Here is an interesting article about Panama beer I down-loaded from a link within a chat group.

I've tried all brands of beer in Panama...the brand name "Panama" beer seems to satisfy me the most.

What beer do you prefer when visiting Panama?

AJ


Beers of Panama, Part I: Balboa, Atlas, and Their Sibling Brews from Cerveceria Nacional
Mar 28 '04

The Bottom Line When in Panama, do as the Panamanians do---drink LOTS of ICE COLD domestic beers, like those brewed by Cerveceria Nacional...

If you ever get a chance to visit Panama, don't hesitate, don't hem and haw. Just DO IT! Panama is a beautiful country with some standout destinations, a well-developed tourist infrastructure, and a generally safe, stable climate with good people and good vibes. Gustatory pleasures abound throughout Panama, and the pleasures extend to the beers as well.

While most of the beers found in Panama are light, inoffensive pale lagers, there are exceptions, and even among the mainstream beers, when the mercury starts climbing along with the midday sun, there's really no refreshment on Earth quite as good as an ice cold light pale lager beer. Its a pleasure that Panamanian brewers long ago mastered magnificently...

I'm a lazy reviewer at heart and don't feel like posting 10 reviews with comments on each of the beers that I tasted in Panama, but I would like to share a few thoughts on each since these are truly "hard to find" beers -- at least they are if you're outside of Panama.

Beers in Panama...
Of all the countries in Central America, Panama almost certainly has the widest range of domestic brands, not to mention at least a handful of imported brands and the occasional contract-brewed beer. There's a half-dozen strong national marquees, plus some offshoots and a few foreign labels.

Far and away, the dominant style is the same ubiquitous light pale American style lager that dominates the beer market of every country in the Americas. Pick up a bottle of almost any Panamanian beer, and you'll get something thats not much different from the dull, mainstream beers of the U.S. But explore around the fringes, and you'll find some differences here and there, plus the occasional surprise.

There's two breweries in Panama, both located in Panama City: Cerveceria Nacional is the oldest and largest of the two, having been established in 1909 and accounting for roughly 70 percent of the Panamanian beer market. Cerveceria Baru is the up-and-coming challenger, with about 30 percent of the market.

Cerveceria Nacional...

Balboa
I like the straightforward painted label bottle, but thats really as far as my praise for Balboa is going to go. Its generally a very light, very direct, uninteresting pale lager with something of a grainy edge to it with some sulfuric corniness. The balance tilts toward the sweet and the beer cries out for a heavier hand on the hops to give it some character. At 3.8 percent alcohol, its going to take quite a few of these to tip you towards tipsy.

Rating: 2 stars

Balboa Ice
As a rule, I avoid any beer with the word "ice" on its label. U.S. brewers tend to use it as a synonym for "worst swill in the house" (well, next to the worst anyway, since "light" usually means absolute rock bottom).

Given my natural bias against anything labeled "ice", Balboa Ice was actually quite a pleasant surprise. In fact, I liked it quite a bit better than the standard Balboa.

Balboa Ice is a stronger beer than its namesake, coming in with an alcohol level of 4.8 percent as opposed to the 3.8 percent of a Balboa. The surprising part though is that the beer isn't just stronger in the buzz department, its also more assertive and well rounded in the flavor department. Side by side with Balboa, its apparent that Balboa Ice is the beer with the more substantial body and more malt character. The differences aren't enormous, but they are noticeable. Hops are light, the beer is generally smooth and refreshing, and with what I consider "normal" alcohol for the style, its a pretty decent brew on the whole.

Rating: 3 stars

Atlas
There's not a lot of difference between Balboa and Atlas, aside from image that is. Locals told me that Atlas had something of an image as a "man's beer", but I don't know why. Maybe for the same reason as Bud in the U.S. -- advertising, not substance. Like Bud, Atlas is a pretty lame beer. Light, bland, and overly direct. Its also got a bit of a sulfury corn edge to the flavor. The beer has a generally soft, lady-like character with a somewhat sweet flavor. Not a favorite of mine.

