Top 10 Breweries in Brazil
Brazil is the world's third-largest beer market by volume and home to one of the most vibrant craft beer scenes in the southern hemisphere. The country's German and Italian immigrant heritage — concentrated in the southern states of Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, and Paraná — created a brewing tradition that pre-dates the current craft movement by over a century. The contemporary craft scene that emerged in the 2000s has built on that heritage while incorporating influences from American, Belgian, and British brewing with genuine energy and originality.
1. Bodebrown, Curitiba, Paraná
Bodebrown is arguably the most internationally acclaimed Brazilian craft brewery. Founded in Curitiba by Samuel Cavalcanti and Caio Gomes, it has won medals at the World Beer Cup and other international competitions in categories including barrel-aged imperial stouts, saisons, and experimental Belgian-influenced ales. The Perigosa Imperial Stout is the flagship: a dense, coffee-chocolate-rich barrel-aged stout that competes with American and British benchmarks. Bodebrown also operates a brewing school that has trained many of Brazil's second-generation craft brewers, making it as influential on the industry infrastructure as on the product side.
2. Wäls, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais
Wäls has been one of Brazil's most prominent craft producers since its founding in Belo Horizonte, producing a range that includes Belgian-influenced ales, IPAs, and a Tripel that won significant recognition internationally. The Wäls Petroleum Imperial Stout and Wäls Quadruppel have been the commercial flagships. The brewery's acquisition by AB InBev in 2015 was controversial within the Brazilian craft community, but the beers have maintained their technical quality under the larger ownership.
3. Way Beer, Pinhais, Paraná
Way Beer operates near Curitiba and has built a reputation for hop-forward IPAs and Pale Ales that reference the American West Coast IPA tradition. Founded in 2010, Way Beer distributes nationally and has expanded its production significantly. The Juicy Way New England IPA and the Way IPA have been the most award-decorated products. Way Beer represents the generation of Brazilian craft brewers that moved beyond the European-heritage styles to fully engage with contemporary American craft conventions.
4. Colorado Brewery, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo
Colorado is one of Brazil's most distinctive craft producers, built on a systematic use of Brazilian ingredients — cassava (mandioca), rapadura (raw cane sugar), guaraná, and regional honey — in beer styles otherwise recognizably Belgian or British. The Colorado Indica (an amber ale with cassava and rapadura) and Colorado Vixnu (an Imperial IPA) are the flagships. Colorado was acquired by AB InBev in 2015 but its ingredient-forward approach and Brazilian identity have been maintained. The Ribeirão Preto production facility and taproom remain important to the state's craft beer tourism.
5. Cervejaria Bamberg, Votorantim, São Paulo
Bamberg is Brazil's most decorated German-tradition brewery and, uniquely, a specialist in Rauchbier — the smoked beer style associated with Bamberg, Bavaria (whose name the Brazilian brewery deliberately echoes). The Bamberg Rauchbier has won international competitions and introduced Brazilian drinkers to a style that is niche even in Germany. The brewery's commitment to technically demanding styles — Doppelbock, Weizenbock, smoked lager — in a market that could easily support only accessible styles demonstrates the depth of craft ambition that has made the southern Brazilian scene distinctive.
6. Cervejaria Tupiniquim, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul
Tupiniquim has built its identity on irreverence and creativity — the name references the indigenous Tupi people of Brazil's coast, and the beers frequently incorporate ingredients and references from Brazilian popular and indigenous culture. The Tupiniquim Cannabis Sativa (hemp seed pale ale), Tupiniquim Canabier, and fruit-forward seasonal beers have attracted national attention. Porto Alegre's strong craft beer culture — the southernmost major city's proximity to the German immigrant heartland — provides a sophisticated local audience.
7. Stadt Brewing, Joinville, Santa Catarina
Stadt operates in Joinville, Santa Catarina, one of Brazil's most heavily German-influenced cities, and embraces that heritage in its product range: Kolsch, Märzen, Hefeweizen, and Munich Dunkel alongside more contemporary styles. The German-immigrant brewing tradition in the Blumenau-Joinville corridor is the strongest in Latin America, and Stadt is its most technically accomplished current representative.
8. Bierhoff, Jaraguá do Sul, Santa Catarina
Bierhoff is another Santa Catarina producer that draws on German heritage while building its own contemporary identity. The core lager range is technically polished and the seasonal German-style specialties — Bock, Doppelbock, Weizenbock — demonstrate the depth of commitment to tradition.
9. Patagonia (Cerveja Patagônia), Salvador, Bahia
The Brazilian Patagônia brand — distinct from the Argentine Patagonia Brewing — is a AB InBev premium brand positioned at the intersection of Argentine and Brazilian brewing culture. The Salvador, Bahia facility is the primary production site. The Patagônia Weiss and Patagônia IPA have achieved wide distribution in urban Brazilian markets.
10. Hocus Pocus, Rio de Janeiro
Hocus Pocus is Rio de Janeiro's most internationally acclaimed craft brewery, producing sour beers, IPAs, and experimental ales that have attracted attention from the international craft community. The Hocus Pocus Nortada, a New England IPA, and the Sorelle sour series have been the most discussed. Rio's hot climate makes the production of stable, hop-forward, and sour beers technically demanding — Hocus Pocus has managed this challenge with notable success.
Explore on the map
Brazil's craft breweries are concentrated in the south (Paraná, Santa Catarina, Rio Grande do Sul) but spread throughout the country's major cities. Open the map to explore the full geography and find the breweries near your itinerary, from São Paulo to Florianópolis.