E-Malt.com News article: Venezuela: Polar beer shortage makes government increase support for craft beer

Venezuela's corporate elite sure know how to hit voters where it hurts, and the hits are now coming in a predictable cycle. Ahead of the 2013 presidential vote, businesses stopped producing sugar. Before the 2013 municipal elections, food manufacturer Polar's iconic pre/baked cornflour mysteriously disappeared from supermarket shelves. Now, Polar's beer has run dry just three months out from the December National Assembly elections, teleSUR reported on August 26.

As usual, Polar is blaming the shortages on the national government: import woes and difficulties obtaining foreign currency. Along with the fact that Polar is one of the largest private recipients of government distributed dollars at preferential rates, the company's own workers say the main cause of the shortage isn’t a lack of production supplies, but political interests. This isn't the first time such allegations have been made. In December 2014, union representatives in the states of Sucre and Anzoategui alleged the company was trying to gag workers who had accused the company of trying to create artificial food shortages. The workers said the company had almost halved production of pre-baked cornflour, amid shortages of the product in some parts of the country.

The purpose behind these shortages is clear: Polar thinks if it doesn't ferment beer, it'll ferment popular discontent with the government of President Nicolas Maduro. Like scarcity of other products such as baked cornflour, the beer shortage is already cutting deep, in a country that normally has a big thirst. On average, Venezuelans drink around 85.5 litres of beer each year according to a 2014 study by survey firm Bonial. That's about three and a half pints a week. Comparably, the U.S. average is 77.1 litres of beer per year. In Venezuela, over 80 percent of beer is produced by Polar, meaning a drop in the company's output could leave much of the country unable to get their hands on beer. In Caracas, residents have complained it can be almost impossible to buy a beer on weekends, with stores selling out early. Amid the scarcity a small handful of unscrupulous entrepreneurs are taking advantage of the situation by hoarding beer and selling it at inflated prices. Residents who spoke to teleSUR complained that after hours of hunting for beer, their search would invariably end with buying a few bottles on the black market at prices more than double the standard rate. Others have simply turned to rum and aguardiente (moonshine), while some drinkers are getting creative.

Since early August, Venezuela's traditionally small craft beer industry has swelled. What began as a disparate movement by beer lovers with no beer, the craft brewing scene has already begun to garner government support. On Aug. 7-8, the Ministry of Culture hosted a craft beer festival in Caracas' Teresa Carreno Theatre. The festival featured 30 craft breweries with around 100 types of beer, ranging from the light pilseners typical of Venezuela, to dark ales that few Venezuelans have ever tried. The variety of beers on display was limited compared to international beer festivals, but for Venezuela it was groundbreaking. Venezuelans are staunchly traditional in their drinking habits, rarely straying from light pilseners like Polar beer. Moreover, in ordinary times, Venezuelan supermarkets and liquor stores would barely stock a handful of craft beers – maybe one or two varieties at the most.

The emergence of craft beer as an alternative to Polar's monopoly epitomizes the Venezuelan popular response to scarcity. When corn flour went scare, many Venezuelans turned to alternative ingredients, rediscovering old recipes that didn't require the modern pre-baked flour. When toothpaste disappeared from shelves, some communities started making their own.


28 August, 2015