Balashi Beer: Aruba’s Local Brew, Explained

Balashi beer is Aruba’s national beer, a pilsner brewed on the island since 1999 with desalinated seawater as its main ingredient. The brewery also makes Chill, a lighter lager, and Magic Mango, its fruity sibling. They turn up on happy hour menus around the island, and since October 2026 there’s a dedicated Balashi Beer Experience near Eagle Beach.

What is Balashi beer?

Balashi is brewed in Aruba, and the Aruba Tourism Authority calls it the island’s national beer. The name means “by the sea” in Papiamento, the local language, according to the Aruba Tourism Authority. The flagship is Balashi Pilsner, the first beer the brewery produced.

The tourism authority also describes it as “the first and only craft beer produced exclusively in Aruba” and says it has won international awards, including medals at European beer competitions. It doesn’t name the competitions or the years, so we can’t tell you which ones.

Brewed with desalinated seawater

The most unusual thing about Balashi is its water. The Aruba Tourism Authority puts it plainly: “exactly this desalinated ocean water is the main ingredient of a Balashi beer”. The brewery sits right next to the island’s water desalination plant. The malt comes from Scotland and the hops from Germany.

VisitAruba describes the water as “the island’s pristine desalinated water”. It makes a good story for the first round.

A short history of the Balashi brewery

• 1996: groundbreaking for the brewery. It was a project of Meta Corp. with German partners and an investment of more than 20 million florin, according to the Aruba Tourism Authority.
• 1998: the brewery was founded, per VisitAruba.
• October 1999: the first Balashi Pilsner was brewed.
• Around 2011: Chill launched during Carnival season. The tourism authority marked its 10th anniversary in January 2021.
• 4 October 2026: the Balashi Beer Experience opened near Eagle Beach.

Balashi vs Chill vs Magic Mango

Here’s how the range differs, based on the Aruba Tourism Authority’s descriptions:

Beer	Style	What to expect
Balashi	Pilsner	The original, first brewed in 1999
Chill	Light lager	Lighter and lower in alcohol, with a soft lemon finish; small batches, no added sugar
Magic Mango	Chill’s sibling	Chill’s “little sister”, described as the fastest-growing beer on the island
Magic Orange	Not described	Listed among Balashi’s varieties
Malta 0.0%	Alcohol-free malt drink	One of the tasting options at the Balashi Beer Experience

Chill comes in clear-label bottles or cans, so it’s easy to spot. If you’re spending a long afternoon in the sun, it’s the lighter option. We have a separate guide to Balashi Chill and the island’s other beers.

Can you tour the Balashi brewery?

Sources disagree, so plan ahead. The Aruba Tourism Authority mentions a one-hour brewery tour Monday to Friday. VisitAruba says tours aren’t offered regularly year-round and suggests contacting the brewery before you go. We’d contact them first rather than turn up.

The easier option now is the Balashi Beer Experience, which opened on 4 October 2026 in the Gloria entertainment complex near Eagle Beach. It’s a visitor attraction rather than the working brewery, and tasting choices include Balashi Pilsner, Chill, Magic Mango and the alcohol-free Malta 0.0%. Our Balashi brewery and Beer Experience guide covers both.

Where to drink Balashi beer in Aruba

You’ll find Balashi and Chill on bar menus, and a few happy hours make them cheaper:

• 5 O’Clock Somewhere in Oranjestad’s Renaissance Marketplace lists $5 2-for-1 Balashi and Chill (plus Amstel and Heineken), daily from 5pm to 6pm.
• Mambo Jambo on Palm Beach lists Chill and Balashi bottles at $5 on its 2025 happy hour menu, from 7pm to 8pm and 11pm to midnight.

Prices change, so check the venue’s current menu. Our Aruba happy hour guide lists times for 28 bars across the island.

For the most local experience, have one at a rum shop. These walk-up neighborhood bars started out serving rum more than a century ago, but most of them are beer-focused now. The Aruba Rum Shop in San Nicolas has been open since 1937, and Pos Chiquito near Savaneta since 1960.

Taking Balashi to the beach

A few practical notes if you’re packing a cooler. The legal drinking age in Aruba is 18, set by a 2016 amendment to the island’s licensing law, and sellers are required to check ID unless someone is clearly over 18. We found no official rule about drinking alcohol on public beaches: the Aruba Tourism Authority’s 2026 beach guidelines don’t mention it, so ask your hotel or beach operator what they allow in front of their property.

Whatever you bring, take your empties with you. The tourism authority’s code of conduct asks visitors to dispose of their trash and avoid disposable plastics on the beach, and Chill’s cans are easier to carry out than bottles.

Beer in the cooler, cocktails in the jug

A cold Balashi is the easy choice at a villa or on the beach. The harder part is cocktails for everyone who doesn’t want beer. That’s where we come in. Bartender Aruba delivers pre-batched cocktail jugs, mixed by a professional bartender, to villas, hotels, homes, boats and beaches. Each 1 gallon jug pours roughly 8 to 10 drinks and is batched fresh the same day.

Pair a cooler of Balashi with our Island Party package (Rum Punch, Mojito and Piña Colada, 24 to 30 drinks) and the whole group is covered. You can browse all our cocktail jug packages, including a Zero-Proof set for anyone skipping alcohol.