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Our 2014 continuing search for Cuban regional beers (beer brewed for Cubans and priced in national pesos) started in Baracoa, which is found on the eastern end of Cuba. It was our second day there and we had had no luck, yet. Stopping to use a public "baño" along the Malecón, I walked through the wrong door into a storeroom with some crates of empty beer bottles. Later, as we walked back to our accommodations, a truck containing similar crates went by. Louie took off to follow, but the truck disappeared around the corner. "I know where to look," Al remarked confidently. We headed back to the "Caracol" (snail), the place next to the baño. We walked up to the bar, but we got a cool reception. We asked for "cerveza" but were told "finished" and advised us to try the restaurant around the corner, which didn't even serve beer. However, later that night we returned to the Caracol.

We saw some activity in the Caracol, so asked for a couple beers. We were put off again, but this time it was, "wait 20 minutes in the fresh air." So, we walked across the Malecón to sit along the seawall. We had no idea, but it's a pleasant evening. Almost 10 minutes later, Al sees a bottle being opened. He jokes, "the guy is going to bring us our beers." Lo and behold, he does just that! Bringing us each a bottle of Latina and says if we want more, just ask. So we drank the first beers, peeled off the labels and discussed the beer. Nothing inferior about the beer. 4.5% is better than 5.4% for us. So, we finished our beers and decide to buy 3 more -- one for our new buddy, Erasmus. We sat on the wall by the sea and he told us he lives very nearby on the Rio Miel, where it is great to swim. "Come visit me for lunch!" he implored, but we told him our schedule wouldn't accommodate it, but we were quite honored by his offer.

Moving on to Santiago de Cuba, the second largest city on the island, the regional beer here is Hatuey, named after the heroic, revolutionary Taíno Indian chief the Spanish encountered upon arrival. All that's left is his name on a beer bottle (and a monument and stories). Our search for this beer was getting frustrating. We had lots of advice that took us back and forth, up and down lots of streets. We saw a lot of Santiago this way. On our way to Plaza del Mar, we spied the green and brown bottles mixed in a beer crate. A woman was selling frozen hot dogs in a narrow doorway in front of a stack of them. On closer inspection, they were full of juice. However, Rafael, an enterprising young man, asked what we were looking for. When he heard our story, he invited us into the room behind the hot dog lady. Inside, salsa music was blaring and a few couples were vigorously dancing. Rafael took us to a bar with cases of empty bottles stacked nearby. Hmmm. Not to be deterred, he left to retrieve 3 warm bottles of Hatuey, some glasses and ice cubes -- beer on the rocks. The labels were too dry to peel off, but Rafael told us we could certainly come back and he'd have labels for us. We later found plenty of Hatuey at the Taberna Delores and the labels came off easily. By now we were getting the impression that beer is properly served cold and it is drummed into the people who serve it.

     

Next stop was the UNESCO World Heritage city of Trinidad. As we wandered through Trinidad's colorful streets in search of the internet office, Al discovered the "World of Beer." It wasn't open, but the signs showed brands of beer from all over and several different Cuban brands we weren't aware of. We'll be back here later. After lunch we discovered an ice cream stand selling La Palma, obviously a local beer favorite of regional beers. We tried a couple before proceeding down the street. What's this? A fellow is serving beer from a fancy tap at a window. The beer engine read Tinima Especial, but we think it's La Palma. He charged us 10 pesos each for a small cup, which we quietly frowned at, knowing the price of regional beers. Later we returned to the World of Beer. It was open, step one, but all they served was Cristal and Bucanero, both tourist class beers paid for in tourist currency. A big dissapointment.

Arriving in Playa Larga, we were sure we would drink some Bruja, our favorite from our visit last year. However, there wasn't any to be found. We inquired at several national currency bars, but our only hope was at last discovering an empty case of Bruja -- "finished." After three days, our English-speaking Swedish friend Hans told us he had tried a new beer at a place we knew. He didn't like it; it was Bruja. Off we went to the "Rincon." Sure enough, they were serving it. We had survived the drought.

Meanwhile, we had also found a self-standing beer tap appearing in the market area on a few occasions. We're not positive the beer was Bruja, but it was from Villa Clara where Bruja is produced.

An interesting beer test we were able to conduct was to drink green-bottled Bruja versus brown-bottled Bruja. We know that green bottles allow more light to strike the beer and give the beer a skunky taste, which makes certain beers present a distinctive flavor (like Heineken's, Beck's, Grolsch and more). So we were delighted when we discovered a true difference between the same brew just because of the color of bottles. The green bottles actually tasted better to us, but that's our opinion, as well as some of the locals.

Back in Havana we spotted another regional beer that hadn't been available on our first trip. After several very frustrating attempts to buy some, we gave up -- we weren't able to get a label even. We're not sure of the name, but we think it was Tinima or Tropical. If you ever get to Havana and find some, let us know!

Al Strano ©2014