Belikin Beer Tour?

[bte567]

Has anyone done the Belikin Brewery Tour?

Our upcoming NCL cruise offers a Belize City tour along with a visit to the Brewery and we're wondering if anyone has any feedback.

[phantom728]

We didn't do the tour, but hope to the next time we're in Belize, we passed it by on our way to the Mayan Ruins.

 

My DH is a beer connoiseur and really enjoyed the Belikin Beer. There are 2 different varieties that we found, one that is similar to lager and then a stout. They are labeled on the top of the beer caps and are 2 different colors, which was the only way to tell them apart because the bottles are the same (or at least they were last year).

Belize is also know for their cashew wine. We purchased a bottle to bring home and was a bit sweet for my DH. He said it tasted more like brandy. We shared it with family/friends, some liked it and others didn't.

 

Enjoy and have a fantastic time - we enjoyed our time in Belize and can't wait to go back.

[bikergal78]

Anyone else tried this tour? I am thinking about doing this when I am in Belize via the ships excursion.

Any opinions would be great :D

[bikergal78]

I guess everyone doesn't like beer :confused:

[OttoCal]

Ha ha, I just drank the beer, we never took the tour. Guinness is also popular in Belize. And locals in Belize City tend to lean towards Budweiser, a 'fancy import', ya know.

 

Belikin actually has 4 beers: Belikin, Belikin Stout, Belikin Premium and Lighthouse Lager. Bottles are more popular than drafts, and that is partly a sanitation issue- if you are squemish about how the glasses were washed, go for the bottles.

[bikergal78]

Ha ha, I just drank the beer, we never took the tour. Guinness is also popular in Belize. And locals in Belize City tend to lean towards Budweiser, a 'fancy import', ya know.

 

Belikin actually has 4 beers: Belikin, Belikin Stout, Belikin Premium and Lighthouse Lager. Bottles are more popular than drafts, and that is partly a sanitation issue- if you are squemish about how the glasses were washed, go for the bottles.

 

I plan on trying the beer while I am there. Bottles will be just fine. Safer that way :D

Thanks for the reply.

[TallyRockChick]

Mmmm...Belikin was fantastic. Reminded me of Amberbock. I would love to go to the brewrey next time Im there.

On my review someone posted a way to get Belikin in the states: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=674178

[shunga]

Mmmm...Belikin was fantastic. Reminded me of Amberbock. I would love to go to the brewrey next time Im there.

On my review someone posted a way to get Belikin in the states: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=674178

Maybe it's just the atmosphere, but I think the stout may just be my all-time favorite beer--and I've had quite a few in 60 years. TRC, sorry we missed you @ the sailaway. Your review was teriffic. Crazy Drunk Guy-- we first saw him walking FURIOUSLY around deck 10. Huge strides. Arms flailing. We dubbed him "The MInister of Funny Walks" after an old Monty Python bit. Wow was that an old crowd or what. We were clearly in the youngest quartile at our advanced age.

[TallyRockChick]

We missed a lot of people at sail away! Sorry we didnt get to meet but glad you knew and saw all the people we did. It SO was an old crowd! Lots of broken hips in that place ;)

[bikergal78]

I think I am definately going to book the Beer Tour. Can't beat the free beer at the end :D

PS. I posted in your thread TallyRockChick ;)

[driftwood]

. . . I would like to point out that almost all beer runs naturally between 5 and 6 percent alcohol, which should be quite sufficient to kill anything not accounted for in dishwashing practices. The safety of the beverage is one reason beer has been used around the world and throughout history to provide a substitute for water, when the water supply could be quite dangerous. Alcohol kills harmful microbes dead, dead, dead. The concern at AB, for example, was not about any germs dangerous to humans--they simply do not survive--, but "anaerobic bacteria," which could over time turn beer "cloudy"--it was definitely an aesthetic rather than a health concern. Cloudy beer is as "safe" as clear beer, but it is harder to sell.

 

A tour of any brewery is educational: and by the time you reach the end of the tour you should have an idea of whether you wish to sample the product. It has been many years now since there was a public tour and free beer sampling at AB Williamsburg: after 9/11, "security issues" led to the shutting down of the tour galleries and the clublike facility where free samples were provided. You may still purchase at exorbitant prices many of the fine AB products on the grounds of Busch Gardens next door--once you have paid a pretty hefty entrance fee for the park--but NO FREE LUNCH. So if you THINK you would like to tour a brewery and taste free samples--you may HAVE to visit Belize!

