Chile's festival of beer in Malloco

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From Santiago we headed to opening night at Chile's Oktoberfest, to taste some beers, talk to some brewers, and get a head start on a list of people we hoped to talk to here on Saturday. Pablo is hoping to find a brewery that he could work in - his technical knowledge should be useful here for many of these start-ups, and he wants to gain experience on large batch equipment. Unlike the festival we went to in Argentina, this place was set up to showcase the beer, not to be purely a big party. Saturday was busier and I was soon exhausted in the heat and sat down for a while while Pablo chatted with brewers. We were happy to try a beer made with quinoa, one of my favorite grains, and picked up bottles of beer brought all the way here from Rapa Nui, Easter Island. There were lots and lots of tents, and many more breweries than we knew existed. Some stood out as being technically good, others had their basic flaws, but it looks like the brewing industry in Chile is doing well so far and has lots of potential. Pablo made lots of contacts and hopes to start work with someone soon, but everyone is busy with the festival, then come the holidays, so it might not be for a while.

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