Jamaican Till I Die!

The first beer I ever drank was a Red Stripe, at about the age of 12, growing up in Jamaica that was a rite of passage to manhood you were given a Red Stripe and told to hold your corners, which means with beer in hand stand to the side, look cool, observe what is happening around you, chill out and relax.  It was easy to switch between Red Stripe and Heineken they were both lagers with similar taste, so when moseying up to the bar the normal order would be “Boss man, let off a Red Stripe or Heineken nuh!” to me they were interchangeable.  I never liked the Traditional Brewed Guinness available in Jamaica at the time, it was far too bitter for my young tender palate so I avoided it whenever possible and found out very early in life that mix liquor was not for me, the worst hangover I ever had came from abusing Vodka and orange juice. However later in life my cousin introduced me to "Myers rum, ginger ale with a twist of lime", for a while that was my signature drin...

The wine revolution in Jamaica is in its advance stages. It is a revolution that was started some time ago and has spread all over Jamaica with the opening of new wine bars, restaurants and wine shops. Wine tasting nights and food pairing festivals have also become a regular thing.  As a result Jamaicans have developed a taste for and are now very knowledgeable about the different types of wines from various regions around the world. The Jamaican Beer Revolution is still nowhere to be seen. Not much have changed with regards to the local beer market. For the most part our choices are very limited between Red Stripe, Heineken and one or two other generic lager. For stouts the choice is Guinness Foreign Extra Stout and on occasion, one sometimes might find the odd Guinness draft. All-in-all the Beer selection is very predictable, very boring and as a result the Jamaican taste for beer has not progressed beyond the basic lager and stout. Jamaica in my opinion...