 

A brewery should appear spotless. I would note that even in Brazil, fewer insect parts will be found in draft beer. It is hard to keep insects out of bottles before they are filled, although of course no brewer wants them there. If you don't use insect repellent in Belize you may notice the availability of tropical insects yourself. They love the Caribbean as much as we do!

 

I have not yet had Belikin in any form. I have had Red Stripe and think it abominable, only a slight improvement over Foster's Lager from Australia, which MUST exist only to replace a bad water supply. Most of the Mexican beers are drinkable--I prefer Dos Equis Ambar among those; but I dislike almost all United States beers as being either "flavored" or virtually flavorless. So de gustibus non est disputandem. See what YOU think!

 

More of an issue in the tropics would be the presentation of fresh-squeezed or water-or-ice added fruit juices: without alcohol in them, they provide no natural protection other than perhaps slight acidity against unsanitary containers and handling practices. But I have heard no reports in recent years of problems even in that arena. Perhaps the almost universal use of drinking straws provides sufficient protection on a practical level.

 

Incidentally the Belize Tourism Industry Association states flatly in its very attractive publication Destination Belize 2006: Belize's Official Visitor Guide, "Tap water in Belize is potable." (p.16) That is quite an accomplishment in any society, and is, I think, a reasonably accurate measure of Belize's commitment to a safe and happy tourist environment. However it is unlikely that any tourist will not use bottled water, as we don't trust our own water supplies anymore. Other things perhaps may not be so safe in Belize City after dark, but of course you will be safe on your ship again and sailing away. :D

[bikergal78]

So Driftwood... what exactly are ya saying? Is it a good or bad idea to go to the brewery??? I am confused by the meaning/point of your post :confused:

[driftwood]

If you have never seen a functioning brewery and you want to see one, this would be a good opportunity to do so. I was only concerned in particular that people would think there is some reason draft beer was unsafe, when in fact both bottled and draft beers are probably some of the safest potables on Earth when moderately consumed.

 

As I have spent so many years in a brewery myself, I doubt I will take the time to visit a brewery in Belize. But I expect I will have some of the darker brews of Belikin myself during my stay--I'm glad they have such a variety--for which I will cheerfully pay, come what come may to my personal taste! There are always cultural differences among beers--China's Tsingtao is quite different from Thailand's Sing Ha, for example, and Czech, German and Belgian beers are very distinctive. Heineken's as a marketing entity is so huge that it almost eclipses Grolsch--which I much prefer personally. But as I say, everyone to his own preferences! :rolleyes:

[OttoCal]

driftwood- I think the Belekin is much better than Red Stripe, and I try to block all memories of Foster's out of my brain.

 

But the preference of bottles to draft beer in Belize is cultural there- locals will always drink bottles. We drank plenty of draft beer there (and survived), but the folks that live there typically don't. There are some pretty hard-set tendencies there that are not likely to change soon. I was told by the a postal employee in a small post office that I was not to lick the stamps I put on my post card because they had 'poison' on the back of them. Obviously an old wives tale, but they all use sponges on the stamps. The bottled beer is probably a similar story.

 

And the 'potable' water in Belize is captured rain water that runs into faucets through an elaborate pipe system. Belize City has a more advanced system though, still would stick to bottled. :cool:

 

And nothing is weirder than the baggies of water that they have in some locations, especially when the bottles run out. You have to poke a hole in the baggie and kind of squirt. So strange.

[driftwood]

. . . I will, D.V., be settling into my room in Belize City for my two-week stay with my beautiful wife and my alleged view of the Caribbean. What better occasion to crack open my first Belikin? Thank you, OttoCal, for reassuring me that it would not be a relabeled bottle of Red Stripe! I have put so many elbows into this poor thread that I hesitated to mention that my preference, too, is for bottled beers: if bottled properly and stored away from sunlight, the original CO2 level will remain constant. While this should be true of keg (draft) beer, I find too often that there is either too much or too little carbonation in the glass to suit me, and I enjoy it less.

 

No question that "on the ground" bottles are easier to carry, easier to count, easier to chill, tend to stay cold longer, and work better in a cooler on a tour bus than an equivalent quantity of draft beer. But there is no real reason to fear draft beer or the mug or glass it came in with--the alcohol content will remain little changed until the beer goes flat anyway.

