Because PTO is always a perpetual issue, Andrew and I had to split our Honeymoon into two parts. The first part being our Arizona trip and part two being this lovely trip down to Costa Rica with Costa Rica Brew Ventures! We were lucky to go on our trip earlier this year before Covid shut the world down.
The Beer
Of course the first thing you want to know about a Costa Rica Brew-venture is the beer!
Our trip featured five breweries and a meadery plus a lot of great local beer (and “Imperials” which are pretty much Budweiser) so every beer enthusiast will be satisfied!
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Treintaycinco
- The largest brewery we visited was a production brewery in San Jose. Typically not open to the public but we had a wonderful tasting thanks to Jayson’s connections! Fun beer names including Tumba Calzones & Majadera!
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Costa Rica Beer Factory
- A fun brewpub in Barrio Escalante in San Jose. Delicious food and beer with generous sample sizes! My personal favorite was La Puris Cherry Milkshake stout coming in at a whopping 9% abv. Go big or go home I say!
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Costa Rica Meadery
- Not a brewery but probably our favorite stop of the whole trip! Costa Rica Meadery is located on the beautiful Ark Herb Farm in Santa Barbara de Heredia. Alejandra takes you on a tour of the farm where you sample the fruits and berries and if you’re lucky she will take you to the Sacred Garden! Don’t miss the beer stop in their awesome treehouse on the tour! Our tour ended in a 3 course mead and farm fresh food pairing that was absolutely delicious.
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5inco Amigos
- A small brewery that we definitely would never have found on our own located outside of our AirBnb near La Fortuna. Super fun group of guys who introduced us to chifijos (more about that later). Toroz and Berta were definitely favorites from this stop. It was a sad day when we drank our last Berta a couple months after getting back to New Jersey.
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Numu Brewing
- A great brewery in Liberia close to the airport offering slightly obscured volcano views! We enjoyed a few beers here on our way to the beach and took some cans for the sand. The Kolsch was particularly refreshing for the heat and the Especial Tropical Pale Ale was fantastic.
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Cerveceria Independiente
- A great outdoor space in Playa Potrero. We were lucky enough to visit during the Super Bowl for a great experience! Lots of different food options in the beer garden including pizza, wraps, ceviche, yuka fries. There was a good variety of beer and our favorites were the Chocolate Stout (because it’s always stout season) and Pucker Kettle Sour. We also spent our Superbowl Sunday here and were the big winners of the night!
The People
If you decide to follow in our footsteps, your guides on the Costa Rica Brew Venture are Jayson and Minor. Jayson is from Virginia and is responsible for setting up the entire trip. Minor is a Costa Rican local and is your driver, entertainer, bodyguard and BBQ master. Together they make sure everyone is having a great time. The trips are in small groups (about 10 people) so your experience will largely depend on the people you’re traveling with; we were lucky to have a great group for this beer filled adventure! Shout out to the Thrasher family and Summer & Kylie.
Don’t worry, not everything is a group trip and you will have time to yourself if you want to go do your own things. Minor and Jayson are flexible with the schedule; within reason of course as there is only one van.
The Food
The second most important part of any of our trips is the food; we need to keep ourselves fueled to properly beerventure. It’s also very exciting trying new and different local cuisines and we were pleasantly surprised by the food in Costa Rica. If you’re unfamiliar with Costa Rican cuisine, much of their diet is based on beans and rice; which is a staple of Andrew’s normal diet. He was ecstatic that you could have beans and rice for breakfast, lunch and dinner and repeat again.
For people who like a little more variety, we did learn new ways to eat beans and rice including the absolutely delicious chifrijos (fried pork over beans and rice with loads of fresh cilantro salsa) which we devoured at 5inco Amigos. As we mentioned above, Minor was also our chef; cooking us full breakfasts and a barbeque dinner at our house in La Fortuna. He introduced us to gallo pinto (more beans and rice!). Since that fateful gallo pinto day, Andrew has adopted this recipe and recreated it many times in Jersey with the help of Salsa Lizano (a Costa Rican condiment required for real gallo pinto).
If beans and rice aren’t your thing, there were plenty of other options on the trip. For example, the Costa Rica Beer Factory had a full menu including a wide array of mouth watering burgers. One night in La Fortuna, we had pizza (not quite up to my New Haven pizza loving standards but still hit the spot after a long day of traveling!). Breakfasts are all included in the trip and are your standard eggs, toast, meat variety – as well as beans and rice for Andrew.
