Location: Sal, Cape Verde |
The country of Cape Verde is made up of ten islands. During our visit in October 2024, we stayed on the island of Sal in a town called Santa Maria. Our hotel only had one beer available, but luckily we managed to find a lovely craft beer bar nearby and a handful of craft beers in a shop that sold local products.
Bodeguinha
A cosy craft beer bar in Santa Maria, Sal
Most bars on Sal offer Strela – the main Cape Verdean beer – and some also have Portuguese beers, such as Super Bock. But craft beer is limited, so if you want your craft beer fix, Bodeguinha is well worth a visit.
You’ll find it just around the corner from the taxi rank in Santa Maria, so it’s pretty centrally located.
It’s a small bar with a handful of tables, serving craft beer and food. We visited twice for drinks, but we didn’t eat there, so can’t comment on the food.
The guy who runs Bodeguinha was super friendly and happy to talk us through the beers. Unfortunately, he didn’t have any Sal-brewed beers in stock as the local brewery only brewed at certain times of the year. However, he did have a selection of beers from Cervejaria Afreecana – a brewery located on one of the other Cape Verde islands, Santiago.
We also found most of the Afreecana beers in a local shop selling locally made produce, so you can stock up on your favourites to take home.
Visiting
Bodeguinha is a short walk from Santa Maria pier.
Afreecana beers
Brewed on Santiago, Cape Verde
Rabeladuz: Saison 6.8%
Brewer’s note: Afreecana Rabeladuz is a tribute to a small religious community on the Island of Santiago, where in the 1940s, the community revolted against the Catholic Church. It is a Saison-style beer, very dry, light acidity, highly carbonated and with floral notes, spiced accompanied by an aroma reminiscent of sugarcane molasses, resulting from the addition of sugarcane juice in the recipe. It matches well with sausages, pasta, shrimp and beef.
Zulu: Wheat beer 4.8%
Brewer’s note: Belgian witbier made of wheat, dark in color and cloudy. Coriander seeds, orange peel and tamarind. The Afreecana Zulu is a tribute to the largest tribe in South Africa, led in high territorial conquests by its chief Shaka Zulu.
It’s a traditional wheat beer with the addition of tamarind, refreshing with high carbonation, it has an aroma that recalls to banana and clove, accompanied by a characteristic acidity of the tamarind added in the formulation. As it does not go through the filtration process, it retains the brewer’s yeast in each bottle, characteristic of the style. It matches well with cheeses, hams, seafood, etc.
Bidjogo: IPA 6%
Brewer’s note: Afreecana Bidjogo is a tribute to the “Bijagós” archipelago, which are a set of coastal islands in Guinea-Bissau. It is an India Pale Ale beer style, hoppy, moderately strong, well smoothed with a dry finish and a strong mango reminiscent aroma, added in the recipe. It matches well with craft burgers, pizzas and with spicy and strong flavor food.
Paixon: New England IPA 6%
Brewer’s note:
Paixon is a New England India Pale Ale style beer, known for its appearance, fruity aroma and low bitterness. It has intense notes of passion fruit, with a hint of orange. This NEIPA offers a smooth, velvety flavour profile with a subtle bitterness that allows the fruity flavours to dominate. The medium body and moderate carbonation make it an easy-drinking beer.
Baia: Cream Ale 5%
Brewer’s note: Afreecana Baia is a wave of emotions, a celebration of the sea, a tribute to friendship, music and animation. It is a cream ale style beer with added corn, refreshing, with high carbonation, light and easy to drink. It has a sweet scent similar to corn, accompanied by a straw yellow colour. Because it does not go through the filtration process it preserves the brewer’s yeast in each bottle.
Mandinga: Porter 6%
No brewer’s note on this one, but it was a pretty solid porter and made a nice change to the lagers we’d been drinking in the hotel.
Follow us:
