If you were not able to attend the first-ever Costa Rica Craft Beer Festival at Avenida Escazu a couple of weekends ago, you certainly missed out on a lot.

While everyone hopes that a future iteration of the Craft Beer Festival will yield more master brewers, a greater range of microbrewery products, and greater overall interest in the craft beer scene in Costa Rica, you don’t have to wait until the next festival to taste some of the great beers lovingly in tiny breweries hidden in the Central Valley and beyond.

The interest shown in the festival has sent Tico beer lovers scrambling to local bars and specialized stores like La Bodega de Chema in search of local brews. Not all beers featured at the festival are easy to find, and then there is also the matter of getting an idea about what to look for. It is definitely easier for those who went to the festival and tasted the microbrewery offerings, but for those who did not attend, beer connoisseur David Ackley of the Local Beer Blog did everyone a favor and published his thoughts and reviews.

The hard work of Mr. Ackley at the festival included tasting and reviewing the following beers:

• Maldita Vida (9.8% ABV) – Cervecería Treintaycinco
• Espiral (6.8% ABV) – Stefano Marín
• IPA Costarricense (6% ABV) – Costa Rica’s Craft Brewing Company
• Centenario Cask Conditioned (C3) Stout (5.5% ABV) – Costa Rica’s Craft Brewing Company
• Majadera IPA (6.5%) – Cervecería Treitaycinco
• La Rubia del Campo Blonde Ale (5.9%) – La Perra Hermosa Coastal Brewery
• Malpais Pale Ale (5.5%) – La Perra Hermosa Coastal Brewery
• Witch’s Rock Pale Ale (4.8%) – Volcano Brewing Company

The list on Mr. Ackley’s blog is actually longer. The beers above are just the initial stage of the review, which you can find in its entirety on his blog.

Of particular interest is his review of Centenario Cask Conditioned (C3) Stout, which denotes a very interesting beer:

Aged for two months in a cask of Centenario Rum, this Oatmeal Stout was one to sit back and really enjoy. Aromas of brown sugar and chocolate led to sweet and toasty flavors with just a hint of rum.

The review of Espiral is also very appealing:

A dark ale made with a number of locally-sourced ingredients: organic cacao, honey, unrefined whole cane sugar (panela), cinnamon, and vanilla. The color of lightly-roasted coffee, this was a very well-crafted artesanal beer. The various ingredients came together nicely with flavors of toasted malt and English hops.

The reviews are enough to make anyone thirsty, but for those who wish go a step further and start making their own beer at home, TicoBirra has the required tools. You can find a lot of the ingredients in your local markets, as evidenced by Mr. Ackley’s reviews.