Beer Cans & Brewery Collectibles December 2008/ January 2009 5

Beer Cans
& Brewery Collectibles
200 Years
of Beer in
( 200 Anos do Cerveja no Brasil )
BRAZIL
B
razil is the fifth largest nation in the world by
both area and population. It is also the fifth
largest producer of beer in the world. How it got
to this point involves the Portuguese royal
family, the consolidation of the larger brewers
and new growth at the end of the Twentieth Century.
In 1808, during the Napoleonic Wars, France invaded
Portugal. For the safety of the royal court, King Joo VI moved
the seat of government to the colony of Brazil. The king was
an avid beer drinker, so among the things he brought from
Europe was beer. England was the first country to export beer
to Brazil for the use of the royal family. Although King Joo
returned to Portugal following Napoleon's exile, his son Pedro
remained in Brazil as regent. In 1822, Pedro established Brazil
as an independent nation with himself as emperor.
A domestic brewing industry then began, slowly at first, in
the then-capital of Rio de Janeiro, with the establishment of
Cervejaria Brazileira and the regally named Imperial Fbrica de
Cerveja Nacional de Henrique Leiden & Cia. During this period,
the royal court and the wealthy summered in the town of
Petrpolis, located in the mountains some 40 miles from Rio,
so it was natural that the brewing industry should follow them.
At least nine breweries operated in the area during the
Nineteenth Century, among them a branch of the Imperial
brewery. This Petrpolis plant was sold to Henrique Kremer in
the 1850s. Kremer, a German immigrant, is credited with
creating Bohemia, which is widely considered to be Brazil's
first beer brand. After his death, the company was reorganized
as Cervejaria Bohemia.
As European immigrants continued to arrive in Brazil during
the latter half of the Nineteenth Century, they brought with
them a thirst for beer, and the fledgling brewing industry began
to grow. A large influx of Swiss and German immigrants began
settling in the south of the country, and breweries were quickly
established there. Albrecht Schmalz opened the first brewery in
the state of Santa Catarina in 1852, and Georg Heinrich Ritter
founded what would later become Cervejaria Continental in
Rio Grande do Sul in 1864. By 1913, Rio Grande do Sul alone
would have 134 breweries. With the introduction of refrigera-
tion and dependable transportation by rail, brewing in Brazil
entered the modern age.
BY DAN HACK #24765
Easily the rarest Brazilian
production can, from tiny
Cia. Alterosa de Cervejas
in Vespasiano, Minas
Gerais. A brown Alterosa
and two different Port
(Cerveja and Beer) exist,
but only as test cans.
A 1990s test can from
another tiny brewery
Germnia Ltda. in
Vinhedo, So Paulo
that was never produced
because aluminum cans
came into production.
Two basic designs exist for this brand; one for
Stout, and the other for Stout Especial. The
Especial designs have noticeable differences in
the incidental text in the gold bands at the top
and bottom. The crossed flags on the front
represent So Paulo state and Brazil.
Alterosa Germnia Inglesinha

6 Beer Cans & Brewery Collectibles December 2008/ January 2009
Beer Cans
& Brewery Collectibles
Swiss immigrant Joseph Villiger, accustomed
to the flavor of European beer, decided to pro-
duce a better Brazilian beer. To this end, he
formed Manufatura de Cerveja Brahma Villiger
& Cia. in Rio de Janeiro. The brewery hit the
ground running, opening on September 6,
1888, with 32 employees and daily production
of 32,000 liters of Brahma Beer. The beer was
named for the Hindu god Brahma, who is
usually depicted surrounded by hops and malt.
The company was sold in 1894 to Georg
Maschke and became Cia. Cervejaria Brahma.
Maschke enlarged and modernized the
brewery. Villiger, meanwhile, purchased
Cervejaria Bavria in So Paulo, where he
imported new equipment and continued
perfecting his brewing process.
Brahma registered many trademarks over
the years, covering a wide range of styles. The
culmination of this seeming experimentation
came in 1934 with the introduction of Brahma
Chopp. The bottled draft beer was the novelty
of that years Carnival celebration, and has
been the companys flagship brand ever since.
The fuller bodied Brahma Extra was introduced
in 1943. Like most Brazilian brewers, Brahma
produced both beer and soft drinks.
