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Mikhail Arguelles in Belize City.  223-6798.  email is [email protected]  We highly recommend him.

I am not being facetious but Will you be able to start a micro brewery  I was under the impression that the brewing industry was totally sewn up along with the soft drinks which is why you are not even allowed to bring other soft Drinks into the country. My son picked up some cans of cherry coke and Cider in Chetumal only to have them consfiscated by customs.

Thanks for the recommendation, bznorte.

It's a fair question, terrific, but we feel confident. Things made in country are perceived a bit differently from things imported. We would be creating jobs which is always seen in a good light. There is one other microbrewery that so awesomely broke this barrier a couple years ago. If you go out to San Pedro, you can try Island Time beers. We haven't been up there yet to try it but hear good things and are certainly grateful for their groundbreaking work. There are lots of microbrews opening throughout the Caribbean and Central America. Once upon a time, Belikin had a monopoly but no more. The craft beer trend cannot be stopped now!!!! I can't say about soft drinks, but I can tell you we have been tempted to do a ginger beer and have it on draft.

If you could make a good 'Hard' cider that would go down a treat.

That's the second time I've heard that, so we probably need to take that to heart. Maybe something with mango? We were thinking of a mango habanero ipa, but maybe we should do a mango habanero cider instead. Or maybe something with cashew. We are definitely open to suggestions.

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I have also used Mikhail. Very reputable and personable. Very reasonable legal fees.
I was also under the impression that brewing beer in Belize would not be possible as a commercial endeavor. Beer is one of my passions, and one of the things I will miss while in Belize, but I can be satisfied with Belikin. It's not like there is NO beer.

We love Belikin too! We just miss the variety in the US. We were really into trying new beers. We don't miss it enough to go back, but we'd like to get a little variety going here.

Agreed. I would love to have some variety in beer choices, though there has been a slight improvement in options in the last year. It would be beneficial to the country in many ways to support new independent breweries. The fruit options to work with in Belize are almost endless. Wine might be a better and easier commercial option, but it's not beer.

Right. I also think there are a lot of Belizean who know a lot more about local wine than i do, so beer feels like a place we can fill a gap. Plus, like you said, it's beer. We will definitely do some fruit stuff. We just made a coconut wheat that was fantastic.

sounds delish! what kind of grain for the malt, where do you get it, and what about hops? I would think those would not be easy to come by, especially in Toledo.

I told Mikhail he might hear from you. I would be very interested to know how things progress with your endeavor.

Awesome. We will keep everyone posted. We are largely using barley malt but also some wheat and others for certain beers. The grains and hops are being imported. We are currently researching to see if it may be possible to grow some varieties of hops in the mountains here or in Guatemala. Once we're established, we're gonna start experimenting with different local grains. Thanks again for the reference. We will be contacting him soon.

Fantastic!  I will probably be brewing my own beer as well, but would love to have some collaboration/competition in the future.  Good luck and I hope things will go well.

Yay! We'd love to see more microbrews here! And collaborating is always good! Thanks, and best of luck to you too.

HI,
Im a keen homebrewer and am relocating to Belize.  I jus cant find (online) anywhere where you can buy malted grains, hops or beer yeast in country. Are you planning on importing all of those? will you be allowed?
good luck

You might check with MonkeyTown brew for more specific information. We have had some discussions about this topic, and I believe that Spiceman39 may be willing to grow some hops, otherwise everything would have to be imported, unless you are going to malt your own grain from grains available in Belize. That is something we have also discussed and considered.
The government is pretty conservative when it comes to home brewing, as well as opening 'micro-breweries' - not a cheap or easy task to get permits, etc.

Yeah. Spiceman indicated some willingness to look at growing hops, but I haven't talked to him in a while. We are currently importing everything. The only grain grown here in any substantial quantity is rice. I'm sure barley can be grown here, but I've never seen it.

I know you folks intend to brew a far better product than Billiken, but as they are the major brewer (if not the only one) in the country, I can't help but wonder what is the source of their raw ingredients.

There's one other microbrew in San Pedro. As far as quality goes, I think Belikin is pretty good for what it is, a basic lager. The stout is alright, though I like something a tad heartier from my stout. The chocolate stout and sorrel stout are, imho, fantastic for a macro brewed beer. All that said, we do intend to brew high quality ales in small batches. Small batch + love + best water in Belize = great beer.

To the best of my knowledge, they still import everything from Germany. When they started, Sir Barry brought in some German Brewers to get it going. I believe they've stuck with that formula for the most part.

In the 90's I went on a visit and talk on brewing at the Belikin brewery at that time they were extremely proud of the fact they imported everything for their brew from Germany. Also very adamant that they had  super water filters they had imported from Germany to ensure that the water to the brewery was "the purest in the Americas" That phrase has always stood out in my mind. The military camp next door had the breweries  waste water drain running between them and that drain always stank to high heaven. Particularly in the dry season. If you like  a German lager you are likely to like Belikin.
Are hops hard to grow? We are looking to see what we might like to plant on our acreage in Belmopan,that might be different from the usual  available/common in Belize . I know Hops grew wild near a home we had in the north of England, I used them as decorative additions to flower arrangements but never thought of trying to grow them myself.

"The purest in the Americas." That's funny. It's like Coors saying they use "Rocky Mountain spring water." Ah well, everyone has to have their tag line. I think Monkey River has the best tasting water in Belize, but I'm not so sure I'd say it's the best on two continents.
Hops are pretty versatile. There are some varieties that would never grow here because they need cold, but there are others that will grow here quite happily, particularly in the cooler mountain areas. If you were successful, I'm almost positive I'd have a market for them.

Yes, when we move down next year my husband will want to brew too. That coconut wheat sounds fantastic. And while ciders aren't my thing, they are really popular. Good luck getting your craft brewery up and running. We're looking forward to more beer options in Belize. 

If anyone can brew a Hard cider in Belize My son would be beating on your door. He is not a beer drinker but loves  good Cider. Seemingly it was quite prevalent in Belize back in the 80's and 90's, but much more difficult to come by now.