Language lessons across the USA and Canada

Call us! 1-877-566-9299 / 1-416-800-9242

How To Drink Beer Like A Brazilian | #WorldCup

The 2014 World Cup is in Brazil, and whether you’re in the stands or watching from home, it’s time to enjoy the game like a Brazilian: with a nice, very cold beer. Brazilians have a refreshing approach to beer that’s different from their North American fellows and ideal for the hot days of summer. Whether you’re at the games meeting new Brazilian drinking buddies or just wanting to party like you’re in Brazil, learn what it is to drink beer like a Brazilian.

Don’t Use a Bottle Opener

If you’re going to drink like a Brazilian, you’re going to have to start by opening your beer like a Brazilian.  Note this as an important first step.  A Brazilian guy can think of a million ways to open a beer bottle, and the first few thousand he names do not involve a bottle opener.  Brazilians, it turns out, don’t really use bottle openers.  Instead, they put nearby surfaces or household objects to work or resort to using body-parts like teeth, eyebrows, forearms…butts…  Let’s check it out.

In the spirit of the World Cup, these Brazilians kick off the beer cap using a stick:

and this guy doesn’t even need a stick:

GOOOOOOOOLL!

This guru shows you how to open a bottle of beer in style, which amounts to a combination of thumb work and using another beer bottle:

In the household items category, this guy demonstrates how you can fold a piece of paper into a makeshift bottle opener:

These guys use a match:

In the body-parts category, here’s a demonstration using the eyebrow:

and a classy one off of the butt:

And here’s a video of guys trying and failing to open a beer in a variety of different ways. Still wouldn’t use a bottle opener.

The Colder the Better

Brazilians like their beer cold, and really, the colder the better. While there are some notable, popular brands like Skol and Schin, and Bohemia is arguably best, brand is not nearly as important as temperature and the preferred temperature is sub-zero.

For beer to be good, there must be frost on the outside. So established is this love of frost that it inspired its own phrase, canela de pedreiro, which roughly translates to “the cement dust on the shins of the masons.” Just the cure for a hard day’s work.

How to Take Beer Out of the Freezer

In order to get the beer as cold as they desire, Brazilians actually keep the beer itself in the freezer.  If and when you’re getting beer out of the freezer, the key is to pull it out by the bottle cap.  If you touch the glass, you ruin the beer; the touch causes it to freeze and become like a slushy.

Brazilians Like Cold Beer So Much

Brazilians like cold beer so much that at least in the early 2000’s there were devices floating around the Brazilian market that promised to instantaneously freeze warm beer.  Unfortunately, they weren’t the most effective, leaving the user basically with ice and alcohol.

Brazilians like cold beer so much that Skol actually came out with a beer flavored ice cream, so now you can have beer for dessert.  This ice cream got most play in the news for the controversy its advertising caused as citizens worried that beer ice cream will entice children inappropriately.

To refer to insanely cold beer, Brazilians will say, “cerveja estupidamente gelada,” which translates to “stupidly cold beer.”  “Estupidamente” is extreme and playful and most often used to qualify the coldness of beer.

You can understand why on hot days you want a cold beverage, but perhaps some elements Brazilians’ love of cold beer are untranslatable, and perhaps this guy’s dance can express the inexpressible…

This is how much Brazilians love cold beer (MUST WATCH STUFF!!!):

Bem-Geladhina

Watch the full video here to learn some sweet Brazilian dance moves:

If you’re interested in Brazilian language and culture, be sure to check out our Brazilian-Portuguese World Cup promotion.