Brahma began expanding into the south by
assuming a controlling interest in Cervejaria
Continental in Rio Grande do Sul and ended
the 1950s with six breweries and a malting
facility. In the 1960s the company acquired two
plants in the north of the country and one in
Agudos, So Paulo. In 1972, the Agudos plant
became the first Brahma unit to can beer, and
many of the early black Brahma cans imported
into the United States came from there.
With the acquisition of Skol-Caracu in 1980,
Brahma secured its position as Brazil's largest
brewer, controlling 51% of the market. The
1980s saw the introduction of Brahma Light
(Brazil's first low calorie beer) and Malt 90, as
well as an agreement to manufacture Pepsi
products. Five new state-of-the-art breweries
were opened in the 1990s, and an agreement
was reached for the distribution of Miller
Genuine Draft and an expansion of interests
into Argentina and Venezuela.
Brahma
Here are three variations of imported Brahma Beer with different combinations
of imported. Reading left to right from the seam, the three cans read
Imported/ Imported, Imported/ Importe, and Importada/ Imported.
The left two cans are the standard domestic Brahma Chopp design used from 1972 to the early 1980s, one
with silver lettering and one with white lettering. The two right cans are the 1980's standard version, one
without Cerveja (first) and one with Cerveja (a later version).
Brahmas super-
premium brand came
in two colors, a gold
can (left) and a copper
color (right). The gold
can had two varia-
tions, one with one
line of text at the
bottom and another
with two lines.
Brahma Light was
introduced in 1982
and this is a test can
from that period.
Production cans
didnt appear until
the early 1990s.
This was Brazils
first low calorie beer.
A short-lived
Brahma brand
canned between
1984 and 1989.
Malt 90 is
pronounced
Mal-che Noventa
These two cans for export are similar except for the
wording in the gold above the logo. The Special
Pilsen was originally exported to Japan.
Three variations of Brahma Brazilian Pilsener. The can on the left says Imported
and the middle can states Export. The gold can is a later version with no
importer listed, but some of these cans are known to have gone to Australia.
A straight steel test can of which only three are
known (left). A more common paper label version
was also issued (right). Notice that the stripes on the
steel can run vertically, while on the paper label they
are horizontal
In 1899, Major Carlos Roiz Pinto opened a
brewery in Rio Claro, in the state of So Paulo.
Here he brewed a strong, dark beer, similar to
stout, which he named Caracu after a breed of
cattle. In 1930, control of the brewery passed
to the Scarpa family, which, as Grupo S, would
come to acquire three other breweries.
Skol International was formed by six
European brewers in 1964 with the visionary
goal of creating a worldwide beer brand.
Grupo S became one of the international
licensees of Skol in 1967, changing its name to
Indstrias Reunidas Skol-Caracu S.A. (which
literally means joined industries Skol-Caracu).
The company was acquired first by a
Brazilian-Canadian business group in 1968 and
then by Brahma in 1980, although the company
was allowed to operate independently within
the Brahma organization. The Rio Claro plant
was closed in 1994, with operations being
transferred to Brahma's Agudos plant. In the
1990s, Skol introduced Skol Bock and Skol Ice
and signed contracts to produce Carlsberg Beer
for the Brazilian market.
Skol was a leader in packaging innovations.
The notable Brazilian firsts that Skol was
responsible for include first can (1971), first
commemorative can (1972), first aluminum
can (1989), first 5-liter can (1990), first 500ml.
can (1993), first twist-off cap (1993), and first
wide-mouth can (1997).
Skol-Caracu
Skol
Caracu
The first brand in cans in
1971. This can is 340 ml.
and carries the words Sirva
gelada (serve cool) in black.
The second can was also a
340ml size, but had Sirva
gelada in red, as did sub-
sequent issues. Of all the
Skol International cans, this
size is the most difficult to
find. Cans after this size
went to 355ml before
settling on the present
standard 350ml size.
Issued in 1972,
this first Brazilian
commemorative
marks the
Sesquicentenrio
da Independncia
do Brasil,
1822-1972.
This is probably
the single most
sought-after
Brazilian can
by Brazilian
collectors.
Referred to as the Christmas
Can, it was issued over
several holiday seasons in five
variations. Four were filled in
Rio Claro, So Paulo, the fifth
in Nova Lima, Minas Gerais.
