The beers of Panama.

Panama. A country that is mostly hot, humid, lush, laid-back, working-class, and poor. The food is distinctly influenced by the Canal (Panama City has the most amazing fish market ever), and the Caribbean (coconut rice, jerk chicken, ...). So what room is there for fancy beer? Apparently none, but they do make crisp, refreshing lagers somewhat well. I just returned from a surfing/hardcore-chilling trip with my buddy Raf and my girlfriend Carey, and if we weren't drinking Abuelo rum, it was beer (or amazing fresh lemonades!).

Panama. 4.8% and $0.35 - 1.00 anywhere - yeah seriously. Brewed by Cervecerías Barú-Panama. It's similar to an MGD in the sense of being borderline too-bitter, really light, and marginally flavorful. But it's sure easy to kill ten of these.

Balboa. Again 4.8% and $0.35 - 1.00 anywhere. So as you see, there's no monetary competition, only flavor and distribution. In some areas this was all you could get (and Atlas, which I'm not showing here) presumably because the Cervecería Nacional is closest, which brews only Balboa and Atlas. The beer is a little more sweet than Panama, which means you start to notice when you're tired of drinking it.

Not featured: Atlas (a less malty version of Balboa - 3.8%), and Soberana (actually never tried because it was nowhere to be found).

And the winner?! The proof is in the sleeveless t-shirt:

And let us not forget - these beers are less than a dollar! So think of that next time you drop $5 for a shitty beer, or it's $12 beer night at your favorite club (Sambo, Fluxx tonight!?!?!).