Caybrew and Caybrew Light are the two products produced at the Cayman Islands Brewery (CIB), a new entrepreneurial business which was supported by the Cayman Islands Investment Bureau, and opened its doors for business  20 months ago in March 2007.  Built in Prospect during 2006,  the brewery is a state of the art industrial facility which rivals many of its international competitors in the Caribbean.  Described in The World of Beers journal in 2007 as a “jewel in the Caribbean”, the brewery was constructed in Cayman having arrived in 28 containers from both Germany  and the Czech republic .

Described as a light bodied, full flavoured beer with a distinctive taste, Caybrew is a 5% lager beer, designed to suit the climate.  Caybrew is refreshing to drink while maintaining a full bodied taste, which is distinguishable by the variety of the Caybrew hop.  Caybrew was proud to be awarded a gold medal from the prestigious Mondee Selection, Brussels for the quality of the beer and its production in May 2008.  A gold medal from Monde Selection signals a ringing endorsement for high quality from the International Institute for Quality Selections who awards the honour.  Recognised globally as having tough voting criteria, the award is a global endorsement for Caybrew and a compliment to all those involved.

The new brewery is special since it’s an industrial brewery, which means the modern technology ensures the product maintains its consistency when it comes to flavor, alcohol content, colour and other charactaristics.  The consistency is maintained since the brewing, fermentation and filtering process is controlled by computer and this is the difference between the previous micro-breweries on-island which were controlled by man and subject to changes.  Caybrew is the first beer in Cayman to be produced by these advanced brewing standards and so the Islands now have a beer of which they can be proud and one which is consistently meets the international standard of other international brands.

Caybrew Light was most recently launched in January 2008.  As a 3% alcohol beer, the makers of Caybrew Light aspire that it will be the lowest calorie beer with the fewest carbohydrates of any international light beers in the marketplace.  The brew is awaiting results from an independent committee for confirmation of the aspiration and it is currently undergoing trials.  Caybrew Light is currently available at Hard Rock Café and Royal Palms on draft.

Caybrew is passionate the environment and the Brewery was built upon environmental philosophies.  By taking a modern approach to its carbon foot print, CIB  does everything it can to recycle and give due consideration to the local environment. CIB has invested in a sophisticated bottling plant that is designed to sterilize returned bottles and allow them to be re-filled.  Customers are asked to return their ‘empties’ and a fee of CI$2 a case is paid to each customer who returns.  The bottles are currently returning back to the brewery at a rate of 30% and are being returned by both private environmentally conscious individuals and also many of the Islands bars and restaurants.  Once the bottle is returned, it is washed/sterilized and then re-filled.  The bottle on average returns back to the Brewery, is filled, sold to the customer in either a bar, boat or at home and returned back to the brewery on average 20 x per bottle.  Saving the environment of added wastage – empty bottles – and production/transportation costs of bringing new bottles on-island.

The water used during the brewing process is also being reused. After treating it in the brewery’s own water processing plant it is used to irrigate the brewery’s gardens as well as for washing the Caybrew trucks and other vehicles. Plans are also in the making to pass on some of the excess to the local National Trust to use on their sites.

In time, when the political negotiations over the licence for the local power company and the CI government are resolved CIB also hopes to introduce solar panels to generate its own electricity. The partial private generation of electricity is currently prohibited under the existing licence, temporarily stifling the brewery’s extensive eco-plans.

CIB's desire to be a green citizen is not just a canny marketing plot but a responsible attitude towards the local environment, which is crucial to the local economy.   CIB is proof that a successful business can have the environment and responsibility to it, at the core of its purpose.

The Brewery’s General Manager Allen Chu Fook explains how a green brewery or business mean expensive.

“We intend to demonstrate that we can be environmentally responsible, good corporate citizens and still make a profit,” said Fook.
“The two are not mutually exclusive. In the context of Cayman, which is vulnerable to environmental degradation in every form. It is a pre-requisite we think for good business to keep a close watch on the environment.”

Fook is extremely proud of the bottle-recycling programme and the plans for the wastewater. He believes that the brewery’s attitude towards the local environment is beneficial too in winning the hearts and minds of the local population.

With the freshest beers on island and a full flavour that suits the climate Fook, who is entrusted with making Caybrew a commercial success, says the firm is going full steam ahead. With four decades of experience in producing and marketing beers in the Caribbean, Fook knows what to expect and what to do.  

Caybrew is all about Cayman and even though the ingredients may hale from Europe, the style is Caribbean. The Caybrew slogan, ‘Our Islands. Our beer’ is more than just a catchy phrase. Fook says he is keen to see Caybrew become synonymous with the country and to be a product of which Cayman can be proud.