Aruba's Beer

About
Fresh is best...Aruba's Beer

After a day out in the tropical sun, nothing satisfies thirst like the clean, crisp taste of an icy bottle of Balashi beer. Aruba's national beer is produced in a fully automated brewery with cutting edge technology. The Brouwerij Nacional Balashi was built in 1998 at a cost of about $ 12 million. A state-of-the-art laboratory with special computer software controls the quality of the brew throughout the entire process. 

Satisfying the demands of a thirsty local and tourist market, as well as orders from Holland, Curacao and Bonaire, the modern bottling plant, capable of bottling 15,000 bottles per hour, is owned by Meta Corp NV, Aruba's largest corporate conglomerate. Daily operation and production is in the hands of locals. Though only in existence for less than a decade, Balashi has already achieved impressive international recognition, winning the Gold medal in 2001 and the Grand Gold medal in 2004 in the "Monde Selection" in Brussels.

Daily tours on a catwalk over the production floor of the Balashi brewery follow the intricate process of beer production from the first moment malt enters the kettles through the fermentation and filtration processes to bottling and distribution. Combine your tour with a visit to the Balashi Gardens, the open-air bar and restaurant next to the brewery overlooking the undisturbed Aruban countryside. Here you can rub elbows with Balashi's management and staff, locals, and fellow beer lovers from all over the world. 

Renowned brewmaster Klaus Eckert has created a beer with a special taste. Balashi has a deep golden color and is clear and transparent and easy on foam; it has a soft bitterness, an aroma of fresh hops and a short aftertaste. Balashi's malt is imported from Scotland while the hops hail from Germany. 

The Balashi Brewery and Tropical Bottling Company merged in 2001. The company also bottles that clear refreshing water known as AWA in Papiamento. AWA goes through a double purification process before being bottled. Aruba has some of the best tasting drinking water on the planet produced in the second largest water desalination plant in the world. AWA shares Balashi beer's excellence, winning a top international Grand Gold medal in 2004. Malta is another popular Balashi product. It is brewed like beer but without the fermentation process. The final non-alcoholic product is darker and sweeter than beer and is a healthy beverage enjoyed by the entire family. Eight million liters of soft drinks including Coca Cola (number one in Aruba), Diet Coke, Sprite and Tropical cherry, pineapple, grape and orange soda flavors are also manufactured in this immense facility. 

According to Eduard L.J. de Veer, Balashi's busy Managing Director, "You will find Balashi beer at every restaurant, hotel and bar on Aruba, as well as on supermarket shelves. Though you may one day be able to enjoy the taste of Balashi at home, now is the best time to discover one of Aruba's national treasures - a distinctive, refreshing and unique brew that promises to please even the most discriminating beer connoisseur." 

Balashi Brewery / Tel. 592-2544 / 523-6544
Balashi Gardens open from 6:30 am - 4:00 pm
Tours Monday - Friday




History 
Brouwerij Nacional Balashi was founded in 1996 by one of Aruba’s largest company MetaCorp. Construction started in 1998 and the first beer was brewed eight months later in May 1999.

Name
The name Balashi originated from the words Bala Bala and Balana. These words are from the Aruac (Indian) language Taino and it means "near the sea".
There are many reason why Balashi was the name chosen for Aruba's beer. After doing a name contest among the Arubans, the name Balashi came out as the ultimate winner.
The brewery is located in the area called Balashi, where the most massive ruins of the Aruban gold mining companies were located, this was translated in the gold color that the Balashi Beer has.


Aruba’s Beer
Balashi Beer is the only beer brewed on the island of Aruba. It is available trough out the island at Hotels, Restaurants, etc. In 2004 Balashi Beer celebrated it’s fifth Anniversary.

Quality
We are proud that our Balashi Beer has been awarded two gold medals by the International Institute for Quality Selections, Monde Selection.
First gold medal was awarded in 2001 and the second medal was awarded when Balashi Beer participated for the 2004 World Selections of Quality. Following deliberation by the selection board and according to the results of analyses and test carried out by the laboratory of quality award Brussels, Brouwerij Nacional Balashi was awarded a grand gold medal.

Recycle
The Balashi Beer bottle has a 10 cent bottle value. This is to promote recycling and help to protect our environment. Bottles that are returned will be re-used after going trough a pasteurization process.