Men can be incredibly singular-minded and focused, especially when it comes to beer. Frankly, I fear most of our history books are dead-wrong about which gender has accomplished what given their often singular focus.
SIDEBAR: To the breweries of the world: stop wasting your precious advertising dollars on ad agencies. Trust me on this. Go to your local printer for a one-color, one-sided imprint on poster-size paper. Print the name of your product – no photo necessary – with the word, “BEER” in big, bold letters and you will have as effective an ad campaign as you would had you spent hundreds of thousands of dollars with that hot advertising chick at the ad agency.
But I digress. Back to singular-minded and incredibly focused…
So there we were, yesterday, Bob and I sitting in the lobby of the Comfort Suites on Seven Mile Beach in Grand Cayman. Remember from yesterday’s missive, we were sitting with Helen, Keeper of the Cup (THE Rugby World Cup). And a slew of rugby players. (Ladies, I’m surrounded by them and the testosterone in the hotel is palpable).
I Want Some of That
Bob was thumbing through one of the local tourist mags when, lo and behold, an ad for Cayman Island Beer caught his eye (it only takes one eye where men and beer are concerned). “I want some of that,” he says. “Of course you do, dear.” Then, our new-found friend Helen offers that it is actually quite good.
And that was it.
We were off on a beer adventure, passing numerous shopping opportunities (which I’m not into anyway) and blue-water opportunities (like beaching, boating, fishing, snorkeling – which I AM into) just to find The Cayman Island Brewery (and to taste The Beer).
A Beer Adventure
Located on the Southeast end of Grand Cayman, it’s a bit of a trick to find the brewery if you aren’t a local. A new bypass is going in, so, from Georgetown, go straight when you pass the Esso station but stay in the left lane.
The Cayman Island Brewery is 2 minutes from that Esso station ifyou stay on the left. Otherwise you’ll end up in Savannah contemplating a property purchase on the South end (given the plethora of “For Sale” signs).
We walked in and were greeted with a smile by Andreas Moerl, the Brewmaster from Germany. A tall, outgoing guy, he loves his beer (and rightly so).
Andreas offered a sample of his Caybeer to Bob who, in keeping with his manly focus, enthusiastically accepted.
About the Brewery
The Cayman Island Brewery has been open one year and Caybrew is their only product at this writing. Andreas describes his brew as a Europoean Style 5% Lager. Bob simply said, “Umm! This is good.” I found the beer crisp and very refreshing. Delicious, even and I am not much for beer.
A person can learn alot talking to the brewmaster. For example, all of the brewery equipment was brought from Germany and is fully automated. Delivered in fifteen 40′ containers, it took a crew of 6 people four months to assemble everything.
Prior to brewing, the water used in the process is treated to a flow through a Reverse Osmosis unit. Three and one-half weeks later, we have beer, bottled, canned or kegged and ready to drink.
Green Beer
Of particular note is the Green Effort being made by the brewery. Of note, they buy back their bottles (currently $2 US per case). While they do accept their cans back, they do not pay for the return of cans. Andreas tells us that the island has no recycling facility, so cans get shipped out for recycling.
Another notable Green Effort: spent grains are given to local farmers to feed their farms – as fertilizer for plants or food for cows and pigs. Finally, all wastewater is recycled into “bathtub” quality water and used for irrigation.
Where To Get Caybeer
At this time, Caybeer is only available on Grand Cayman. You can find it at The Cayman Island Brewery, Royal Palms, The Hard Rock Cafe and Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville.
Grand Cayman visitors: Make the trip to the Brewery. Andreas will bend your ear and serve you beer – and good beer at that!
We walked out with a case of cans to hold over The Man of The House until our next visit to Grand Cayman. Sure hope another trip pops up soon…
