Panama

The Brewery

Balboa was born at the Panama Brewing & Refrigerating Company, founded in Panama City on 4 October 1909, with the first bottle poured in 1910 — making it one of the country's oldest beers.

The brand is now made by Cervecería Nacional de Panamá, part of AB InBev.

The Pour

A Panamanian pale lager: bright gold, light-bodied and smooth, with a gentle malt sweetness, a whisper of corn and a clean, crisp finish — built for the tropical heat. Serve it ice-cold.

Born by the Canal

Legend has it a group of Panama City businessmen pooled their balboas — Panama's dollar-pegged currency — to found the brewery and sell beer to the workers digging the Panama Canal.

Like the currency, the beer takes its name from Vasco Núñez de Balboa, the explorer who crossed the isthmus and became the first European to reach the Pacific from the Americas.

At The Table

Made for Panamanian plates: ceviche, sancocho, hojaldras and empanadas, or grilled fish by the water.