author tara nurin

Herlinda Heras and author Tara Nurin back from Brazil

author tara nurin brazilAuthor Tara Nurin is back on Brew Ha Ha with Steve Jaxon and Herlinda Heras, after judging at Bahia Beer in Brazil with Herlinda last week.

Tara Nurin and Herlinda Heras were in Bahia, Brazil last week, to be judges at the Bahia Beer Festival of the Brazilian International Beer Awards. They discovered Brazilian drinks and steakhouse style, and did a city tour of Salvador, the capital, too. Bahia is the part of Brazil closest to Africa and since colonial times has had the largest African population. Bahia is not on the main tourist path so the Bahia promoters were very happy to meet the international beer crowd. It also seemed that the locals were actively participating and happy that they were all there. Tara is the author of “A Woman’s Place Is In the Brewhouse.” She got a standing ovation at the end of a presentation she gave about diversity and wellness in the industry.

Herlinda found Brazilian beer flavored with Acerola cherries and a lot of dark beers. There is a type of Brazilian beer called Catarina Sour, from Santa Catarina. Tara found that the overall quality of the Brazilian beers was exceptionally high.

russian river brewing co.

Visit Russian River Brewing Co. on 4th St. and at their Windsor location. Click the logo to visit their website for hours, menus and beers on tap.

Here is the results page at the Bahia Beer Festival website. (Use the handy Google translate button to read the Portuguese page in English.)

They also discovered the Brazilian steakhouse style called churrascaria, which serves all kinds of roasted meats on skewers. There is a large Japanese population there too and they found one churrascaria restaurant that also had a sushi bar. Herlinda reports that a top class resort with unlimited drinks cost only $70 per day.

Cashaça is a distilled spirit similar to rum, used to make a cocktail called a Caipirinha. Herlinda brought some back and will make one for Steve soon, but not today. We also hear from Tara Nurin about her plans to offer consulting services focussed on wellness in the beverage industry.


After the competition, Herlinda and Tara received this message from the organizers: 

“Fellow Judges, 
I would like to thank the panel of judges, who played an essential role last week in the 1st BBA – Brazilian International Beer Awards, held in the state of Bahia in Brazil, that already born as the largest international beer competition in Latin America in its first edition. 
The numbers reflect the success of the event: 1,060 samples were entered, sent by 188 breweries from 34 countries. In total, 101 breweries were awarded, 86 Brazilian and 15 international. 
The 274 medals awarded highlight the excellence of the participating beers: 
• 99 gold medals 
• 88 silver medals 
• 87 bronze medals 
Of the total, Brazilian breweries won 229 medals, while international breweries took home 45.
See you in March 2025 at CBC BRASIL – Concurso Brasileiro de Cervejas em BALNEÁRIO CAMBORIÚ-SC”

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