Boas Festas e Prspero Ano
Nova translates to Good
Holidays and Prosperous New
Year. The five languages
represent Brazil's main
immigrant groupsItalian,
Portuguese, Spanish, German
and Japanese.
The first two cans are
almost identical except
for the wording under
the oval design. Sirva
Gelada means Serve
Chilled and Forte
means strong. The
white can is a mistake
can that is missing the
red layer of paint.
In the 1980s, the name was changed to Skol Cerveja
Pilsen, initially with "Cerveja Pilsen" in black. All text
was later changed to red. There are dozens of minor
variations on both Skol International and Skol Pilsen
cans. Virtually all variations involve mandatory text,
canning company and type of seam.
Malzbier is similar to
malta, but WITH alcohol.
Malzbier Skol has two
variations; one with the
stabilizer listed as ET 2,
the other as EP II.
Primarily marketed for
export, although it was
also sold domestically.
The design is similar to
Skol Cerveja Pilsen cans.
Beer Cans & Brewery Collectibles December 2008/ January 2009 7
Beer Cans
& Brewery Collectibles
In 1868, Louis Bucher, originally from
Wiesbaden, Germany, began brewing in So
Paulo using whatever grains came to hand. In
1882 he entered a partnership with Joachim
Salles in the gua Branca district of the city.
Salles owned an ice machine, and so his firm
was named Antarctica, although the compa-
ny's primary business was slaughtering hogs.
The combined brewery and ice factory did
well. By 1890 they were producing 40,000
hectoliters (34,096 bbls) of beer per year and
employed some 200 people.
On May 11, 1891, the stock company Cia.
Antarctica Paulista S.A. (CAP) was formed.
Among the 61 stockholders were Joo Carlos
Antonio Zerrener and Adam Ditrik von Blow,
partners in an import-export firm in the city of
Santos. They were able to facilitate the import
of machinery and raw materials from North
America and Europe. But, the new company
became overextended and, during a financial
crisis in 1893, it passed to its principal credi-
tors, Zerrener, Blow & Cia. Once the company
finances were stablized, it was able to expand,
first by gaining control of and moving opera-
tions to Joseph Villiger's nearby Cervejaria
Bavria in 1904, then by opening branches in
Ribeiro Preto, Santos and Rio de Janeiro.
Von Blow died in the early 1920s. Two of
his children sold their shares of the firm to
Zerrener, making him the majority share-
holder. When he died ten years later, his
shares passed to his widow, Helene, who died
in 1940. The Zerreners had no children and
maintained ties with their native Germany. It is
not surprising, therefore, that both asked to be
buried in their hometown of Lbeck. It is more
surprising that Helene's will made a bequest to
"the sick and the poor families of the National
Socialist Party" with dispersal of the funds to
be at the discretion of the president of that
organization: "Senhor" Adolf Hitler.
Brazil was an Allied nation, and the govern-
ment was unwilling to allow the brewery to fall
into the hands of a hostile country. At one
point, political forces raided and occupied the
So Paulo plant during a board meeting. The
members of the board of directors were
arrested, except for one of von Blow's sons,
who held a diplomatic passport. The younger
von Blow made a plea to the president, and
the board members were released after ten
days as "guests" of the government. The
question of ownership of the brewery was then
tied up in the courts for the next thirty years.
This did not halt expansion of Antarctica.
The 1950s saw the purchase of plants in Ponta
Grossa, Paran and Campinas, So Paulo, and
the inauguration of a malting plant in So
Paulo. In 1961, Antarctica gained stock control
of Cervejaria Bohemia of Petrpolis. More than
a dozen plants were purchased or built by
1980, lifting production to 13.9 million barrels.
By 1999, another eight plants had been
opened, strengthening the company's base in
the southeast and amplifying its presence in
the north. In addition to the Antarctica,
Bohemia and Polar brands, the brewer intro-
duced Bavaria, Kronenbier non-alcoholic and
Antarctica Bock in the 1990s. A joint venture
with Anheuser-Busch resulted in the domestic
production of Budweiser for a brief period.
The basic red and white
design for this brand was
used throughout the steel
can years and even through
the first aluminum can.
There were many minor
variations of the text
through the years.
Antarctica
In 1999 Brahma and Antarctica began merger
talks. A merger between the nation's two
largest brewers, they said, would help Brazil
compete in the international marketplace.
