Since 2007, the International Beer Day is celebrated every first Friday of August. This drink, whose origin dates back to approximately 4000 BC, is currently very popular in almost the entire world, to the point that it is estimated that there are more than 10,000 brands of beer.

Cuba is not an exception to this phenomenon. The heat that prevails on the island during most of the year makes beer a quintessential drink to refresh the body.

Since 1985, Camagüey has had its own factory, the Tínima Brewery, which was inaugurated by Commander in Chief Fidel Castro as part of an agreement with the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CAME, by its acronym in Spanish) represented by the German Democratic Republic. Its technology was designed for the effective production of one million hectoliters per year, according to the professor of the University of Camagüey, María del Carmen Escobar Castor.

This researcher adds that the factory was decided to be built in Camagüey due to its geographical location and the availability of a high level of groundwater with ideal characteristics for the manufacture of beers. The institution also had the objective of supplying its main product and derivatives such as malt to the provinces of Ciego de Ávila, Santi Spíritus and Las Tunas.

La Tínima has since become one of the leading brands of the brewery in Cuba, although today its presence is scarce in the national market and fresh meat for resale.

Finding alternatives for its production is not only a requirement for people who love beer, it is also useful for marketing in restaurants, bars and other gastronomic sites.

The Tínima is still a symbol of the “beer” tradition in Camagüey, a product that we must rescue so that the suffocating heat of our summer and daily problems are a little less aggressive.

Translated by: Aileen Álvarez García