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Celebrating diversity, inclusion, equity, and justice within the craft beer community
Celebrating diversity, inclusion, equity, and justice within the craft beer community
Beer Culture Explore

Chicha de Jora – A Story About Corn Beer

Malu
2 Comments
September 28, 2020
6 Mins read
Farmer holding  corn cobs in hand in corn field. A close up of a

Chicha de Jora – A Story About Corn Beer

by Erin Fiorini

In a small community near Otavalo in Ecuador’s northern Andes, Concepción Fuérez gathers large tanampu leaves growing along a dirt path. At her home in Yambiro, Concepción makes a cocoon from the durable leaves and pours in dried maiz. She thanks the Pacha Mama, or Mother Earth for the maiz, sips a bit of water then sprays it onto the seeds. Fuerez, dressed in a traditional Otavalan skirt (anaku) and blouse, folds the leaves together to secure the maiz while her young son, Kuri, looks on. Finally, she places this package into a hole dug in the earth where it will stay for two weeks in order for the kernels to germinate. That’s the beginning of how chicha de jora, or corn beer, is made in Ecuador and most Latin American countries, from Guatemala to Chile.

 

Chicha de Jora. Photo courtesy of Blog de Viajes.

 

Well, actually, the beginning starts with the chicha de jora’s star ingredient—maiz. 

 

More on Maiz

Maiz refers to corn, but heirloom; hand-hybridized and crafted over millennia. There are hundreds of different maiz varieties whose kernels are larger, meatier and have a lower sugar content than the industrially designed sweet corn commonly grown in the United States and Canada, and now some parts of South America. Varieties range in color from brown, yellow and white to different shades of blue and red. In southern Ecuador, morocho, a dense, white maiz is often used for chicha de jora. These kinds of kernels form the foundation of not only chicha de jora, but food staples like humitas in Ecuador, arepas in Colombia, tortillas in Guatemala, pozole in Mexico, and … the list is infinite.

 

Photo courtesy of Yes! Magazine.

 

This heirloom grain is nothing less than sacred throughout Latin America and Mexico where it was first cultivated 9,000 years ago and where nearly 60 kinds of maiz are still grown. The ancient Maya origin story recounts that the first humans were molded from maiz. The Aztecs worshipped three different maiz deities—Centeotl, Xilonen and Chicomecoatl—one for each stage of the grain’s lifecycle; the Inca worshipped Zaramama, goddess of maiz. Maiz is also a symbol of modern day political and food sovereignty in the region. Sin maiz no hay pais—without corn there is no country, is a common refrain from Chile to Mexico as free trade disrupts traditional food production and consumption systems. This grain is also personal, familial. It’s not an over romanticization to say that Ecuador’s 25 different maiz types have been passed down generationally since pre-Colombian times. 

 

Making Chicha de Jora and Terroir

After two weeks, Concepción digs up the cocoon and opens the leaves. She smiles widely. The maiz has produced a germ: a hura in Kichwa, a word that has morphed into jora in Spanish, Concepcion’s brother, Segundo, tells me. Concepción dries the germinated maiz in the sun for about five days, grinds it into a fine wort, then boils it in a large pot for several hours. Fuerez stirs the mix until no residue floats to the top and most of the water has evaporated. She and her kids add panela (unrefined cane sugar), cinnamon, cloves and fresh lemon verbena, lemon balm and lemongrass. On a different day Concepción may have added fruit, a bit of pineapple or tomate de arbol to sweeten the chicha pot, a common practice in Ecuador and Peru.

 

From Central America to Chile, women, who traditionally make chicha de jora, may also use several different types of corn, and/or a mix of annual cereals and grains—wheat, barley, quinoa, fava, amaranth—from the family harvest in their particular chicha de jora recipe. This is the appeal of chicha de jora: you taste the terroir, or the particular soil and environment, ingredients and location in which it is produced. Each batch reflects the distinct ecosystem and personality of where it was made and by whom. This is because, with rare exceptions such as Santa Chicha in Ecuador and La Patria in Peru, chicha de jora is still artisanal, homemade by rural Indigenous and mestizo families whose livelihoods are based mainly on farming.

 

Terroir. Photo courtesy of Bodega Garzón.

 

They craft this alcoholic drink on special occasions like Carnaval and the pre-Christian agricultural festivals that mark each solstice and equinox. It’s also prepared for major family celebrations like weddings and baptisms when a pig roast is the typical menu item, my friend Gladys tells me from Ecuador. “I have the best memories of drinking chicha de jora at my mom’s house in the country at the pig roasts. My mom said the roast always tastes better with chicha de jora, so it quenches my thirst and takes me back to the memories of a house full of food and overflowing happiness.” Yes, city and suburban folks do still make the laborious chicha de jora, but always with the ingredients, knowledge and memories garnered from the countryside. 

