Things I Miss At Home - Good Beer

So I still plan on writing a more complete postings about all the amazing things back in the States that Guatemala is missing out on but here's a start: good beer. Yes, I live in the greatest beer area of America, the Pacific Northwest. This gave me a new beer to try every time I went out out with friends to a new brewery, bar, or restaurant. One could literally drink a beer a night and never repeat the same beer for an entire year. There is that many choices. Here in Guatemala... not so much. The main brewery is Cerveceria Centro Americana, or better known as Gallo. They are the Budweiser of Guatemalan beer. Their makes Gallo, Victoria, and Moza. Gallo is mostly sold in liters for about $2, depending on where you buy it. Advertised as a pale lager (think Coors Light, PBR, Bud Light, etc.) it's cheap, gross, and full of chemicals. The chemicals is only a guess because no matter how little one drinks, it gives you a pretty funky hangover the next day, even after on ly one beer. Moza, made by the same brewery, is a 'dark bock' (it's even spelled 'bier' on the label - it must be German!) but it tastes just like a Gallo with food coloring to make it look different. There is Moza Gold, which tends to have some flavor and after you sip it, you can tell that there is something to it, just barely. Its a little pricier but worth it if you wanna drink something resembling beer.

Xela also is home to Cabro. Locals are proud to call it "Xela's Beer" because its made in Xela and shares it's name with the local town mascot (and soccer team nickname - "Superchivos"), a goat. However, it is brewed in the Gallo Brewery in town and tastes virtually the same. I'm not even sold on the fact that it isn't Gallo bottled with a different label. At least in the States you can tell the difference between most cheap beers, like PBR and Coors Light. Here, it's all the same. There is also a generic pale lager called Brava, but I've never actually seen anyone drink it and I suspect its even lower on the beer food chain, as far as taste and prestige, than Gallo and Cabro. The country also imports a fair amount of Mexican beer, mainly Sol, Corona, and Negro Modela. They are pricier but overall tastier than anything Guatemala has to offer.

At home, I have a mini fridge of about 10 beers that are my 'classy stash' - beers that are harder to find, better tasting, and best drank on special occasions. My stash includes: multiple years of Deschutes 'The Abyss', Silver City 'Old Scrooge', Russian River 'Pliney the Elder', and a few Oskar Blues Brews, just to name a few. Here in my fridge in Xela, my 'classy stash' is a half gone 6 pack of Negro Modela. That is just sad. As a home brewer and connoisseur of beers (that sounds very self inflated but I think I can claim to know a fair amount about beer tasting and brewering), I don't drink beer to get drunk; I drink beer to enjoy the finer tastes and craftmanship that goes into making a great pint. It is just one of the things I love to do at home. And I never realized until I got here how my quality of life significantly drops off without good brews. It's an adjustment I've made and one that I will live with until August. But you will never find a happier moment than when the first pint hits my lips August 5th. I count the days.