Beer O'Clock: The Taste of Costa Rica

Typically, when I find myself in the Caribbean (and by that, I mean the only other two Latin-American countries I've been to: Mexico and Cuba), I don't reach for beer. I'm usually at a resort and tend to opt for easy-to-drink cocktails, like a margarita or a Cuba libre (rum and coke), with the occasional piña colada thrown in.

Cuba is where I discovered the mulata and made it my own when I returned home.

But in Costa Rica, signs for its national beer, Imperial, were everywhere. And in the videos that I watched while researching my trip, people tended to go for this cerveza. Naturally, I'd have to try it.

On our first full day in Costa Rica, we drove from San José to La Fortuna. It was a nearly three-hour trek that had us climbing up mountains and literally into clouds before we descended again and ended up in this popular volcanic town.

Our first goal was to find a place to eat, and we quickly found Pollos La Familia, not far from the centre of the town. I ordered a place of rice and shrimp, and of course, a glass of the flagship lager from Imperial, which was on tap.

It came in a large glass mug and tasted exactly as I expected it to taste: it's an American lager that smells grassy, tastes of grass and corn, and goes down easy. But there's no character to it. Think Miller or Blue or Canadian or any other macro brewery. They all taste the same.

Later, that evening, as DW and I were enjoying a meal at Soda El Turnito, where I had an amazing chifrijo meal, I tried another Imperial brew, Silver. It was lighter in body than their classic lager and had a bit more citrus flavour to it, and I actually enjoyed it. In some ways, it's more like Corona but more flavourful.

Not surprisingly, when I was offered a choice between the classic Imperial and Imperial Silver, my server would acknowledge that the Silver was their preferred choice, too.

But I really strove to find local craft brews from Costa Rica and I actually was quite successful. Some were offered on menus of upscale restaurants or in grocery or liquor stores.

In Uvita, when we were grocery shopping, the store had a huge liquor section that had several microbrewery offerings and I happily filled my shopping basket. I also visited a couple of craft breweries around the country and had some good success.

Here are a couple of brews that stood out from my travels:

• 
  Segua, by Costa Rica's Craft Brewing Company (4.8% ABV; 0 IBUs): this Red Ale had nice malts and notes of caramel, mixed with fruit and floral aromas and a hint of spice. It went down surprisingly well as I sat on the edge of the pool in the pool of our Dominicalito Airbnb, soaking my feet in the cool water, at the end of a long day. I'm not sure I would have been so welcoming of this ale at the height of the heat, but with the sun gone and the distant sound of the Pacific Ocean with the gently buzz of night bugs in the surrounding jungle, it was perfect. 🍺🍺
• 
  Indómito, also by Costa Rica's Craft Brewing (7.6 % ABV; 70 IBUs): this was a heavy-hitting brew and also the best IPA that I had in Costa Rica (to be fair, I only tried four). It was unfiltered but not hazy, with a copper-amber colour that is traditional in a British-styled IPA. The nose presented citrussy hops and the palate was cleansing yet full-bodied, with a lingering finish. I also enjoyed this ale in the evening from our Airbnb, actually while writing a blog post as others went to bed. I liked it so much that I had two, and slept like a baby. I wish I could have brought some home. 🍺🍺🍺
• Tropical IPA, by Papagayo Brewing Company (6.2% ABV; 0 IBUs): it was hard to believe that his fruity, hoppy IPA registers at 0 IBUs, but it did give the impression of more sweet fruit than any bitterness. I ordered it from the patio of a soda on Playa Santa Teresa, on the Nicoya Peninsula, after sunset. Paired with shredded beef tacos, it was a great combination. Even though the IPA is fruit-forward, it did retain solid characteristics of a classic IPA. Unfortunately, because I drank straight from a brown bottle, I couldn't see the colour: I had to go to the Brewery's Web site to see that it was slightly hazy and more golden than a traditional IPA. It was my first IPA in Costa Rica and was initially my favourite beer thus far in our journey, and was only beaten by Indómito later on. I kept my eyes open for more but sadly never saw it again. 🍺🍺🍺
• 
  Murciélago, by Monteverde Brewing Company (5% ABV; 30 IBUs): we visited the brew-pub for lunch, after trekking through the Monteverde Cloud Forest and standing on the continental divide. Surprisingly, we were served by a man from New Jersey who has now made Costa Rica his home. I had started with a session IPA, which was light and refreshing and went well with my burger, but wanted finish my meal with this coffee stout. It was more of a dark-roast ice coffee than a stout: eye-opening on both the nose and the palate. There was also a creaminess to it, no doubt from the nitro infusion. Though heavy on coffee, the body was surprisingly light. It was delicious. 🍺🍺🍺
• 
  Botánica, by Calle Cimarrona (5.5% ABV; 20 IBUs): the last beer that I had in Costa Rica (in fact, the last beer that I've had, period!) was a perfect choice for the perfect end to a perfect vacation. Served at Café Rojo, which I've now mentioned in a couple of posts, this lovely saison had a classic banana nose, mineral palate, with an added flavour of tamarind spice. It was refreshing and matched my pork ban mi perfectly. 🍺🍺🍺

There are many more craft beers that I tried over our two-week vacation but these were the best. If you ever get to Costa Rica, I recommend that you seek these out.

Cheers!