 

Long ago (viz., before even I was born), German stamps for example were gummed with a gum containing a certain amount of sulfuric acid, and the paper itself was processed with sulfuric acid and insufficiently leached. That is why German stamps of the era of the Zeppelin airships (which of course carried mail all over the world, especially to the emerging nations of Central and South America), naturally self-destruct if they are not carefully preserved by stamp collectors. Individuals whose constant employment kept them in contact with stamps learned fairly quickly that it was an excellent idea to use sponges instead of tongues to moisten any adhesive. Sponges became standard issue for post offices.

 

Of course some adhesives taste terrible anyway, as I hope none of you have had occasion to become aware.

 

All of you have probably by now become aware of books printed on "acid-free" paper. It is a more expensive process, but your books will not, as your saved newspapers will, disintegrate over time. If you doubt books disintegrate readily, go to your library and try to find books printed in the Nineteenth Century [the beginning of the era of "machine-made" paper, running more or less to about 1935].

 

But enough about poison and papermaking! I feel certain I have gone off-topic somewhere . . . .

 

Lessons for today: 1. Beer in Belize is potable and, in bottles, portable.

2. Stamps in Belize are to be shaken, not stirred. :D

3. Water lives in bottles--on the street, you don't know where it's been. Probably on the roof! :eek:

[bikergal78]

If you have never seen a functioning brewery and you want to see one, this would be a good opportunity to do so. I was only concerned in particular that people would think there is some reason draft beer was unsafe, when in fact both bottled and draft beers are probably some of the safest potables on Earth when moderately consumed.

 

Alright, I have no idea where my post went?? I wrote you back but it didn't show up....

I have been to a brewery before. Actually here is a little trivia question for you Driftwood. I visited the Oldest brewery in the US. Which one did I visit?? If you can't figure it out I will give you a hint later. ;)

I enjoyed the breweries bar at the end (free beer) as well as the gift shop. Hmmm.... good times.....

[OttoCal]

Driftwood, please reply to let me know that you are not planning to spend 2 weeks in Belize with Belize City as your home base???!!!??? And what hotel are you booked at?? I love Belize but BC is pretty much a dive and you don't need to be based there to have a good time.

 

That said- you must go to the Smoky Mermaid restaurant. Very yummy.

 

OttoCal

[driftwood]

I thank you for your concern on our behalf! You are not, of course, the first to fear for my life or my aesthetic sensibilities, and I have also been told not to stroll the streets with a wad of thousand-dollar bills in my hand after 2 or 3 AM . . . . Alas! What WILL I do for fun? :(

 

This is our first trip to Belize, and here we are with one foot in the grave as it is. If I were one of the attractive young ladies "as seen on TV" delighting in the thousands of tequila shots available in the hot spots of Cancun, perhaps I would worry more; if I were not already living in Swampland, VA, where every Bush or Backwater contains enough loose and/or illegal weapons to supply any army around the world, and every building, public or private, is uglier and dirtier than the next, and every unhappy or psychotic person is unhappier or more psychotic than the next, I would probably worry more about the environment. To paraphrase you, "I love the United States, but Swampland is pretty much a dive!" Or a dive among dives . . . .

 

But we will be locked up tight after dark in the Radisson Fort George, somewhere at the top of a glass elevator I think, and probably fast asleep by the time you finish your glass of port after dinner. And after breakfast each day we will be in the care, custody and control of perhaps the same tour guides as the least confident cruiser. Major Tom is keeping an eye on us as well, and thanks to Naturalight Productions I am known by my first name to every services vendor in Belize. I regret to say that if anything untoward occurs, the victim will be sorrier for the offender than you might believe: the fact is that there is little profit to be gained in robbing me, and my cameras are essentially beat-up and probably still useful only to me. I tip too big maybe, according to Travel Angel, but all I have to lose is tip money . . . . Each day we will be some thirty miles outside of Belize City in one direction or another, and undoubtedly every evening we will be worn out.

 

I do expect to dine and drink at least once in The Smoky Mermaid :D, as I have been advised also that they have an excellent Lebanese chef, and my DW is as fond as I am of Lebanese food. If the Mermaid is indeed smoky, however, all bets are off, as it interferes with my tasting the food . . . or even the beer!

