Toppa Top 10: The 10 Best Caribbean Beers

Words by Steve Bennett/Uncommon Caribbean, Photos Courtesy Steve Bennett/SBPR—

Our friends over at travel website Uncommon Caribbean are always putting us on to undiscovered gems and out-of-the-way corners. Their weekly drinks series, Friday Happy Hour is a great way to stay up to date with the islands’ liquid culture.  So, for our long overdue rundown of the region’s best beers, we enlisted Uncommon’s Steve Bennett as guest curator, knowing he’d pull not just from the staples, but highlight new finds and diamonds in the rough as well. Pop open a bottle, pour yourself a glass, and get your weekend started early with LargeUp and Uncommon Caribbean’s guide to the best Caribbean beers.

Beer is generally not among the considerations travelers think about when choosing a Caribbean destination to check out. Our sunny shores are worlds away from the better-known beer havens in Germany, Belgium, Ireland and Amsterdam. At the same time, most beer pundits think our suds are shit.

I beg to differ.

It’s true that the majority of Caribbean beers carry a similar light-blonde color and light-refreshing taste, the better to quench thirsts throughout our blessedly blistering days. The similarities draw yawns from most beer lovers, but in recent years, a number of new brews have burst on the scene, adding some nice variety to the region’s beer offerings.

From The Bahamas and Jamaica, on down to Trinidad, Barbados and everywhere in-between, Caribbean beers are blossoming like never before. Here are 10 of my current favorites…

10. 10 Saints (Barbados)

Ever have a hard time deciding between beer and rum? 10 Saints settles the issue by combining both in a bottle. At its heart, this innovative new brew is a premium microbrew sporting the same pretty blonde looks you’ll find in most any Caribbean lager. The difference here is in the aging process. 10 Saints allows its beer to mature in oak casks formerly used by Mount Gay to age its old Special Reserve rum. The combination yields a unique taste and sophistication that beer connoisseurs are sure to love.

9. Prestige (Haiti)

A good 98% of all beers consumed in Haiti bear the Prestige label, so you know it can’t be bad. This brew was born and bred in Haiti dating back to the mid-1970’s, and although it has the same light, blonde, refreshing character found in most West Indian lagers, Prestige is different. You see, those other blondes are brewed in accordance with old European traditions, while Prestige tastes more like a typical American beer. So much so, in fact, that it won a gold medal at the 2000 World Beer Cup Awards in the category of “American-Style Lager.”

8. Strong Back Stout (Grand Bahama Island)

In its name, packaging and marketing, this flavor-packed stout from The Bahamas (also home to the more ubiquitous Kalik) plays on the uber-machismo stereotype prevalent among us West Indian men, but in an interesting twist, it was actually developed to appeal primarily to women drinkers. No matter your sex, if you love full-bodied, smooth, rich flavor in your beer, then Strong Back Stout is for you!

7. Seven Strong Lager (Barbados)

Sometimes, you just really need a strong beer – one with bite that will put you down quickly for the night. Seven Strong from Barbados—a product of the island’s top brewery, Banks—can do the work. It pours like a regular lager – gold, frothy and inviting. The flavor, though, sets it apart. Get ready for a heavy alcohol element that overwhelms and soothes before knocking you out. The taste borders on sour, especially if it’s not ice-cold, but remember: you picked up one of these to be relieved of your senses, not to appease them…

6. Kubuli (Dominica)

Dominica is all about nature, adventure, smiles and authentic Caribbean experiences. Kubuli fuels it all, embodying its Nature Island home through and through. The word Kubuli in and of itself is short for Waitukubuli, the Carib Indian name for the island. The water used to make is pulled directly from the Loubiere Spring, which runs right by the brewery amid the type of lush surroundings you’d sooner find at an eco-lodge, natural spa, or nothing at all. Sure, it has German sensibilities, but there’s no truer taste of Dominica. After a long day’s hike through the wild of Dominica, Kubuli is a most welcome treat.

5. Stallion Milk Stout (Barbados)

One of the Caribbean’s newest brews, Stallion first hit retail shelves in November 2010, giving beer-loving fans of Barbados a new reason to head down for a taste. This one’s for those who like their beers sweet and chocolaty, with a heavy dose of roasted coffee flavor – a nice alternative to the normally bitter-tasting stouts that predominate the region.

4. Ironshore Bock (Cayman Islands)

This is anything but your typical Caribbean beer. Like its namesake rock found all over the Cayman Islands, Ironshore Bock is strong, sharp and dark, though its color out of the tap (or can) is deceptively lighter than its taste suggests it should be. This Bock checks in at a hearty 7% abv, with a bold taste that even the snootiest beer connoisseurs will love. The secret of the flavor: roasted dark German malt used in its production, a sweet micro-brew-like touch that lends a rich roast coffee aftertaste.

3. Red Stripe (Jamaica)

Couldn’t possibly put together a list like this without this squat little guy, could we? Red Stripe carries the flag for the region around the world when it comes to beer much in the same way reggae does for music. That’s a good thing, as Red Stripe is a very good beer. It’s also quite worldly, combining malted grain from Canada, the UK and France with hops from the Yakima Valley in the United States and fresh well water from Jamaica in its formula. As synonymous with the Caribbean as any beer not named Carib, Red Stripe bears a clean, refreshing flavor right through to the end, leading you invariably to another.

2. Biére Lorraine (Martinique)

If older truly is better, then Biére Lorraine is definitely among the Caribbean’s best! They started pouring this stuff in Martinique in 1919, though it’s pedigree dates back a good bit further than that. Biére Lorraine is named in honor of the Lorraine region of France, where the beer’s founder, a French engineer named Rene de Jaham, learned the brewmaster’s art. The oldest brews there date back to 5,000 BC, so yeah, there’s some real OLD SCHOOL pedigree in every sip. The perfect chaser for a Ti’ Punch, Biére Lorraine is bold, blonde and beautiful.

1. Stag Lager (Trinidad & Tobago)

Never mind the “Man’s Beer” machismo, or the over-charged sexual overtones: Stag is simply a damn good beer, period. Its crisp, consistently fresh flavor tingles as it goes down smooth and nice, enveloping your whole body like the warmth of the West Indies itself. For me, it’s just the best – not just for its taste, but for the memories it triggers in my mind. Kicking back on Maracas Beach with a bake and shark, chippin’ pon di road during Carnival, watching the sunset in Castara – none of it would’ve been as special without a Stag by my side. Stag simply satisfies, no matter the occasion.

+1: St. John Brewers Island Summer Ale (U.S. Virgin Islands)

The micro-brew revolution is alive and well in the Caribbean, probably nowhere more so than in St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. That’s where a couple of happily displaced statesiders established the St. John Brewers label a few years back and set about crafting the region’s most diverse collection of beers, all of them bearing distinctive elements of our islands. Mango Pale Ale, Island Hoppin’ IPA, Liquid Sunshine Ale – the names themselves take your mind to the beach. Island Summer Ale is a particular favorite for the warm months on the horizon. You can find it in the States between April and August, but as it’s always summer in St. John, you can be sure to always enjoy this fine ale no matter when you visit the Virgins.