Rating: 2 stars

H.B.
H.B. caught me off a guard a bit. When I was told that it was a dark beer (cerveza oscura), I expected something along the lines of a tropical foreign style stout, along the lines of Lion or even the Guinness that's contract brewed in Panama by Baru -- instead, what I got was a light amber colored lager that loosely resembled Texas favorite, Shiner Bock, or more accurately perhaps, New York favorite, Genesee Bock.

At just 3.6 percent alcohol by volume, H.B. is a beer thats well suited to the warm climate of Panama -- a beer that could be quaffed in quantity without knocking a drinker on his back. Its light bodied with a direct sweet malt flavor with just the slightest edge of caramel for complexity. Lightly hopped, its a smooth, light beer that will probably stun few critical palates.

Rating: 3 stars

Bottom Line...
I'm not generally impressed by the beers coming out of Cerveceria Nacional. They are all magnificent warm weather, good-time brews when you're out in the sun and have an absolutely ice-cold bottle in your hand, but they don't stand up well to critical evaluation. Most are too light to be interesting with inadequate hopping levels and the occasional flash of harshness. Ingredients are usually listed on bottles in Panama, and none of these beers indicate the presence of adjunct cereal grains, but the flavor does not back up any assertions as to their supposedly all-malt heritage.

Balboa Ice is the best of Cerveceria Nacional's lineup of domestic beers. If you push the product line to include beers that they brew under foreign contract or import under foreign contract, then their best product is the locally brewed Lowenbrau, which does taste like its got a solid all-malt base and a decent hand on the hop pocket.

Until next time, see you on the beach. I'll be drinking whatever the local beers might be, and chances are, I'll be lovin' every sip!

Salud!

Beers of Panama Part 2: Panama, Sobrerana, and their Siblings from Cerveceria Baru
Mar 29 '04

The Bottom Line Best beer sold in Panama? Guinness. Best truly Panamanian beer? Panama. Both proudly brewed in Panama City by Baru...

Panama is a fabulous country to visit, and to make your visit even more pleasurable, plan to indulge in the local beers. They aren't really worth seeking out on an international level, but when you sample them on their home turf (or rather on their home sandy shores), there is really no beer on Earth that could ever be quite as refreshing and delicious!

There's two breweries in Panama, both located in Panama City: Cerveceria Nacional is the oldest and largest of the two, having been established in 1909 and accounting for roughly 70 percent of the Panamanian beer market. Cerveceria Baru is the agile, up-and-coming challenger, with about 30 percent of the market. In Part 1 of this mini-series, I told you about the beers brewed by Panama's largest brewery -- Cerveceria Nacional. In this second part, I focus on Panama's "other" brewery: Cerveceria Baru.

The Brews of Cerveceria Baru...
Across the whole product line, I think Baru has the stronger, better quality lineup of beers when stacked up against Nacional. Panama easily trumps Balboa in the battle of flagship brands, and their Sobrerana, though anemic, is smoother and more refreshing for the true light-bodied beer drinkers. With their contract-brewed rendition of the classic Guinness Stout, Baru has a fascinating range of brews in its portfolio.

Panama
Over the last few weeks, Panama has been my mainstay. Vitamin P, I call it.

Desayuno, almuerzo, o cena -- chances are I've got a tall painted label bottle of Panama sitting close at hand.

While the beer is still too light for my tastes on a typical day, on a Panamanian day, its a Godsend. Hops is the key to my drinking pleasure here -- Panama clearly has some hops character, a character thats all too obscured in every other beer brewed in this Central American paradise. While Balboa, Atlas, and even Baru's Sobrerana compete for the wimp market, Panama stands alone as a beer that's actually worth drinking for its flavor properties -- not just its ability to slake the thirst of a sun-drenched drinker.

