When a Caribbean dive day
is done, there’s nothing like
kicking back with a cold beer,
especially since the typical Caribbean brew is of a somewhat higher
grade than its American counterpart. And a few Caribbean varieties are
exceptional, even by international standards.
While it’s unlikely you’ll select a destination because of its local
brew, I thought you might be interested in knowing how they rate. So
here’s the word from the magazine Caribbean Travel and Life ranking
Caribbean beers and comparing each of them to a popular brand that it
resembles.
The top picks (rated 9 out of 10 points) are Belize’s Belikin, similar to
Heineken, and Jamaica’s Red Stripe, which taste testers compared to Coors.
Two Trinidad and Tobago brews get a 7.5: Carib (comparable to
Miller) and Carib Stag (similar to Moosehead).
Belikin Stout, which resembles Guiness, received a 7, while The
Bahamas’ Kalik is at the bottom with a 4.
From Mexico, Negra Modela scores a 9, Dos Equis Amber an 8. and
Corona (comparable to Bud) a 6.
While all these beers are brewed locally, the barley and hops are
imported, and the brewmeisters’ formula, in most cases, originated in
Europe.