There’s always room for improvement, even when you are Aruba’s most popular beer.  When brew master Eduardo Fernow took on the role of overseeing brewery quality and production at Balashi, he brought more than 45 years of experience with him as a former brew master for Polar in Venezuela.  Balashi Brewery’s signature brew, the golden pilsner known as Balashi, won the hearts of locals and visitors, and when Eduardo came on board, he set out to improve the “drinkability’ of the beer without changing the original, award-winning recipe.  “A good brew master doesn’t change a popular recipe,” informs Eduardo, “but looks at the process and quality of the ingredients and where tweaks and changes can be made to improve that process so that the beer does not age as quickly, tasting as fresh off the shelf as it does the day it came off the production line.” 

Eduardo and his team navigated the changes in process using a nine-step guideline:

1. Increased the “drinkability” of our beers by improving the taste stability of our products.
2. The dissolved oxygen content was dramatically reduced in our beers, thus avoiding the flavors and aromas of aged beer in our bottled, canned, and keg beer.
3. Ensured microbiological stability.
4. The keg machine was updated to ensure the cleaning and filling procedures, a key factor to avoid bad taste in draft beer.
5. Yeast management was improved, resulting in a more active yeast, a reduction in fermentation time, and a rapid reduction of diacetyl (a substance that determines an atypical beer flavor among other metabolic compounds).
6. Temperature control during fermentation was improved to avoid the formation of substances that affect the taste and aroma of beer.
7. Changed to a more reliable malt supplier in terms of quality to avoid frequent changes in the quality of this raw material.
8. The quality of a very important raw material was improved in the product: water--by changing the beds of the sand and activated carbon filters.
9. Increased the shelf life of our beers, delaying the aging reactions.

When the new process was implemented in 2018/2019, Balashi’s popularity rose even higher, with many noting the fresher, smoother taste of Aruba’s national beer.

Eduardo has a team of eight working with him in the brewing process, including another brew master in-training.  Together they are expanding and modernizing Balashi’s overall brewery production to accommodate consumer demand.

In addition to Balashi, the brewery also produces Aruba’s favorite beach beer, Chill, and the growing portfolio of the Magic-branded, fruit-forward beers that include Magic Mango and Magic Orange.  Working towards increased production capacity, Eduardo confirms that more Magic is on the way—stay tuned!

Captions:

Balashi Brew Master Eduardo Fernow targeted nine points in the production process to improve the quality, freshness, and taste of Balashi beer. 

Eduardo samples and approves every step of the brewing process to ensure quality from start to finish.