Cuban Beer

Cristal is the standard tropical BMC light lager such as Presidente, Bramha, etc.

 

If our country can't (Saudi Arabia, for instance) why should you expect its citizens?

I would love to be able to drink a Cuban beer (or any beer) with a great Cuban cigar is my main thing about easing relations.

 

You do have a point. Certainly some brutal dictatorships have been more convenient to oppose than others throughout the years. My main problem with this new "openness" with Cuba is that we seem to have decided everything is OK now when nothing has really changed there. The president's name is still Castro for God's sake.

 

Heck we are now a major trading partner with Vietnam.

Time we started to realize that a country (ours) with the highest gun murder rate in the free world , one that has been a violent aggressor nation against countries that haven't and can't attack us, is the proverbial "glass house" in which we live, so perhaps we ought not to cast stones at others.

Failing at embargoing Cuba into "freedom", and bombing Iraq and Afghanistan into "freedom", perhaps we should do the one thing with a chance at working, making friends..

I welcome the chance to drink Cuban rum and beer, and to enjoy them with a Cuban cigar.

 

Lots has changed there... The government is giving people the ability to open businesses now. People are now opening legal shops and cafe's. Granted its a long way from capitalist but what can you do. It's not the job of the free world to go in and change countries to our liking.

The average cuban makes 20$ a months the thing is Housing is subsudized, food is rationed, believe what you want but people have more than enough to survive on. that 20$ is enough to buy small luxuries. They live a simple life but they live ok all things considered.

Another thing to think about is this, If one good ruler runs your country, your set for a lifetime. In the first world the average term is 4 years and we seem to always get bad, politicians. Yes were free to vote and yes were free to travel, but other than that life goes on as ususal. We have the luxury to buy lots and lots of junk, but were not really free. Nobody is.

Take it from someone who's free to travel cuba and talk with cubans, plenty of them are happy how things are. As for the majority of the violent regeme Castro has led, Your government tells you that to make you feel like there's a real reason for us embargos, Thank them for my as now I and many other brits and Canadians have a great cheap vacation desitnation

 

That's a beautiful thought, but absurdly naive. I'm not saying I have the answers either. Obviously we as a nation have fucked a lot of things up around the world. But one thing I am absolutely positive of is there will always be people that don't want to "make friends".

 

I'm not an expert on any of this. If things have improved for the average Cuban, I'm happy to hear it. Just let me know when they are able to criticize the government and freely vote for someone whose last name isn't Castro. Until then anything else you say about this is irrelevant to me.

 

We have been embargoing Cuba and trying to undermine their government since 1959, completely without success (by our definition anyway). Believing that continuing it will achieve results is not only naive, it is the definition of insanity.

To look at it logically, reaching out in friendship can have only one of three results; a change for the worse, no change, or a change for the better. I think anyone with a degree of sense will agree that extending a hand in friendship won't make things worse. So, we either get no change, or a change for the better.

And we all get to drink Cuban rum and beer, and smoke Cuban cigars.

To me that's a win for us, even if it does nothing to change their government more to our approval.

 

I understand your point. I really do. I vividly remember going back and forth with people when this thread started a year ago. There is no doubt the embargo for whatever reason was a miserable failure. It is also true we do business all over the world with places that have the same or worse record on human rights and never give it a second thought. Look no further than China. I just can't get past the notion that lifting it now is the same thing as endorsing everything the regeme has done since it took power, especially since there have been no fundamental changes to the system of government.

 

There are so many contradictions and ridiculous assertions in this post and your others I feel we should end our discussion here. Hopefully we both can enjoy some Cuban delicacies, including beer and cigars. Cheers!

 

Its definintely time to end it, I'm going to Cuba in February feel free to cross the border north and enjoy some of the cigars I return with XD

 

My only point from the beginning is that we shouldn't forget that Cuba is not a free democratic society even though we can buy their booze and cigars now. It's absolutely stunning to me how many people found that position controversial. I agree there is nothing more to be accomplished here, so cheers back at you.

 

I found Hatuey down in Miami a few years ago. It was contract brewed by Thomas Creek in Greenville, SC. They said they brewed it to the original recipe. Wasn't too bad from what I remember.

 

I'm not sure who's making the rum and beer in Cuba, but most of the cigar makers left Cuba when the communists took control and set up shop elsewhere. That is why there are Cuban and non Cuban cigars of the same trademark (and that is also why importing Cuban cigars will be years behind the end of the embargo as trademark issues will have to sorted). The Cuban cigar industry is run by an entity that is under control of the government. If the embargo ends I don't see why they wouldn't be able to brew beer for export, who knows, maybe rum barrel aged beers. I could even see them inviting an American craft brewer in to help them get started. When trade with the US opens up they will need something to trade with us and I'm sure they would want to have more than just cigars and rum. Considering the explosion of the craft beer industry here that would be something that could catch their eye.

 

That might take a while unless both countries drop all the claims & counter claims. Based on what I've read, individuals can still sue, so it will entertaining to see how all these guys dodge all this; unless of course you are one of the aggrieved parties...

 

Cristal and Buccanero are both pretty poor, but as mentioned previously, might be good while there. I'm going in 2 weeks and hope to find something new to try but I'm guessing I'll have to stick with Rum.

 

World class beer tends to come from wealthy countries, so I doubt there is a Cuban Heady Topper flying under the radar.