 

Hi bikergal78--I have tried to respond to you twice so far and have been summarily deleted without comment each time. Yuengling in PA I presume? But a brewery is essentially functional hardware at best. Use your vacation for something . . . else? As you wish! :rolleyes:

[OttoCal]

OK, I feel much better knowing you will be at the Raddison. It is indeed right on the water, and the nicest hotel in Belize City. Had drinks there, nice staff. Go for the unusual fruits, we had some tasty watermelon concoctions. Checked out the dining room, but it looked a bit 'hotel-y' if you know what I mean. And you are in a bit of a compound at the hotel. The hotel's pier is right there if you are doing any dive/snorkel/fishing excursions. It is not really a beach though, there is built up rocky seawall.

 

You will want to hit the Smoky Mermaid more than once, and I did not recall it being especially smoke-filled, so you should be fine. Raddison also has a nice small bakery tucked in the way back that is good for a quick and light breakfast, you can sit outside and there will probably be some interesting birds.

 

You will be fine, even at night, in the Fort area, just stay on that side of the swing bridge. There is a small handcraft store not too far from the hotel, and it is easy walking distance to the swing bridge, cruise ship area, and water taxi area. I hope you will take a water taxi to one of the cayes, I prefer Caye Caulker, more laid back than what I hear of Ambergirs Caye.

 

Be careful in Belize City walking around- try to cross streets at corners, not due to extreme traffic, but because of the deep stepdowns over what I am told are open sewers. :(

 

You probably won't see as many machettes and machine guns in the city as you will in the jungle/beaches, so make sure you get out there to get the full experience. I had experiences with both and lived to tell about it. :cool:

 

Naturalight did much of the tourism web stuff for Belize, is that right???

 

If you get out to Xunantunich, ask to crank the ferry on the way back, and those were the best prices for trinkets that we saw. Excellent Guatemalan weavings. We went horseback riding at Banana Bank Lodge, and they do offer assorted tours, probably an hour drive, and possibly your only chance to see a jaguar, unless they have one that is at the zoo and visible.

 

Driving is safe if you rent a car, just watch the gas, and fill up every opportunity you get. Can't get lost, only 3 roads. You can, however, understimate how long it will take to get from place to place!

 

Let me know if you have any questions. Sounds like you have a well planned trip. Have a great time! Oh, and I don't recall if the topic of Guinness came up, but that will be readily available in Belize, they do some bottling there. And Coconut Rum with Coconut Water is always a good bet. Panty Rippers and Pants Droppers are the Belizan version of Hurricanes or Rum Runner type drinks.

 

And aside from the smoky mermaid, usually the divier a place looks there, the better the food is.

 

OttoCal

 

If you want to see some pics from my trip there, go to the website for the Green Parrot in Belize greenparrot-belize dot com and look for 'Guest Pictures' and you will see some of my collection.

[bikergal78]

Hi bikergal78--I have tried to respond to you twice so far and have been summarily deleted without comment each time. Yuengling in PA I presume? But a brewery is essentially functional hardware at best. Use your vacation for something . . . else? As you wish! :rolleyes:

 

Yes you are correct. Yuengling it is. I knew I gave too good of a hint with "Oldest Brewery" oops.... :o

 

Yeah, I am thinking about doing something that I can't see anywhere else. But I still might do the brewery if I can't decide on anything else. Too many decisions..... :p

[driftwood]

when our plane and we have landed in Belize! But I appreciate your endorsement of our dream plans--we live close enough to Williamsburg, VA, that on a quiet night here in Swampland we can hear the tourists being peeled, so we are perhaps more attuned to the disconnects between most "Visitor Guides" and reality than the average tourist. The good news is ALWAYS the survival of visitors--though one could do worse, I suspect, than be abandoned in Belize.

 

I guess Naturalight has the Belize Tourism Board's contract for web connection--early in our planning stages I wrote what I thought was an innocent letter of inquiry outlining our dates of travel and our staying at the Radisson (ours near Swampland was not so clean or pleasant and has since gone defunct, but I have great expectations in Belize City): in a matter of days I had heard from half the population of Belize advising me of their regret that we had not chosen to stay with them, and offering tour services from Corozal to the Sarstoon River, and to the west as far away as Tikal (yes, in Guatemala). Clearly I had hit the motherlode of tourist opportunity! And was drowning in it . . . .

 

Gradually I have responded to the kind vendors who wrote me, smoothing as best I could the ruffled feathers of the quetzal and the wrong-rubbed fur of the jaguar, to assure them that this was no advent of a Rockefeller or a Coppola, just an aging couple with enough energy left to want to beat about the bush and take pictures for a couple of weeks. I think interest in us has died down to about the level I had originally intended: and I hope no one in Belize is disappointed in the result when we do arrive.

