Brazilians love beer. It’s no secret. In a hot climate like this, there’s nothing that quenches your thirst better than a cerveja gelada (cold beer). I can personally confirm that. In most bars and restaurants, when you order a big bottle (600ml), it almost always comes in a heat-proof flask. If it doesn’t, you have to ask for it. After all, you don’t want to be drinking beer with a temperature of your body. The idea is that it comes cold and stays cold (the beer, not your body).
Freezer da mesa. Image source: http://guaiamunsbar.blogspot.com/2010/09/frezzer-de-mesa.html
But what does “cold” mean? For Europeans, like me, it simply means “after considerable time in the fridge”, or chilled. Here, it’s not enough. The ideal beer is not just cold, it’s stupidly cold, as Brazilians themselves say (estupidamente gelada) – on the point of freezing. One sip of that from an equally cold glass (straight from the freezer!) and you feel as if you had dived into a pool of ice. Refreshing. Two sips more and your tongue starts to burn, teeth turn to stone and eyes pop out. It nearly freezes your head off! Continue like this all night, with endless refills of your copo (small glass), and you wake up considerably chilled out. Or, in a negative scenario, with a stinging sensation in your throat, runny nose and feeling like staying in bed for a few days. Well, it’s been a week now. Saúde!*
*literally: health, or “to your health” when making a toast
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