The Activities
A Costa Rica Brew Venture is not all about beer. There are plenty of other activities to see and enjoy in this beautiful country.
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Waterfall hike
- When I think Costa Rica I think lush jungles and waterfalls. We took a hike down to the La Fortuna waterfall. And by hike I mean a lot of stairs down. The waterfall and view is definitely worth the work of getting back up the stairs but your legs will be feeling it; so break out the stairmaster before your trip.
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Whitewater rafting
- Another great excursion! This is not a lazy river so prepare to get wet! The rapids were thrilling, our guides were great in pointing out local wildlife and sights. We were lucky to see some sloths lounging in trees and then one actually fell in the river. Don’t worry, our kayak guide rescued him! We had a great time and fabulous pictures to laugh at for years to come!
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Moonshine tasting
- We stopped at another farm to learn how to harvest sugarcane and make some delicious moonshine! We were also treated to another delicious meal (I may have went back for seconds and contemplated thirds) and fresh Costa Rican coffee. Fun fact- I actually hate coffee unless in comes in the form of beer but could not say no to to trying (I did hand off my cup to Andrew after a few sips though)
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Baldi Hot Springs
- Natural hot springs from a volcano. The Baldi Hot springs feature different temperature pools, swim up bars and waterfalls. Although I could spend all day at the top level (practically fire water) everyone was more comfortable a few levels down. The beer selection is not the best and the bartenders are not the fastest, but that’s just a great excuse to buy the largest pretty cocktail on the menu! Be on the lookout for the risque statues!
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Sun and Sand and Clear Water
- If lounging is more your style, there are plenty of opportunities to relax. The final stop of the trip found us in the province of Guanacaste on the northern coast. We had plenty of free time to enjoy the perfect and not crowded beach across from our resort Margaritaville. Protip- don’t wear your sunglasses in the ocean and lose them on the first wave that comes your way. If sand’s not your thing, feel free to hang out by the pool at Margaritaville and enjoy the swim up bar! And if beaches, pools and relaxation isn’t really your vacation style, Costa Rica Brew Ventures has another itinerary that gives you extra beach time!
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Sunset catamaran cruise
- While in Guanacaste, our group took a sunset cruise. There was snorkeling, stand-up paddleboards, swimming, noodle floating and lots of drinks and food on board to enjoy before returning to the most spectacular sunset!
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Ziplining
- I’m a little sad that we opted for the cruise over the ziplining but as you might remember, Andrew and heights are not friends. We were given the option to opt into the ziplining but we chose to hang out for more beach time. But our trip mates who went said they had a great time and have the pictures to prove it!
The Places
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San Jose
- We flew from Newark to San Jose (direct!) and exiting the airport felt questionable as San Jose is honestly not the prettiest, nicest, or safest looking city. But the people were friendly and we stayed at the super interesting Hotel Aranjuez with lots of plants, art and a delicious breakfast! Barrio Escalante is a lively area and lots of fun! And if I didn’t make the GPS thing clear before, heres the address to the hotel: Calle 19 Av 11 y 13 , 200 norte, 200 oeste, 25 sur, de la Iglesia Santa Teresita Barrio Aranjuez Aranjuez Carmen San José San José CR 457, San José, Costa Rica.
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La Fortuna
- Our next stop was La Fortuna which is located near the Arenal Volcano. We stayed at a fabulous Peacock Manor with gorgeous grounds, a pool and an actual peacock. La Fortuna was my favorite stop because we got to explore more of the authentic Costa Rican culture downtown and see the natural beauty of the country outside of the big city.
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Playa Flamingo
- Playa Flamingo was our last stop in Guanacaste and is absolutely breathtaking! The water is clear and warm and the beaches were not crowded at all. For someone looking to just relax by the water, this is the place for you!
Overall this was a fantastic trip that was a departure from our typical beerventures! It was so much fun to travel with a great group that was excited for adventure and beer! Even though I love planning trips, an international trip to a non English speaking country would have been difficult to pull off by myself. It was great not having to worry about transportation, booking hotels and finding the best side trips. We are grateful that Jayson reached out to us and we were finally able to make this trip happen! If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to us!
Costa Rica Brew Ventures is already selling out for 2021 so book now! We all deserve a great vacation after this crazy year so go ahead and treat yourself!