 

We will be trying to do as many things as we prove to have stamina for, visiting at least four Mayan sites (as well as Tikal, which DW has evidently always dreamed of doing, as she had dreamed of Chichen Itza before our visit there), snorkeling probably at Caye Caulker and perhaps as far away as Turneffe,--and tubing in the caves! :eek:

[OttoCal]

excellent plans. Would have loved to seen Tikal. It apparently is much more restored than the ruins in Belize, so it is a very different style, and I think it is worth the additional hassle of getting in & out of Guatemala. If you do go to Xunantunich and climb the pyramids, the guides will point out the pretty heavily guarded border.

 

We went tubing on a creek, through bats and monkeys, but not in a cave. That will be a fun adventure for you.

 

I have the name of a reliable and courteous taxi driver that is available in Belize City, let me know if you want it and I will pass it along.

 

You will enjoy getting out to Caye Caulker after your jungle adventures- motto: Go Slow.

 

I actually got jungled out after 4 full jungle adventure days and passed on a final ruin in favor of being away from the skeeters. So if you have unplanned days, you might want to stack them at the end of your trip so you can go for what sounds more fun after a week and a half of activity.

[driftwood]

It is true that desiring to visit Tikal and visiting Tikal are two different things, and certainly depends on weaving our way past two different flags. But as tourism is the "in" thing in these days, as "wholesale slaughter" was under Reagan, we have some hope of bringing hope a few photos for the delight of the innocent. I did go to visit your gallery at the Green Parrot, but perhaps the website has been edited since the two hurricanes of 2007. Certainly looks a lovely place to stay! I can't say I could put my finger on any photo that was yours alone, though . . . .

 

I'm pretty sure we will be scrambling around Xunantunich and Lamanai at least; and if the money holds out, even farther afield. No plans for driving ourselves, though--it's bad enough here in Swampland, and I want to appear as innocuous as possible in Belize--no ATV's, please, in Belize!

 

A reliable and courteous driver is worth his weight in gold anywhere, of course, and if you would share his name with me I would be grateful. As we have already left the topic of this thread in the dust, however, please feel welcome to write me at dreynolds@aol.com ;) We are now two weeks into our malaria medication, and hope through judicious application of insect repellent to sidestep dengue fever. I fear we will spend half of our time in Belize applying insect repellent and sunscreen--and recharging camera batteries--, but perhaps half the fun is getting there. I already have a fine Panama hat (made--this will come as a surprise to everyone--in China) in an attempt to defend my all too naked noggin from Kinich Ahau, and I hope to descend from our aircraft fit for a spread in GQ.

 

I hope the Guinness in Belize is of a caliber far higher than the Guinness my Canadian friends create and market in the United States, as the original Irish brew was always one of my favorites. Advice to brewers: NEVER LICENSE YOUR PRODUCT! All the Japanese brews have now been murdered by the Canadians as well, which is strange when one considers how excellently Molson ("Export") and Labatt ("Blue") brew their own beers . . . . But there are other brewers in Canada, and the less said the better. They know who they are. And better you should not.

 

There are no "planned" days so far, though I may descend to the tarmac at Goldson with a full itinerary that as yet I know not of. "I have always depended on the kindness of strangers." And what a happy dependence it has been all my life! Watch for my forthcoming film, Pollyanna Visits Belize, in a theater near you! :rolleyes::D

[OttoCal]

Sent, and you will have to be the judge of the state of Belizan Guinness. I stuck to the Belikin, all varieties.

The caps made a nice decoration glued onto a picture frame (look, I can stay on topic!)

 

OttoCal

[Slacks]

Driftwood, as a Canadian and beer fan it should be noted that nothing Molson or Labatt makes are in any way palatable, and that neither company is Canadian. Your Coors folks (another place good beer goes to die) now brew Molson, and Labatt is owned by Belgium's InBev.

 

Truth is the best beer is the craft microbrewed stuff that you'll probably never try or see. Canada makes some great stuff, and of course, so does the USA. To think Budweiser, Coors, or Miller make anything in any way better than a big-name "Canadian" brewery is crazy; a pale lager made with corn is the same by any other name. ;)

 

Now if only restaurants - and cruise lines - would start taking beer as seriously as they do wine we might start finding some Brooklyn or Dogfish Head on your average cruise ship.

 

Cheers,

Rick.