Look! Even the iguana knows to drink out of a glass! Watch How to Pour a Van Steenberge Beer to learn the correct way to pour a Belgian beer!

Cruise season and Spring is upon us and for anybody that loves nice weather and good beer then we are happy to announce that you can find many of our great beers on the Caribbean Islands that comprise the U.S.V.I. In the past, we have experienced that most of the beer selection on the islands or cruise ships are the typical mas marketed brands with a few of the bigger import brands thrown in to make your choice of lots of yellow, fizzy, beer. That isn’t much of a selection for the true beer lover. That’s all changing as Ales and Others, located on St. Croix, began bringing our beers into the U.S.V.I this past fall. The U.S.V.I is comprised of 3 main islands, St. John’s, St. Croix and St. Thomas and were purchased by the U.S. in 1917 from the Danish for $25 million. Eight different countries including the Knights of Malta have owned the islands. Since they are part of the U.S., travel is relatively easy as a passport is not required for U.S. citizens. Charlotte Amalie is the capital city of the U.S.V.I. and their duty free shopping (up to $1,600) is the best in the Caribbean. The downtown is a maze of shops and hustle and bustle so finding a place to a have a great beer is nice way to relax and unwind afterwards.

There are many restaurants, shops, beaches and of course, great beer. If you arrive in St. Thomas on a cruise ship, go downtown to the shopping area but then take a short cab ride to the Frenchtown Plaza where you will find a small but great beer and pizza/pasta place called The Pie Whole (340-642-5074). Say hi to beer lovers, owners: Brian Andre and Earl Elrod. You will be amazed at their line up of nearly every Belgian beer imported by Global Beer Network on hand and some great food as Earl is also the head chef. You can grab an Augustijn and a pizza and they will even sell you some beer to go. If you have more time call The Pie Whole and ask when they are holding their next beer dinner. Once per month, Brian and Earl close for the night and conduct incredible 6 course beer dinners! You may get lucky and find out the next event is during your visit. The food and the pairings are World Class-courses like walnut " sage stuffed Pork Tenderloin, cayenne pepper sweet mashed potato, garlic haricot vet with a port wine reduction paired with Piraat. A big course to go with a big beer!

St. John’s has the most beautiful, soft sand beaches and is a 20 to 30 minute ferry ride. Two-thirds of the island is a National Park as Laurance Rockefeller, bought and donated the land in the 1950’s. Many cruise ships offer excursions over to Trunk Bay and then you can snorkel the under water trail. Check out Cinnamon Bay if you really want to leave the cruise crowd behind!

On St. Croix, in downtown Christiansted visit Bacchus (Tel.340-692-9922) for fine dining and Zebos (340-692-2864) for a more casual experience. Both are noted for their great wine lists and the staff at both places are also beer lovers. If you go to Bacchus make sure you save room for their signature dessert called, “Coffee, Donuts and a Cigar” that was especially made by the chef to pair with Gulden Draak. The cigar is Chocolate wrapped in filo dough, the coffee is crème broule’ and homemade donuts. Wow! What a great way to end a fantastic dinner with a nice Gulden Draak.

If your looking for a nice beach, great food and beer on St. Croix, go to Cane Bay Beach and settle in front of Eat @ Cane Bay (340- 718-0360) across the street from the beach. Behind the restaurant is a dive shop, you can rent some beach chairs and snorkeling equipment. Some of the best snorkeling on the island is located at this beach. When you get hungry and thirsty, walk across the street and enjoy this open-air restaurant. They usually have something cooking on their smoker on the deck, great burgers and island specialties. Grab a burger and a Bornem Double and enjoy the great view, great food and great beer. St. Croix is home to the Cruzan Rum factory (340-692-2280) so if you had enough sun, go for a tour and tasting. Cruzan Rum has been made by the same family on the island for 250 years, covering 8 generations. Like our brewers, they have passed down the process, the knowledge and their location provides the special formula for their award winning rums that cannot be duplicated. The factory uses only the best sugar cane molasses, which is fermented with a propriety yeast (sounds like our beers!) and in combination with the pure, soft Virgin Islands’ rainwater makes for their special rum. The yeast is added to the molasses instead of malt (barley) and fermentation creates alcohol just like beer. Next the alcohol is distilled which raises the Alcohol by Volume (ABV) or proof many times greater than beer.

Do some “Beer Hunting”, if you get a chance to visit St. Thomas or St. Croix.