Brazil's anti-trust agency agreed with this
proposition, and the merger was approved on
March 30, 2000. One required divestiture was
the sale of the Bavaria brand and two
breweries to Molson.
At its start, Cia. de Bebidas das Amricas (or
AmBev) was the fifth largest beverage business
in the world and controlled nearly 70% of the
Brazilian beer market. The Skol, Brahma and
Antarctica brands alone account for nearly 2/ 3
of all beer sales within the country. Over the
next three years, AmBev purchased breweries
in Uruguay, Paraguay, Guatemala and Ecuador,
opened a bottling plant in Peru and formed
alliances with Embodom in the Dominican
Republic and with Quilmes of Argentina for the
sale of beer in Chile and Bolivia.
In 2004, AmBev reached an agreement with
Interbrew of Belgium to form a global alliance.
Known collectively as InBev, the two divisions
operate independently in the eastern and
western hemispheres and therefore retain their
own names. Brahma Chopp was launched in
more than twenty countries as one of the
company's global brands. In 2007 Cervejarias
Cintra was purchased for the extra domestic
capacity. With the 2008 takeover of Anheuser-
Busch, the Brazilian-managed company has
become the single largest brewer in the world.
AmBev
In 1939, Primo Schincariol Indstria de
Cervejas e Refrigerantes (Industry of Beers and
Sodas) was founded in Itu, So Paulo. For the
next fifty years, production was limited to
soda, including the famous (or possibly
infamous) tutti-frutti flavored Itubana. The first
Schincariol beer appeared on the market in
1989 and was a commercial success. In 2003,
after an advertising campaign proclaiming
"half a word will do," the Schincariol brand
was transformed into Nova Schin. The
company also produces Primus, Glacial and
N.S.*2, a blend of beer, tequila and lime.
Brazil's second largest brewera distant
second with just 12% of the marketmakes
much of the fact that, unlike AmBev and
Kaiser, it is entirely Brazilian owned. Since
2000 growth has been rapid, and there are
now nine Schincariol plants around the
country (and more under construction), with
an annual production of 17 million barrels. In
an effort to broaden their range and tap into
the emerging craft beer market, Schincariol
has recently purchased three of the larger
microbrewers (Baden Baden, Devassa and
Eisenbahn).
Schincariol
Schincariols entry into the beer market began in 1989,
just before the introduction of aluminum cans. The beer
came in a bright gold can with red stripes at the seam
and a dull gold can with black stripes at the seam.
8 Beer Cans & Brewery Collectibles December 2008/ January 2009
Beer Cans
& Brewery Collectibles
Cervejarias Kaiser has a brief but interesting
history, which begins with Luiz Otvio Possas
Gonalves, owner of two large Coca-Cola
bottling plants in Minas Gerais. In 1981, at a
time when Brahma and Antarctica had a
monopoly on the market, he decided his
company should expand into brewing. Risking
all his firm's capital, he began building a
brewery in Divinpolis, Minas Gerais. The first
bottles of Kaiser were rolled out on April 22,
1982, only nine months after the start of
construction.
In the same year, Kaiser acquired Cervejaria
Mogiana in Mogi Mirim, So Paulo, purchasing
the brewery over the phone, sight unseen! To
finance this enterprise, Coke bottlers
throughout the southeast of the country were
invited to become associates. With technical
assistance from Heineken, production began at
both Mogi Mirim and a third plant in Rio de
Janeiro in 1983. Four additional breweries were
constructed in the next fifteen years, and the
Mogi Mirim plant was sold to Cervejaria Cintra
in 1997. In addition to Kaiser and Heineken,
the Xingu brand was purchased and Santa
Cerva was launched in 2001.
In 2002 Molson purchased Kaiser for $765
million. Kaiser's market share began to slip,
and the company fell into debt. In 2006,
FEMSA Cerveza of Mexico purchased 68% of
Kaiser for $68 million, with Molson retaining
15% and Heineken 17%. FEMSA expects to turn
Kaiser around and has reintroduced super-
premium Kaiser Gold and expanded produc-
tion of Bavaria Premium and Sol.
Kaiser
In 1993, a group of partners purchased land
in Petrpolis, a city already famous for its
water and brewing history. Their goal was to
produce a beer of the highest quality, and
Cerveja Itaipava was unveiled in 1994.
