During a recent trip to Aruba, I visited the Balashi Brewery, which produces Aruba’s major beverages, including beer. The “Brouwerij Nacional Balashi” is a state-of-the-art laboratory built in 1998 that uses computer software to maintain a high-quality brewing process.
Brewery tours, offered for $10 and including a beer at the tour’s conclusion, are scheduled in the morning because the building gets pretty warm as the day goes on. One of the reasons Aruba is so appealing as a tourist destination is its location. The island is outside of “Hurricane Alley,” so it has very consistent weather, with an average temperature of 82 degrees throughout the year.
The tour started closer to 10:30 a.m. (they are on island time, after all). The brewery recommended beforehand that we wear jeans, shirts with a sleeve (t-shirts are fine) and sneakers. Each of us had to don a hairnet as well. This was the first brewery I’ve toured that included this requirement.
The brewery has a lovely entrance, filled with beautiful flowers that offer a colorful contrast to the area’s industrial vibe. While we waited to get started, I checked out the beer garden, which has a nice offering of food for folks who want to come over for lunch or an early dinner. Four-top and high-top tables dot the space; those who want to stick closer to the bar can grab one of the chairs there.
The tour itself is rather simple. We climbed a set of stairs that brought us up on a catwalk-like structure that enabled us to view the entire bottling operation. This second-story walkway runs the length of most of the building, so you can see down into various areas like bottle washing, labeling and packing.
This location also bottles soft drinks in the Coca-Cola brand, including Diet Coke, Coke Zero, Sprite, Diet Sprite, Sprite Zero and noncarbonated Powerade, Vitamin Water, Minute Maid, Jugos del Valle and Fuze Tea. The facility also produces the Tropical brand of soft drinks. Bottling capacity is an impressive up to 15,000 bottles per hour.
Balashi uses desalinated and treated ocean water to brew its delicious beers. The rest of their ingredients come from other countries such as Guatemala (sugar). Malt and hops are imported from Germany; the malt comes from Rheinland-Pfalz, and the hops are grown in Hallertau. Hallertau hops are Noble hops known for low bitterness and great aroma and used in the original German lagers.
In addition to brewing and bottling tasty beverages, Balashi is also adapting to more environmentally friendly practices, such as changing its bottles to use less plastic. Additionally, the grain used in the beer-making process is sent to farmers and fed to pigs (I bet that bacon tastes amazing!).
The company’s German beer masters developed its signature beer, Balashi. The newest beer, Chill, is a lighter, crisp beer, perfect for the summertime. Hopi Bon is Balashi’s premium beer, and Hopi Stout is great when you’re looking for a bit more complexity.
Balashi’s products continue to earn awards. In 2013, the ITQI Superior Taste Award went to Chill. In 2004, Balashi received the Grand Gold medal in Brussels for the Monde Selection. The company received a Gold medal in the same category in 2001.
After the tour, we headed to the beer garden to relax with a complimentary brew. My advice: if you’re traveling in Aruba, be sure to visit for a tour or pick up a Balashi and enjoy a taste of Aruba!
- Photos: Diane Cooney
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