Exploring Costa Rica's Favorite Beers And Local Favorites

Costa Rica's beer industry is centred on mass-produced lagers, with the country's most popular beer, Imperial, being enjoyed by many Costa Ricans and known as the 'cerveza of Costa Rica'. Imperial is produced by Florida Ice & Farm Co. and has been in production since 1924. The same company also produces other popular beers, such as Pilsen and several varieties of Bavaria.

Craft beer has also become increasingly popular in Costa Rica, with independent breweries popping up all over the country. These breweries offer complex tastes in imaginative labels, with one beer even being named Tumbacalzones, which translates to 'panty remover'!

Costa Rica's most popular beer

FIFCO also produces other popular beers in Costa Rica, such as Pilsen, a pilsner with a slightly more bitter and complex taste, and Bavaria, which comes in a variety of flavours such as dark, light, chill, red, and gold.

In addition to the mass-produced lagers, Costa Rica also has a lively craft beer industry, with independent breweries located throughout the country. These breweries offer complex tastes in little bottles with imaginative labels, such as Treintaycinco, Costa Rica Craft Beer Co., and Lake Arenal Brewery.

Costa Rica's craft beer scene

The first microbrew pub in Costa Rica was established in 1998 in San Jose under the name Cabeza Grande. It later closed and re-opened on the shores of Lake Arenal in 2010 as Lake Arenal Brewery, an eco-brewery that uses solar power for 100% of its brewing operations.

In 2010, Costa Rica Craft Beer Co. jumpstarted the trend by producing its own brands, "Segua" and "Libertas". Many of the microbreweries that appeared in the following years were guided by the experience of expatriate residents from the United States.

Around 2012, companies such as TicoBirra and La Bodega de Chema began to import and sell the required ingredients, equipment, and tools for brewing beer, as well as hosting workshops on how to brew. This accelerated the creation of new breweries.

Since 2012, the Festival de Cerveza Artesanal (Craft Beer Festival) has showcased the current brews in the craft beer scene, with its growth reflecting the significant growth of the industry and the newly acquired taste for different kinds of beers among local Costa Ricans.

By 2014, the impact of microbreweries on the local market prompted Florida Ice & Farm Co., the producer of Costa Rica's most popular beer, Imperial, to start its own craft beer division, called La Micro Brewing Company.

In 2022, there were around 200 microbreweries in Costa Rica, with a boom in craft beer in the Guanacaste Province. Popular craft beers include "Chivo Blanco", "K&S Lager", "Iztaru", Segua, Libertas, Malacrianza, Maldita Vida, Tumba Calzones, and Pura Vida Porter.

Costa Rica's national beers

The most popular national beer in Costa Rica is Imperial, which is produced by Florida Ice & Farm Co. (FIFCO). It is an American-style lager and has been described as "watery" with an alcohol content of 4.6%. It comes in several variations: light, silver, ultra, normal, and non-alcoholic. Imperial is followed in popularity by Pilsen, a lager with a darker flavour and an ABV of 5.1%. FIFCO also produces several variations of a beer called Bavaria, which comes in dark, light, chill, red, and gold.

Other national beers include Rock Ice, which is a beer with an "ice brewing" process that tastes like a spritzer, and Bohemia, a low-priced light American lager.

Imported beers in Costa Rica

Costa Rica's beer industry is heavily dependent on imported raw materials as the country's geographical location prevents it from growing the necessary ingredients. However, the country does have a strong beer industry centred on mass-produced lagers.

The country's signature spirit

Costa Rica's signature spirit is guaro, a clear liquor distilled from sugarcane juice. The most popular brand is Cacique, which means "Chief", and is produced by the Fábrica Nacional de Licores, or FANAL. Guaro is cheap and can be mixed with almost anything, from fruit juice to coconut milk. It is often used in cocktails like the guaro sour and the chiliguaro, a spicy mix of guaro, tomato juice, lime, hot sauce, and salt.

Guaro is sometimes referred to as "Costa Rica's moonshine", and while it may be too harsh to drink on its own, it is commonly used in cocktails and other drinks. It is widely consumed by locals and plays an important role in the country's drinking culture.

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