Red Stripe Jamaican lager is brewed and bottled by
Desnoes &
Geddes Limited,
Kingston,
Jamaica, and has been since 1928. In 1993,
Guinness Bass acquired the company and manages the importation to the United States.
What can I say?
Red Stripe is
liquid gold. It comes in stout 12 ounce bottles of dark glass. The beer itself is very light and very smooth with just a hint of
bitterness in the light aftertaste. It can create quite a bit of foam, so be careful when pouring it, though I must say it is best drank straight from the bottle.
Red Stripe typically costs about three dollars more per
six pack than
American beers such as
Budweiser and
Coors. The notable difference is that Red Stripe has a better balance of
malt and
hops which give it a cleaner, smoother taste with less aftertaste. It is a bit
sweet and is definitely worth the extra three dollars when you want a crisp,
light-bodied beer.
I was introduced to Red Stripe originally by reading
The Firm by
John Grisham. The protagonist,
Mitch McDeere, travels to the
Cayman Islands for work related business and has several
Red Stripe beers for a fair share of money at a bar on the beach. I was intrigued, but it wasn't until five years later while at a friend's home that I was offered a Red Stripe. The name immediately rang a bell and I took the opportunity happily. Since then, I've drank only
Red Stripe and
Corona: Red Stripe when I can afford it and Corona when I can't.
For me, nothing comes close to Red Stripe. Cheers.