Sometimes when you travel and you're short on time you only get a taste of a place but during a short layover in San Jose we were able to squeeze in two tastes - beer and chocolate. Chocolate has a long and rich history in Latin America dating back to the time of the Mayans and Aztecs but beer didn't emerge on the scene in Costa Rica until the early 1900's and craft beer in this country is practically in its infancy but growing up fast. Costa Rica Craft Beer Company started the craft beer movement in 2010 and now dozens more craft breweries are making quality lagers, ales, IPAs and stouts.
Our home city, San Diego, is one of the best U.S. cities for craft beers so we're always interested to taste what other brewers around the world are pouring. Costa Rica's craft breweries are producing about 100 different draft and bottled beers and we had read about Stiefel Pub in San Jose and it sounded like a great place to taste the local brews.
We were staying in a hotel in the Heredia Province so we took a cab downtown not realizing the bridge to the city was undergoing major repairs requiring lane closures that turned our ride into a 30-minute, bumper-to-bumper crawl. The traffic downtown wasn't much better so once we got to an area we recognized on our city map we decided to hop out and walk the rest of the way and I'm glad we did because we found San Jose to be a city best explored on foot. As we made our way to the pub, we passed massive souvenir shops and small boutiques, stately buildings with ornate architecture and bland buildings enhanced with murals and many hotels, restaurants and pubs. Some areas looked a little rough and some looked absolutely regal.
A statue of Juan Vazquez de Coronado overlooks a fountain in Parque Espana. The Spanish conquistador played a major role in the colonization of Costa Rica and was the province's first appointed Royal Governor.
A few blocks shy of our destination we espied an ornate, domed structure surrounded by lush, green parkland across the street so we crossed over for a closer look. We entered Parque Morazan and learned the structure which caught our eye was the Templo de la Musica - a concrete bandstand which looked like it had been recently renovated.
The Templo de la Musica is the work of painter and architect Francisco Salazar. It is believed Salazar was inspired by the temple of love and music in Versailles.
The green space was actually two parks adjoined, Parque Espana and Parque Morazan. It was lunch time so many people were enjoying the shade trees, refreshing fountains and sitting areas. It was a pleasant, sunny day so we spent a little time people watching and enjoying the landmarks throughout both parks. Pleased with ourselves for sneaking some culture into our otherwise indulgently-planned day we headed off to the pub.
The renovated underside of the Templo de la Musica dome.
Stiefel Pub is located in the stylish neighborhood of Otoya, the historical district of the city where wealthy and elite families used to live. Many of the mansions once owned by coffee barons have been converted into boutique hotels, cafes, business offices, and galleries. We spotted the big, beer boot logo on a building with green trim and entered the small but bustling pub.
The bold geometric-patterned tile floor and the walls papered in colorful handbills and posters of beer festivals from all over the world made for a cheery welcome. There were about a dozen tables, all but two were occupied and only two bar stools were open. We settled in at an open table and each ordered the beer sampler and an order of the chicken fajitas lunch special to share. The clientele seemed to be an even mix of locals and tourists.
Our samplers arrived on wooden paddles with the name of each beer, percent of alcohol noted and style written next to each glass in chalk. It had taken a little while to get our beers but when I saw the effort that went into the presentation I was impressed by the attention to detail even during the busy lunch rush.
Larry and I got different beers so we could sample eight in total. Larry ordered the Calypso, a 7.5% IPA brewed by Costa Rica Craft & Brewing; Temporada, a 4.6% Golden Ale brewed by Primate; Ryd'ing Dirty, a 4.6% Rye Ale also by CR Craft & Brewing; and Perla Negra, a 6% Dry Stout brewed by Daba Daba Brew (my favorite brewery name). I ordered the Horizon, a 6.2% Pale Ale brewed by Bri Bri Spring; Tita, a 4.6% Golden Ale and the Stevie Wonder, a 4.6% Stout, both brewed by Baristas Brothers; and Malinche, a 5% Wheat Beer brewed by C Cimarrona.
One of my favorite features in the pub were the four pendant lights fashioned from plastic beer cups.
Stiefel Pub has such a great variety of local draft and bottled beers and of the eight we tried there was only one neither of us cared for - the golden ale. But as I've mentioned in previous posts, Larry and I are just good-natured beer drinkers and not professional tasters. As we were finishing our beer a young couple from Green Bay, Wisconsin came in and the wife inquired about the sampler we had. Her husband suggested they share one and she looked at him like he was mad. "I want my own, " she said. We all had a good laugh at that.
The couple from Green Bay, WI. They were waiting to check into their nearby hotel and were already making plans to come back that evening.
We walked to the park to catch a cab to take us back to our hotel across the bridge and the return trip took even longer. Our driver told us the bridge, or "La Platina" as the locals call it, has been the subject of frustration for Costa Ricans for a long time. It is the major route from the capital city to Juan Santamaria Airport and the Alajuela province. If you're planning to travel to San Jose, keep an eye on scheduled closures. Our driver told us that sometimes the bridge is completely closed for 24 hours. On this day, it was only open to public transportation including city buses, tour buses and taxis. There are exceptions during the morning and evening commute hours.
We had scoped out a quaint chocolate boutique next door to our hotel the night before so I wanted to check it out since we still had some time. Nahua Chocolate was tucked into the back of the Plaza Cariari Shopping Center (between the Country Inn Suites and Doubletree Hotel) in Heredia. It's really just a small tasting room but they do make truffles onsite. The packaged bars of chocolate, nibs and cocoa powder are produced at their nearby factory.
The gentleman behind the counter gave us samples of hot chocolate and dark chocolate chips to nibble on while we selected a couple of truffles from the glass case and looked over the milk and dark chocolate bars for sale. The bars came in a wide array of flavors including passion fruit, cinnamon, sea salt, pineapple, cayenne, mint, orange and several more.
We bought two truffles - vanilla (left) and lime (right).
Nahua Chocolate is made from 100% Costa Rican cacao beans from smallholder growers who are held to the highest standards of social and environmental development. Nahua owner, Juan Pablo Buchert has helped implement programs to support sustainable farming practices which in turn has helped rural farmers revitalize their cacao forests, increase productivity and their incomes as well. Although the chocolate was delicious, I wouldn't go out of my way to come here but if your hotel is within easy walking distance it is definitely worth a stop. We bought a few chocolate bars for our family and friends who would be joining us for a Panama Canal cruise the next day.
