Tap Handle #710: Hatuey (Santiago Brewing/Bacardi)

January 06, 2019

Tap Handle #710: Hatuey (Santiago Brewing/Bacardi)

Tap size: 12.25" tall by 4.25" deep
Rarity: less than 10 seen
Mounting: large 3/8" ferrule

In my recent anniversary post regarding upcoming profiles, this tap is one that made the list. This is mostly due to the great history of the beer, as well as the scarcity of the tap. The top of the tap depicts a likeness of Hatuey, a native of Hispaniola that fought against the Spanish Conquest and for whom the beer is named after. Below that is a four-sided sign featuring the name of the beer. The base is sculpted to make it appear as if it has ceramic and leather elements, and the ferrule is of a larger size. Overall, the tap is quite striking and very heavy. I included a depth measurement because the feathers make the tap a little deeper than other taps, and might be important to a collector with space restrictions. Mine has a few paint chips here and there but no real damage. These date to 2011 when the brewery resumed U.S. operations...not many were produced and they have become very hard to find. When they do appear on the secondary market, they typically sell for close to $200 or even double that amount.

Hatuey was a Taíno cacique (chief) originally from the island of Hispaniola (present day Haiti and Dominican Republic), who lived in the early sixteenth century and fled to Cuba during the Spanish conquest. He has attained legendary status for leading a group of natives in a fight against the invading Spaniards, and thus becoming one of the first fighters against colonialism in the New World. He is celebrated as "Cuba's First National Hero". In 1511, Diego Velázquez set out from Hispaniola to conquer the island of Cuba (Taino as it was named by Columbus). However, Hatuey had already fled Hispaniola with a party of four hundred in canoes, and warned some of the Native people of eastern Cuba about what to expect from the Spaniards. The Taino chiefs in Cuba did not respond to Hatuey's message, and few joined him to fight. Hatuey resorted to guerrilla tactics against the Spaniards, and was able to confine them for a time. He and his fighters were able to kill at least eight Spanish soldiers, which was an impressive feat given the primitive weapons of Hatuey and his fighters and the armor of the Spaniards. Eventually, using mastiffs and torturing the Native people for information, the Spaniards succeeded in capturing Hatuey. On February 2, 1512, he was tied to a stake and burned alive at Yara, near the present-day city of Bayamo.

Information on Hatuey the Taíno cacique and photo courtesy of Wikipedia.

Click through to read more about Hatuey Beer and to see more photos of this legendary tap. Note that although Hatuey is supposed to be all caps, I chose not to write it up this way due to the internet etiquette of "yelling"...

Santiago Brewing Company was founded in 1914 in Santiago, Cuba. They created and registered the Hatuey brand in 1915, but by 1920 they were out of business. Santiago Brewing and the Hatuey brand was acquired by Compañía Ron Bacardi S.A., when Bacardi saw an opportunity to offer premium beer to the Cuban market. In 1926, Enrique Schueg, son in law of the Bacardi founder, contracted a well-known German brewer, George J. Friedrich, to open a new brewery to produce and market Hatuey. In 1927 Cervecería Hatuey brewed their first batch of Hatuey beer, which was awarded a Gold Medal at the Cienfuegos Exposition. To keep the beer cold, each case came with a free block of ice. In 1930, Joaquin Bacardí, a Harvard graduate with a degree in Chemical Engineering, was sent to Copenhagen to learn the art and science of brewing. Joaquín Bacardí became Hatuey´s first Brew Master, and is credited in large part with much of Hatuey's tremendous success.

In 1947, Cervecería Modelo in Havana opened to meet the increasing demand of Hatuey beer, and in 1953 Cervecería Central, a state of the art brewery, was opened. By 1959 Hatuey had grown enough to capture over 50% of the Cuban beer market with sales of over 12 million cases a year. The beer was a favorite of the famous writer Ernest Hemingway and the brand even appeared in a couple of his books. In 1959 the Communist government nationalized the brewery, causing the rights to the brand to essentially split - Cuban rights went to the Cuban government, while global rights went to the Bacardi family. While the Cuban government operated Cervecería Central, with production levels remaining largely static and sub-optimal, Bacardi continued to produce Hatuey for their Mexican and Puerto Rico markets through contract brewing. In 1995, Hatuey beer was contract brewed for Bacardi by Indian Head Brewery in Baltimore, Maryland, and was introduced to the Florida market for the first time. However, after a few missteps, including bottling the beer in green bottles that allowed light to affect the quality, U.S. brewing operations had ceased by the early 2000s.

In 2011 Bacardi resumed brewing Hatuey beer in the U.S. under contract through the Thomas Creek Brewery in South Carolina, while the actual Hatuey brand headquarters was located in the Miami neighborhood of Coral Gables, just a few miles away from Little Havana, the heart of Miami's Cubano population. It is considered a micro-brew, brewed in small batches with distribution limited to South Florida. In 2014 distribution was expanded to include New York City, with a centennial celebration in Times Square.

Hatuey Cuban Style Ale is a pale ale made with malted barley, hops, yeast and water following traditional small-batch brewing techniques, and has a completely different recipe than its Cuban counterpart. It is double filtered for optimal quality and has a golden, straw color and an airy mouth feel that finishes with a cool and crisp effect. The sweet malt combined with just enough hops adds character to the refreshing, light-bodied beer, which is best served in a classic pilsner flute or a handled glass stein. Recommended food pairings are light foods like salads, seafood and chicken. Hatuey is also delicious with bratwurst, Vermont cheddars, mild English cheddars, and light citrus desserts.