Somewhat curiously, the growing brewery
was sold to a new group of investors in
1998.
The new owners enlarged the brewery and
purchased Cervejaria So Paulo and its
Crystal Beer brand in 2001. This plant was
also enlarged and modernized. A hygienic
seal of thin foil covering the lid of each can
was introduced in December 2002 and has
since been adopted by other small brewers.
Petrpolis bought Cervejaria Terespolis in
2007, strengthening its bid for the number
three position in competition with Kaiser.
The Rest
The remaining 3 percent of the Brazilian
market is shared by at least seventeen brewers
large enough to can beer and approximately
100 microbreweries and brewpubs (this
number is hard to pin down because, as in
America, it changes constantly).
The majority of smaller brewers began as
producers of soft drinks or other alcoholic
beverages and then made the lateral move
into beer production. Malta, Krill, Conti,
WorldBev (Fornel), Conveno So Paulo,
Kilsen, Aralco, Imperial and Terespolis all fall
into this category.
Frevo and Zanni started life as distributors.
The balanceBelco, Germnia, INAB
(Colnia), INBEB (Spoller), Serra and Cerpa
set out with beer as their main focus.
Thanks to Jeff Lebo and Carlos Gurgel for
editorial and photo assistance.
Petrpolis
Left: A Cerveja means The Beer. This was the last
brand to begin canning in straight steel, resulting in
fewer variations. Right: This version is a test can.
These cans date just prior to the phasing out of steel
cans in 1991.
A very small sample of the over 1,100 Brazilian commemoratives is shown here. Among them are cans
commemorating the 5th and 6th conventions of the BCCA's Brasil Chapter (first and second from left).
Beer Cans & Brewery Collectibles December 2008/ January 2009 9
Beer Cans
& Brewery Collectibles
D espite Brazils collective passion for soccer and
the sam ba, the largest num ber of com m em ora-
tive cansover 300have been issued in the
agricultural south-central portion of the country,
to prom ote rodeos and/or agricultural expositions
throughout the year. These are usually only
distributed locally, although som e w ill occasionally
turn up in an unexpected spot.
C arnaval (M ardi G ras in Am erica) is a national
holiday celebrated the w eekend prior to the start
of Lent. In Rio de Janeiro and So Paulo, sam ba
schools parade in special stadium s, w hile the
state of Bahia holds a four-day street party. As a
result, com m em oratives are m ore profitably filled
for the Bahia m arket. Som e local festivals know n
as carnivals or, m ore properly, m icaretas, are
celebrated at other tim es of the year. These
celebration nam es usually take the form of a
contraction of carnivaland the city nam e
(C arnatal for N atal, RN , or C arnalfenas for
Alfenas, M G , as exam ples).
Soccer is the national sport and is follow ed
w ith a near religious fervor. It is only natural that
cans should celebrate the W orld C up and other
cham pionships. Kaiser has filled a series of cans
for specific soccer team s and a sim ilar series of
cans w as im ported from the U .S.A. in the 1990s.
In Am erica, w eve seen com m em oratives for
various sm all tow n centennials. Brazilians dont
w ait for such evenyears, m arking such irreg-
ular city anniversaries as 96th, 108th, or 239th.
O ktoberfest is celebrated in the south, m ostly
around the city of Blum enau, and several cans
have been issued to coincide w ith this event.
Brazilians love the beach and decam p to the
shore en m asse during C hristm as and January
school holidays. C ans celebrating the seaside,
C hristm as, and sum m er appear alm ost annually.
Another annual event is Festas JuninasJune
partiesw hich m arks the end of harvest season
and coincides w ith the feast days of Saints
Anthony, John and Peter. Partygoers dress in
country garb and eat foods containing unusual
quantities of corn and peanuts. Again, cans that
allude to these celebrations are often issued.
Finally, the BC C As ow n Brasil C hapter has, in
addition to air-filled cans, had ten cans produced
and filled for general distribution, announcing their
annual South Am erican C onvention.
Brazil is larger than the continental U .S. so
locating all of the cans issued is difficult. D ating
cans is easy, though. D educt six m onths from
the validity date on the bottom to get the fill date.
Brazils
Commemoratives
By Dan Hack #24765