- Belize is too small to support a Brewery;
- The international breweries would crush a local producer;
- An independent brewery in Belize has little chance for success.
Rather than give up, the father-and-son team set out to prove the experts wrong. After looking far and wide, they found an ally in neighbouring Honduras. Berty R. Hogge managed the Cerveceria Hondureña brewery; he read the feasibility study and despite the conclusion was impressed with Barry and Eric’s passion for the idea and provided the investment capital needed to start construction.
Belize Brewing’s beginnings were inauspicious, to say the least. Used equipment was sourced from throughout the region, and all but one piece of equipment was second-hand. That single new piece of equipment, a diesel boiler, exploded on the day Berty arrived for a site visit. There were times Barry and Eric wondered if the experts were right indeed, but they forged ahead anyway, never giving up.
The oldest piece of equipment was a German brewhouse built in 1927; an antiquated decommissioned four-vessel brewhouse which became the heart of Belize Brewing. This solid-copper brewhouse faithfully served the company for over 30 years until it was decommissioned for the second time in 2000 and replaced by our brand-new, state-of-the-art brewery.
Born in Belize City in 1908, Eric Bowen, sold his interest in Belize Brewing to Barry upon retiring in 1977. And in 1981, the year Belize gained its independence, so did Belize Brewing. Barry bought out Cerveceria Hondureña, and Belize Brewing became an independent, family-owned Belizean company.
Today, Belize Brewing celebrates fifty years of pursuing excellence. The company remains independent and family-owned, today run by Michael H. M. Bowen, an eighth-generation Belizean. We are proud to be “The Beer of Belize,” and have done well for a company the experts thought had little chance of success.
None of this would be possible without the hard work of thousands of Belizeans over the years, or the avid support of the people of Belize.
So, on behalf of everyone at the Belize Brewing Company, our deepest gratitude for making this dream come true.
Let’s all raise our glasses to an amazing journey over the last half-century, and toast to the next fifty years of independence, continued passion, and great beer!
one team to rule them all
meet the people behind Belikin
TODAY'S BREWMASTER NOLAN
BREWMASTA (BREW MASTER) 2012 - PRESENT
Nolan R. T. Michael is Belize Brewing Company’s first Belizean Brewmasta (Brew Master). During our first 40 years, Belize Brewing operated with German Brew Masters, who helped establish the brands loved by our consumers and trained our organization on how to ensure world class quality and taste. In 2011, in alignment with Michael Bowen’s vision of expanding our Belizean brand, it made all the sense in the world to make the change to a Belizean born and raised Brew Master.
BOWEN FAMILY LEGACY
SIR BARRY M. BOWEN, KCMG
CEO BOWEN & BOWEN, LTD. 1981 - 2010
Above all, Barry Bowen was Belizean. A seventh generation Belizean born and raised, Sir Barry was ardently proud of his country.
MICHAEL H. M. BOWEN, CMG
CEO BOWEN & BOWEN, LTD. 2010 - PRESENT
Michael Bowen is an eighth-generation Belizean who joined the family business in 2000. He spent his first decade working in every aspect of Bowen & Bowen’s operations, from bottling Crystal Water to tending shrimp at Belize aquaculture.