 

Photo courtesy of Blog UNITEC.

 

Peru lore likes to give the Incas credit for creating the first batch of chicha de jora. Yet, their contemporary, albeit smaller tribes such as the Kitu, Purua and Cañari in present-day Ecuador were fermenting maiz as far back as 700 A.D., far before the Incan short-lived invasion into Central Ecuador in the 1400s. Further, there’s evidence of chicha vessels in the Andean region that date back to 5000 B.C. 

 

So, What’s it Like?

Concepción and her family strain the cooked wort and pour it into a large clay jug to ferment for two days, allowing it to register a low alcohol content, maybe one or two percent. The flavor takes on the added herbs, fruit and panela, but the underlying texture is tangy, acidic like a nice apple cider with a similar color. This is commonly referred to simply as chicha and anyone can drink this, even kids. Peru’s famous version is chicha morada, made from blue maiz and plenty of fruits. On other occasions, however, the chicha de jora will be left for at least two weeks until it arrives at an intense ferment. In Ecuador this can be anywhere from five to 12 percent ABV, which increases significantly if a bit of sugarcane moonshine is added at the time of serving. Across Ecuador, it is considered a man’s role to serve his family’s homemade chicha freely from a large vessel to all participants during the country’s three-day Carnival festivities and towns’ annual saint day celebrations.

 

Photo courtesy of Walac Noticias.

 

There’s generally no head on chicha de jora, but the texture is thicker than a lager, IPA or cider, and a taste completely distinct from any of these ferments. The mild maiz, local herbs, and unrefined cane sugar are present, but neither is the end product too sweet.

 

Where to Try Chicha

When the covid clears, the best way to try chicha de jora is by participating in a major festival, like Inti Raymi or Carnaval in Otavalo, Cañar, or Guamote in Ecuador where chicha is widely shared. Josue Moreno from Sereno Moreno in Quito tells me their white (4.5%ABV) and blue maiz (6%ABV) brews are made “100% with maiz, fruit, herbs and spices, without hops or malt.” Santa Chicha is another option, but is only sold in select stores in Quito. BarBarian in Lima, Peru makes what it calls a “modern version of chicha” with corn, quinoa, barley and honey. In the United States, Dos Luces Brewery is really the only brewery that has chicha de jora available year round. Cofounders Judd Belstock and Sam Alcaine produce several enticing chichas de jora, including a traditionally Peruvian style blue corn brew called Chicha Inti. They also serve Lulo Chicha, made with the slightly bitter lulo fruit, called naranjilla in Ecuador. 

 

Photo courtesy of Andina.

 

In addition, Dos Luces produces pulque, a maguey ferment traditional to Mexico. All their beverages are available mainly at their Colorado brewery and a few other establishments around the state. 

 

Avery Brewing, also in Colorado, came out with a special, one-time chicha, Pachamama. Similarly, Dogfish Head Craft Brewery has released a Peru-influenced chicha a few times since it first debuted in 2009. They even masticated some of the germinated blue maiz before the wort was boiled and fermented, a technique often employed in Peru and Bolivia.

 

For a non-alcoholic chicha, Inca’s Food makes chicha and chicha morada, available online and in certain U.S. supermarkets. Or, you can try your hand at making chicha. There are loads of chicha morada recipes on the internet and plenty of places to order the ingredients. Salud!

 

Photo courtesy of Peru Empire.
avery brewery beer chicha de jora corn corn beer craft beer craft beer industry dogfish head craft brewery dos luces brewery ecuador Erin Fiorini inca incan indigenous latin latinx maize native peru south america south american
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2 Comments
  1. ashley

    October 27, 2020 7:39 pm

    Fascinating read! I love how exploring something as simple as a beer recipe can cover so many other topics – culture, gender, environment, and so much more.

  2. Erin Fiorini

    November 23, 2020 4:17 pm

    Thanks, Ashley! Glad you enjoyed. Yes, it’s amazing what you can uncover just by looking at a single drink. cheers!

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I am sorry to our beer community and our queer com I am sorry to our beer community and our queer community. I made a mistake, and I’d like to make an apology.

Beer is for Everyone received an email a few days ago, and I jumped to conclusions about its meaning based on my own lived experiences.

As a person who identifies as a womxn, specifically a non-binary demi female womxn, I was defensive when I read the aforementioned email. Because of my own experiences of being invalidated and attacked, I took it to mean that the person was anti-queer.

However, I never followed up to find out a deeper reason why the sender said what they did. It’s not an excuse, but it is a reason - I get messages like this all the time and are usually very much racist, sexist, misogynistic, homophobic, transphobic, and the list goes on. So, I tend to just ignore them.

But, a friend brought it to my attention that they were confused as to why I used a word that can be seen as problematic.

