Brewery National Balashi N.V.

The Balashi National Brewery Inc. situated as Balashi, home of Aruba's largest gold smelting industry in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, as well as for Aruba's world famous water production industry, the WEB is the newest addition to Aruba's broadening economic development. The same name chosen for Balashi Beer was the result of a name contest here the "Balashi" name came out as one of the favorites. For many reasons, and following beer tradition the brewery was named after this well-known area.

The developers M.P. Farm GmbH and Brewtech GmbH, with longtime brewing experience originate from Hamburg, Germany are also proud of the great acceptance and success of Balashi,
It took a long and courageous effort on behalf of these two groups to put this Afl. 22 million brewery together, which in a short period of time has become a reason of pride for Arubans. Results show that Balashi beer is a hit and that its quality is comparable and many think, even superior to international imports
 

How was the taste of Balashi created 
The taste of Balashi is the result scientific approach towards surveying the local taste. A panel of local experts tasted different categories of beer available both in Aruba and in the region. The result of this investigation were sent to the laboratory and our Brew master Mr. Klaus Eckert was assisted by the world famous brewer Mr. Gerhard Lindenhahn of 50 years of experience, whom together prepared our secret recipe which has proven to be a great winner. The Arubans prefer their beer with a deep golden color totally clear and transparent, with a bitterness which is soft to the tongue and nose however with an aroma of fresh hobs, a short aftertaste and easy on foam. The combination of all should feel fresh and smooth to the mouth when cold, perfect for Aruba's hot climate.

The making of Balashi beer
Computer by way of a special software supplied from Germany controls the whole brewing process. The malt is imported from Scotland and stored in special malt silos. From there the necessary quantity is ground and mixed with water in the mash and "worth" kettle. This so called "Mash" is now heated up to certain temperatures to activate the natural malt enzymes that are responsible for then transformation of the starch into fermentable sugar. After the mashing process is completed, which takes approximately 90 minutes, the mash is transferred into the "Lauter Tun" and the liquid "Wort" is pumped back into the Wort kettle. The spent grains remain in the Lauter Tun and are collected by farmers. This material is excellent food for goats, pigs and cattle. In the wort kettle the wort is boiled under the addition of the second most important ingredient of beer, the hobs, until the required concentration is achieved. When the boiling is finished, the wort is cooled down from 99 degrees Celsius to 8 degrees above zero. At this moment air and yeast is added. Balashi beer needs 7 days for fermentation and 10 days for storage. After the process of fermentation is completed the beer is filtered through a sophisticated system that results in Balashi characteristically transparent and crisp and unique color. The filtered beer is stored in three large storage tanks at cold temperature awaiting to be bottled. Brewery National Balashi is capable of running at 15000 bottles per hour. To protect the environment following our philosophy, all Balashi bottles and in the future also the Grolsch bottles are returnable.

Source: Metabuzz volume 2. no 6 1999
Metacorp: L.G. Smith Boulevard 82, Oranjestad Aruba tel:297-824622 meta@setarnet.aw