With more than 10,000 years of history, beer today is much more than a drink associated with informal moments. Its cultural richness, the more than 160 styles that exist and its potential for gastronomic pairings have been gaining recognition, albeit slowly, in markets traditionally dominated by wine, such as Portugal.
This International Beer Day, always celebrated on the first Friday in August, thus serves as an invitation to discover a vast, constantly evolving universe.
The date was created in 2007 in the city of Santa Cruz, California (United States), by a group of friends who decided to establish a day to bring people together around one of the most widely consumed drinks in the world. The initiative took on an international dimension and is now marked in more than 50 countries.
According to Sagres beer sommelier and brand manager Filipa Santos, interest in beer often stems from discovering its complexity. From the ingredients to the different brewing schools, the drink offers a diversity that ranges from classic European beers to contemporary interpretations from the so‑called "New World".
Filipa, who has worked in marketing for 20 years and has been involved in the beer sector since 2011, has worked with several beer brands, both national and international, and took a beer sommelier course because she "felt the need to really know the product she worked with". Along the way, what fascinated her most was "the diversity and richness of the beer world".
