Heard of Catharina Sour? It’s a great summer beer!

In beer competitions, we judge everything from international lagers to hazy American IPAs and barrel-aged imperial stouts. It’s rare to encounter a new style, however. In a recent competition, I was one of the lucky few to judge a style I had never heard of, Catharina Sour. For the judges around that table, it caused mixed feelings: equal levels of confusion and excitement.

Perhaps you have heard of it? I’ve learnt, thanks to this beer competition, that Catharina Sour is a beer style originally from Brazil. Brewers are constantly pushing the boundaries, and this particular style was defined in 2015 during a workshop with craft brewers and homebrewers in the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina – an area with a strong German influence, which is also noticeable in its beer culture.

This new discovery is like a stronger Berliner Weisse – so basically a fruited sour wheat beer, with local fruit such as guava, dragon fruit and tamarind. The highly carbonated beer has a light body and restrained alcohol. The fresh fruit takes centre stage, making it really refreshing and vibrant.

It was such a positive surprise to discover the style and get the chance to try a few Catharina Sours in the competition. Admittedly, me and my fellow judges didn’t have a clue about some of the exotic fruits used (even after googling them), but it was a fantastic tasting experience that sparked our curiosity!

With heaps of fresh fruit, clean and crisp sourness and sparkly carbonation, this is not only a great beer for the hot climate in Brazil, but also a refreshing summer beer for us northerners – try it as an aperitif, with a summer salad or grilled fish, or just on its own.

Is sustainable working for everyone?

By Alejandra Cerda Ojensa

Yesterday, I sat sewing and listening to the radio. I heard Joseph Stiglitz, winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics, argue that the retirement age in a country should not be the same for everyone. He argued that it should rather be a matter of how many years you’ve worked, because people working low-income jobs start working earlier, while academics start working later. Looking at years worked would make it fairer.

This morning as I scrolled my phone in bed, I saw not only one but two people on my Facebook, selling everything they own to live unconventional lives. One of them was moving to Bali and the other one into a van. I don’t know how they are going to support themselves financially but I assume they have jobs they can do remotely.

I started thinking of my parents. They have very similar backgrounds but very different experiences from working. My mom worked as an assistant nurse in elderly care with many heavy lifts, while my dad had the opportunity to work an office job with a better salary and conditions than my mom ever had. Life has definitely treated them differently, also after retiring.

I couldn’t help but wonder: What will happen to society as we know it if more of us fulfill ourselves with less work and more time to live? Would we consume less and live more sustainable lives? Personally, I hope for a societal change where the opportunities to choose a sustainable life are attainable for more people. To slow down shouldn’t be a privilege.

By Malin Norman

columnist Alejandra Cerda Ojensa is a Swedish sustainability blogger based in Copenhagen. She loves sustainable fashion, plant-based food, natural wines and music.

Instagram: alejandracerda.co