber back if I’m feeling knacked. But Chris persuades me to go. His enthusiasm can be infectious.

Luckily, the first bus leaves before the scheduled 18:30.

Chris, Thomas, Alex, Shweta, the Norwegian bloke and I all sit at one table. Most go to look at the brew house. I give it a miss. I’ve been there twice before. Both times I thought I was going to die of heat stroke and had to leave.

When the buffet is laid out and we collect food, Chris suggests sitting on the terrace. Where it’s now much cooler as it’s pissing down with rain. I go for a meat and salad combination again. Some of the meat is really good. Though I had hoped for feijoada like last time. I do like some black beans.

The beer is OK. I have s Pils and then a couple of IPAs. But that’s enough beer for me, so I get a caipirinha. Which I have to pay for. It’s well worth 24 reals.

Chris gets himself a Bock and lets me try it. It’s pleasantly thick and chewy. But very cold. A little later, when it’s warmed up, I can smell the diacetyl from across the room. It’s clearly totally undrinkable.

We’re told that the first bus will leave when 40 people are ready. Which is cool. It leaves at 21:45 rather than 22:00. So we’re back in Blumenau by 22:15. Which is great. I can get to my bed early. Except Chris suggests we have a nightcap over the road. And he can be a very persuasive man.

We end up in Curt, a wine bar, as everything else is shut. We get a cachaça each. One aged in amburana. Which ties in nicely with some of the beers I judged a few hours earlier.

Several other judges turn up after a while. And get stuck into cocktails. Me and Chris only have the one, as we’re both feeling pretty tired.

I fancy another drink, but can’t unseal the cachaça bottle I have. It’s a problem I’ve experienced before. And I know the solution. I go down to reception, where they manage to unscrew the top for me.

I watch some more Boarders on iplayer while sipping my cachaça. Which soon gets me in a sleepytime mood.



Schornstein Kneipe
R. Hermann Weege, 60
Centro, Pomerode
SC, 89107-000.


Curt Wine & Bar
R. Curt Hering, 99
Centro, Blumenau
SC, 89010-040.