I’ll be blunt right up front. Like the rest of Central & South America, Panama is a beer wasteland.
Cervecería Barú Panamá, partially owned by Heineken (I believe), brews the biggest brand in Panama, the patriotically named Panama beer. A typical pale lager at 4.8% alcohol (by volume), not unlike every damned so-called pilsner brewed worldwide…
They also brew Guinness for the local market. This version of Guinness is similar to the Extra Stout brewed for the U.S. market, but at a slightly smaller alcohol level of 5.5% (by volume).
Grupo Cervecería Nacional de Panamá, owned by SAB Miller, makes Atlas & Balboa. Atlas is a true light beer - only 3.8% alcohol (by volume). I guess it’s safer than water…
Balboa is interchangeable with Panama.
In addition to the ubiquitous Corona, Miller Lite & Budweiser, there were a few (very few) foreign-brewed beers available. (Not easily obtainable, of course…)
Löwenbräu was actually made in Munich…
It was almost a shock to drink a lager with flavor after a week of Panama and Balboa beer…
In the local "high end" grocery store chain, Rey, I found a Trio Extra Stout from Brouwerij de Oranjeboom (Netherlands), an InBev brand.
Surprisingly, for a European-brewed beer, it was made with corn. (As was a pilsner from the same brewery that I saw, but didn’t purchase, in the grocery store.)
It was absolutely terrible. Like the first stout ever attempted by a novice homebrewer - the kind of beer that makes people claim that you can’t make good beer from extract. (I know some damn good extract brewers - experience helps regardless of your primary methodology…)
Needless to say, even though we didn’t have a lot of time at the Atlanta airport on the way back, I made a point of dragging Kel & the kids to the Delta Crown Room - I HAD to have some hops. After a couple of pints of Sweetwater 420 Pale Ale, I started to feel better…
