Palawan’s ‘no blackout’ beer

Ayahay craft beer in different local flavors. —CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY—Something is brewing in Palawan.

Foreign and local tourists are raving about this hole-in-the-wall pub on Manalo Street in this capital city. Since 2012, partners Barbara “Ayah” Javier and Malu Lauengco have been busy cooking up beer recipes, infusing local flavors to create the “Ayahay Craft Beers.”

Ayahay, named after Javier, is also a local term that means to relax or chill out.

Javier used to work in a hotel in San Diego when craft beer became a hit in California. She returned to the Philippines and the couple, now in their late 40s, decided to move to Palawan, calling the island province their newfound “paradise.”

Javier brought a home brewer’s kit and they started working in their little kitchen. To test their concoctions, the couple would throw “Ayahay Night” parties among their friends. Eventually, they opened the Palaweño Brewery, with a half-barrel system producing an average of 120 bottles a day.

Unique taste and aroma

Lauengco said Palaweño Brewery follows the traditional Reinheitsgebot or the so-called German Beer Purity Law to use only the basic ingredients—hops, barley, water and yeast. They are importing the hops and barley, though, since these are not locally grown in the Philippines.

What gives Ayahay its unique taste and aroma is the infusion of local flavors. For instance, Ayahay’s Palaw’an or Honey Kolsch comes with Palaw’an wild honey from the southern part of the island.

Ayahay’s Hunter or Honey Nut Brown Ale, on the other hand, is laced with the Tagbanua wild honey from the north.

They also have the “seasonal brews,” among them the Mango de Palawan or the Mango India Pale Ale. This is offered only during summer when the fruit is in season.

Ayahay craft beers are a little pricey, compared with the commercial brands, but that is because they only use organic ingredients.

“We believe anything that is not natural harms the body,” Lauengco said. And because it is all-natural, Javier promises there won’t be “blackouts” or bad hangovers we all dread the morning after.

Female brewers

LET’S DRINK TO THAT Ayah Javier brought craft beer to Puerto Princesa City. —DEMS ANGELES

Palaweño Brewery is not only the first, and so far the only, microbrewery in Palawan, but Javier and Lauengco are also the first women beer brewers in the Philippines.

In October, Ayahay made it to the “World’s Best Craft Beers,” according to American Express Essentials and was featured in a British daily for being the first female-run brewery.

“(Beer brewing) is still basically cooking. Plus, we do it with love,” Lauengco said. Not only that they make their own beer but they personally do the bottling and even the labeling.

Ayahay craft beer is being served in restaurants and hotels in Palawan and in selected restaurants in Metro Manila.

But if you are up for a glass of freshly brewed beer straight from the tap, the brewery is open for tours from Tuesdays to Saturdays, from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Lauengco said they plan to scale-up production by this year while preserving the traditional brewing method. They would also experiment with more flavors.

“As we say, we drink our mistakes away (anyway),” Javier said.