Not to beat a dead horse, but for the most part, the beer has not been too exciting in South America.  Peru had more brands of beer to sample than Ecuador or Colombia, but they all rated about the same- good enough cold, but nothing worth bringing home.  On the other hand, the food and snacks were both amazing.

One of my favorite snacks, popcorn, can be found on just about any street corner in Peru.  No pictures were taken, but I am pretty sure most of you know what it looks like.

Another popular snack that is also found all over is roasted corn kernels. These are often served as a little appetizer.

Cancha (toasted corn kernels)

These can be found in a few different styles, but I really liked them lightly salted, and guess what- they go great with beer.

Before we get to the beer, it is important to highlight one of the most popular drinks in Peru.  Inca Cola is an attractive neon yellow color and has the distinct taste of bubble gum.  This drink is so popular that Coca-Cola couldn’t stand the competition and purchased the company.

Inca Cola- Liquid bubble gum. Yum?!

I think I would prefer a Coke over this yellow drink, but it is strangely tasty and always somehow calls you back for another.

On to the beer. I have created a few awards for the beers around Peru.  I am sure they will be excited to find out what award they won. Now, I just need to figure out how to mail their statues.

Most Deserved Beer:

I had a Cusquena beer on the train ride from Machu Picchu to Cusco after completing the 4 day trek to Machu Picchu.  This beer is made in Cusco and seems to be the pride and joy of the country.  It has a nice hoppy taste, and after a long hike, it goes down real smoothly.

Cusquena - Good thing this in not smell-o-vision after 4 days of hiking

Best Beer in Peru:

Cusquena has a more complex brother known as Cusquena Negra.  This beer is by far the best beer that we sampled in Peru.  One problem with beer in Peru is that they seemed have learned from the Germans the art of serving warm beer.  A few times we had to tough down a warmish malt beer, which made it not my favorite, but when it was served cold, it was great.

Cusquena Negra

Best Beer Served Cold….  Really Cold:

Pilsen is a regular old beer with a regular old taste.  This beer is best served cold and would be almost impossible to drink warm.  Luckily they seem to know this in Peru and keep this beer in the coldest part of the fridge.

Pilsen

Worst Beer… Ever:

This next beer gets the award for the worst beer, and not only in South America, but I would venture to say it is the worst in the world.  The best part of Quara is the sound it makes when it is opened.  I should have know something was askew when the main description was about the fruit that was “infused” in the beer.

Just imagine a fruity cleaning product and a Bud Light mixed half and half.  I am sure this beer would polish a desk nicely, but as far as drinking, I will never make that mistake again.

Quara

Peru has been an incredible country with many fine foods and drinks to tempt the pallet.  By far, the best mixture was sitting near the beach eating ceviche and enjoying a cold beer.