Find out why Blumenau is the national beer capital

The Brazilian Beer Festival took place in the first week of March, at Parque da Vila Germânica, in Blumenau. However, the connection between the city of Santa Catarina and beer culture goes far beyond celebrations and attracts the attention of tourists all year round.

The event took place from March 7 to 9 and aimed to promote beer culture in Brazil. Blumenau, in the Itajaí valley, is therefore officially the national capital of beer. On March 9, 2017, law number 13.418/2017 was signed which granted the title to the city.

The bill to grant the honor to Blumenau was proposed by Décio Lima (PT) in March 2014, when he was a federal deputy. He was mayor of the municipality from 1997 to 2000 and from 2001 to 2004. With approval, the city can officially use the title.

In the justification for approving the document he writes that “the municipality of Blumenau is known as a national beer hub, for the expansion of industrial and artisanal production”.

In this way it is a true immersion in the universe of Brazilian craft beer. In 2023, around 30 thousand people attended the festival, full of lots of music and the best craft beers in Brazil.

In addition to tastings and cultural activities related to beer, the event includes technical conferences and company meetings to encourage synergy between professionals in the sector.

The city’s connection to drinking goes back much further. This is because the first local brewery opened in 1860. There are currently four breweries in the municipality, a passion that continues to bear fruit.

During the festival, the public will also be able to find out about beer appreciation habits, such as purity standards and different types and flavours.

The event, therefore, brought together 90 independent breweries from all over Brazil and is part of Brazilian Beer Week.

The Festival also featured several artists, such as a show by Digão, Raimundos, Velhas Virgens, Chimaruts, DJ Moonlight Project, Sonido Club and Iron Maiden Cover.

It took place in parallel with SC Gourmet, with a focus on gastronomy, which brought together exhibitors, brewmasters, cachaciers, chocolatiers, bartenders, etc., also at Parque Vila Germânica.

Considered the largest beer tournament in Latin America and the largest competition for independent breweries on the planet, the Brazil Beer Competition (CBC) is among the three largest in the world.

In 2024 the event reached its 12th edition and celebrated its maturity in the events sector, in harmony with the Brazilian market of the sector.

The aim of the competition, in addition to rewarding the best labels, was to provide participants with a technical judgment on the samples of the products entered. This allows breweries to use this information to improve the production process.

The Brazilian Beer Competition awarded the best labels and the best breweries. The most recognized Catarina brands were Cherokee, Blauer Berg (best labels) and Opa Bier, Biertal, Karsten and Big Jack (main brands).

The Blumenau Beer Museum opened on September 24, 1996. The place shows the evolution of the beer scene in Santa Catarina, explaining how the process of brewing has changed over the years.

The Museum’s goal is also to bring pieces from the 1890s, 1892 and 1820s, from the collections of large breweries. Some of the objects are equipment showing the processing of beer, scales used to count the amount of hops to be used, and malt mills.

Furthermore, Blumenau (SC) is known throughout Brazil as the home of the Oktoberfest, which for 30 years has attracted thousands of people looking for fun and hectoliters of beer.

Blumenau’s Oktoberfest was inspired by the event in Munich, Germany, which is the largest in the world. The first edition of the festival took place on the initiative of the Municipality and with the contribution of the community.

Interestingly, it was after two major floods that occurred in the city, in 1983 and 1984, that Oktober began to take place in Blumenau. In the sadness of the demographic losses of the European Valley, the festival is always remembered as a moment in which the place was resurrected.

In 2024 the event reaches its 39th edition. It did not take place for two consecutive years due to the Covid-19 pandemic (2020 and 2021). This festival represents the culture of German immigrants and always reminds us of the city’s resilience.

The festival was first held in Munich, Germany, in the early 19th century, with the wedding of King Ludwig I. He was still a prince at the time and was in a marital union with Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen .

In Blumenau the festival was recreated, especially since it is the city with the largest number of German descendants. The event has become the second largest German festival in the world and the largest in the Americas.

In the midst of rebuilding from the floods of 1983 and 1984, Blumenau recovered and organized the first edition of the event in the Proeb Pavilion, with a space of 3,000 square meters.

According to the municipal Department of Tourism and Leisure, 102 thousand people participated in this first edition, who consumed a total of 103 thousand liters of beer.

The event is usually equipped with counters for purchasing food and drinks at an appropriate height for people who use a wheelchair. In addition to bathrooms adapted for wheelchair users and ostomates.

Finally, the party aims to be inclusive with the availability of translators for Brazilian Sign Language (Libras) and the distribution of identification bracelets for people with autism spectrum disorder.