At 4.5 percent alcohol, its also among the stronger beers in Panama, but with its evident malt side, this is one of the only beers in the country thats probably actually brewed to something approaching the 12 degree Plato average that most of the worlds breweries seem to observe.

Cerveceria Baru does export to the U.S. and to other Latin American countries, but in my opinion, the beer is not one I would seek out, except on its home turf. If you do look for it, be aware that the brewery markets this beer in some countries as "Panama Premium", but with a paper label instead of the classy painted label bottles that you find on its home turf. (There's also a "Panama Extra", but I think its a lighter version of this beer.)

Rating: 3 stars (maybe a touch more, even)

Sobrerana
1,000 miles to the north, this beer would be called "Corona Extra", because that's essentially what it is -- an exceedingly light and anemic beer that's long on image of smooth-talkin' good times, but shockingly short on substance if you're the kind of person who likes a little flavor to go along with whatever it is that you're putting in your mouth. Bland, bland, bland.

Sobrerana is often described as "smooth" or "refreshing" -- and it is. So is water, but I don't particularly want to start writing reviews of water. Lets just say that if you actually like drinking Corona, Sol, or that Michelob Ultra swill that's currently masquerading as "beer", well, you'll probably be in brewski heaven with a cool Sobrerana in hand.

Rating: 2 stars (and only because I'm being nice today)

Guinness Stout
Not quite the dry Irish classic style that you find in Guinness Extra Stout, but a very nice, deeply roasty, and thoroughly flavorful dark beer, nonetheless. This is easily the hands-down best beer brewed in Panama, even if it is a foreign label contract beer. Next time I go to Panama, I'm bringing me a couple bottles of Guinness Extra from the U.S. so I can do a true side-by-side comparison. Even without the bottle in front of me though, its clear that the Panamanian rendition is sweeter and stronger tasting than the soft, slightly sour, dry roast flavor of a classic Guinness. A fascinating brew, and one that I'd be buying by the case if I lived in this part of the world.

Rating: 4 stars

Malta del Baru and Super Malta
Are you familiar with "malta"? It's not a true beer, since its more of a no (or low) alcohol concoction. In the U.S., you can buy malta in most grocery stores (look for Goya Malta in the mexican food aisle). Malta is a dark beverage. It starts its life like beer, with a mashing process to extract sugars from malt, and is then boiled like beer -- but with extensive additions of cane sugar. Some brands of malta leave it at that, but at Baru, the malta is also hopped, just like their beers.

Rating: 1-1/2 stars

Bottom Line...
LOVE icy cold Panama beer while hanging out by the pool or beach. LOVE sipping cool Guinness while sitting in the ritzy harbor front restaurants and nightclubs along the Amador Causeway. Can even stand having the occasional light, smooth, refreshing Sobrerana thrust into my hands when the sun beats on me mercilessly.

Overall, I like the Baru beers better than the Nacional beers. There's exceptions though -- I'd be happier with a Balboa than a Sobrerana, but fortunately for me, ALL Baru and Nacional brands are available just about everywhere. And if you get tired of those, you can work your way into the imported brands (and by the way, Baru is the importer for Warsteiner -- one of Germany's most popular pilsner lagers. There is no excuse to be thirsty!

Until next time, see you on the beach. I'll be drinking whatever the local beers might be, and chances are, I'll be lovin' every sip!

Salud!

I found a great Micro brew place just around the corner of Veneto Casio. Its called Istmo Brew Pub. I had there dark beer......it went down so smooth it tasted like Fest beer. Ended up going
for 2 one liter mugs.....normally this would put me on the floor so I would say their beer had less alchol kick than expected.
There prices are expensive unless at happy hour
4 to 8 pm which is 1/2 price. The Liter Mugs were
$3 at that time.
I had a vision this 'Beer Garden' would be like
Thailand where the freelance girls flock to hookup......NOT SO MUCH......
But I did enjoy the Beer very much, I got the impression this place was relatively new????