Balashi Beer Might Be From Aruba But it's Still a Thoroughbred Dutch Pilsner...
Jul 20 '03
The Bottom Line Taste Balashi and you'd swear you were drinking a genuine European pilsner, but surprise! It's made in Aruba...
If you like Dutch pilsner beers -- or any good European pilsner lager for that matter, you are in for some serious drinking pleasure when you visit Aruba. The island boasts just one brewery, but that brewery makes a pretty fine brew. That's a pretty remarkable feat considering that most of the pale lagers from this part of the world are average at best, and insipidly bland in most cases.
Visit other islands of the Caribbean, and you might be sucking down cool Kalik or Red Stripe. Those brews can hit the spot on a hot day, no doubt about it. But they're not good beers. Not by any stretch of the imagination.
That's why it's so refreshing to sit out on the beach in Aruba -- you can kick back and order up an icy bucket of local brews, and what you get is actually something palatable! In fact, if you're one of the teeming millions who regard beers like Heineken and Grolsch as "excellent" beers, then you're in for some serious drinking pleasure. Balashi is a Heineken clone. It's a Grolsch clone. It's a decently crafted pilsner that shows an unmistakable Dutch heritage.
What It Means to Be a Dutch Pilsner...
Of the many variations on the pilsner theme that you find around the world, Balashi is a dead ringer for the European continental pilsner style that's exemplified by beers like Heineken or Grolsch. No surprise since the island is Dutch and Balashi got its start with involvement and technical expertise from Grolsch.
European pilsners are a bit lighter bodied than their close cousins, the classic Czech pilsners beers that first mastered the style. Dutch pislners have slightly less malt flavor and less assertive hops characters than Czech pilsners (like Urquell). While almost invariably brewed using noble hop varieties, Dutch pilsners should not be expected to show a distinctive Saaz character, though most will exhibit a pretty strong hop character in the aroma. European pilsners have more malt and more hops (especially in the nose) than American pilsners, which are often brewed using corn or other grains.
As with all pilsners, Dutch pilsners are very light yellow-colored lagers with brilliant clarity and an aroma that's predominantly hops. This is an average bodied beer (12 Plato) with average alcohol levels (4.8 to 5.0%).
As I said though, Balashi isn't like a Dutch pilsner, it is a Dutch pilsner -- through and through, despite its being physically produced in the Americas. Geography is just a pesky detail here -- it's not going to fool any knowledgable palate. Let's go ahead and pour this baby, and you'll see what I mean...
A Tall Cool Glass of Balashi...
I visited a few bars that had Balashi on tap, but by far the most common way to serve it was in 20cl (about 7 ounce) glass bottles. At first glance, beer seems cheap on Aruba. US$2 would get you a brewski almost anywhere on the island. It's not until you see that it's a baby sized bottle that it dawns on you that you're actually paying a fairly high $4 for a decent sized glass of nectar.
So anyway, let's pop open a baby sized bottle of Balashi and give it a test taste.
The beer pours with a brilliant clarity and a bright golden yellow color that probably lands itself at about a 3 on the SRM color scale -- it's not hugely deep, but neither it is anemic. It's a healthy looking pale beer. The carbonation is fairly aggressive, kicking up a tight white head as the thinnest bare trail of tiny bubbles streams itself upward. It's a very enticing glass of beer.
As I pass the glass under my nose, I get a rich bouquet of lusciously bitter hop scents with the classic lightly peppery and well rounded aroma that I associate with classic German noble hop varieties. I don't know what hops they use in this beer, but I can guarantee you, they're not cutting corners.
The body is fairly light, but there's still a firmness to it and a nicely rounded malt flavor that reminds me of light biscuits and the slightly sweet scent of fresh ground pale malt. While some sweetness is unmistakable in the flavor, this is a beer whose balance is unmistakably centered towards the hops. A soft, earthy hop bitterness hangs on the back of the tongue, lightly tickling the palate, but just barely out of reach like a playful lover tickling you with a feather while you're not yet fully awake.
Maybe it's just that I've been drinking too much Polar over the last couple weeks, or maybe it's just that the guys at Balashi really have their act together and are producing a darn fine pilsner beer. I prefer to think it's the latter...
Overall, a solid 4-star beer that's worth drinking with any good meal, or that's worthy of being seen with on Aruba's classiest beaches. Drink it, enjoy it, for tomorrow there might be more Polar.
Until next time, see you in the Java Bar in San Nicolas (the kind of bar your mother should have warned you about). I'll be the gringo in the flowered shirt, chatting with Ken, the ever amiable bartender, as I suck down cool Balashi beers and soak up the ambience...
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