Witch's Rock
Volcano Brewing Company

 

On tap on the beach and at the brewery (an unusual combination) in Tamarindo, Costa Rica. Pours a good-looking deep golden amber with a thin off-white head. Initial impression is fairly smooth, notes of pine resin and citrus, a little dank, with a nice malt offset. Mouthfeel is medium, as is carbonation. Finish has a distinct bitterness to it.
Far superior to the swill that is generally available in Central America and the Caribbean. It's not a spectacular example of the style, but it's definitely your best bet in CR if you can find it.

a bread and butter sort of pale ale here, not much to this, but well made and easy drinking, which is all you can really ask of a beer like this. the place is amazing, and they could have served me piss water and i would have enjoyed it, right on the beach watching the surfers at tamarindo, a splendid atmosphere for a pint! the beer is good though, its just a pale barley malt base and a balanced hop profile with a little citrus to it, but quite tame and generic as they go, seemingly designed to appeal to the macro lager drinkers as much as anything else. smooth and with a little body to it, which i enjoy, and great carbonation that leaves just the citrus and bitter hop note on your tongue after the swallow, really refreshing. the hops are pretty traditional tasting, nothing out of the ordinary in the least, and this has a similar hop profile as their ipa, which also goes by the same name, how confusing! i liked this beer, but wished for more and more creative options here, they had only two beers and both were on the safe side...