After much discussion, I realized I wasn’t as clear as I needed to be. And, my assumption could have hurt someone.

I also needed to be more aware that just because I use that term to identify, I should have acknowledged that it, perhaps, should not be used by others, at least not if they don’t personally identify or have consent.

Identity politics are incredibly complex and ever-evolving. And, even though I consider myself well-versed and well-lived, I am wrong very often. So, I am truly sorry if I hurt anyone.

I will be following up with a longer post online at a later time once I can decompress. But, for now, I want to give this apology with my sincere sadness for any confusion or hurt that I may have caused.

-Lindsay

P.S. Pride release is still happening because our Pride is unwavering 🏳️‍🌈
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Read Ruvani de Silva's book review on our website now.
I am sorry to our beer community and our queer com I am sorry to our beer community and our queer community. I made a mistake, and I’d like to make an apology.

Beer is for Everyone received an email a few days ago, and I jumped to conclusions about its meaning based on my own lived experiences.

As a person who identifies as a womxn, specifically a non-binary demi female womxn, I was defensive when I read the aforementioned email. Because of my own experiences of being invalidated and attacked, I took it to mean that the person was anti-queer.

However, I never followed up to find out a deeper reason why the sender said what they did. It’s not an excuse, but it is a reason - I get messages like this all the time and are usually very much racist, sexist, misogynistic, homophobic, transphobic, and the list goes on. So, I tend to just ignore them.

But, a friend brought it to my attention that they were confused as to why I used a word that can be seen as problematic.

After much discussion, I realized I wasn’t as clear as I needed to be. And, my assumption could have hurt someone.

I also needed to be more aware that just because I use that term to identify, I should have acknowledged that it, perhaps, should not be used by others, at least not if they don’t personally identify or have consent.

Identity politics are incredibly complex and ever-evolving. And, even though I consider myself well-versed and well-lived, I am wrong very often. So, I am truly sorry if I hurt anyone.

I will be following up with a longer post online at a later time once I can decompress. But, for now, I want to give this apology with my sincere sadness for any confusion or hurt that I may have caused.

-Lindsay

P.S. Pride release is still happening because our Pride is unwavering 🏳️‍🌈
#Repost from @goldspotbrewing • Two new beers fo #Repost from @goldspotbrewing
•
Two new beers for y’all!  First: Out Loud Maibock - collaboration with @fictionbeer has notes of honey, bread and a refreshing finish. Benefiting @transformative_freedom_fund and @everywhereisqueer  Second: Our newest West Coast IPA with notes of mango, pine and orange 🥭🍊🌲
In response to the events transpiring in the world In response to the events transpiring in the world, we thought we’d share this reminder: Beer is for Everyone. All of us; not some of us 🍻

We received a message from someone saying, “What a great idea and group! I was ready to support until I saw the use of the word “womxn”. Sorry…” 

So, in case you didn’t know, beer is for everyone! And, we unequivocally mean it.

Beer is for…

Trans folx
Queer folx
Non-binary folx
LGBTQIAA2S+
QTBIPOC
Womxn

Beer is for Everyone

And, to celebrate our love for our diverse, intersectional community, we are doing a surprise PRIDE drop. 

But, it’s not June. How could we be releasing Pride merch? Well, guess what, Pride is 365/24/7 here 🌈 As it should be. 

Cheers! Stay tuned for much more - We might be making this a double drop special. 

Mark your calendars for 3/31 at noon PST on Transgender Day of Visibility- As a direct response to the anti-trans, anti-queer legislation and rhetoric surrounding our nation, we combat them with awareness, advocacy, and radical joy.
An event from @rhythmbrewingco • Brewing Change: An event from @rhythmbrewingco
•
Brewing Change: A Conversation & Beer Tasting with Alisa Bowens-Mercado @ladylager1 Tuesday, March 28th 6-7:30pm, Location @ontherocksqu, 305 Sherman Ave, Hamden, CT.

We will also be showing a short clip of the documentary @onepintfilm which highlights Black brewers, brand owners, and influencers across the country who are reshaping the craft beer industry. This event is being co-sponsored by the Department of Cultural and Global Engagement, M&T Bank Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship, and the M&T Bank Center for Women & Business.

*No person under the age of 21 years will be served or allowed to consume alcoholic beverages at the event. Proof of age will be required. 

Please use form (link in bio) to register for the event and submit questions you would like answered during the Q&A portion.
Our “Beer Unites” shirt on our amazing @ladies Our “Beer Unites” shirt on our amazing @ladieswhobrew
•
#repost 
Drinking beer in my @beerisforeveryone shirt. @skeletonkeybrewery
#crazyhairdontcare
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Yellow plastic crates with beer bottles in a brewery.,Bairds Brewery,Japan

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