Puerto Rico Craft Beer scene..

Also, THIS place http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaura...irilo_Pizza_Rustica-San_Juan_Puerto_Rico.html had a mostly local tap list including the above mentioned beer as well as a few FOK beers

2 Locations, one in Ocean Park and one on Old San Juan

GREAT food too

 

Heading down to Puerto Rico on business next weekend. I'll certainly be looking to stop in at Taberna Lupulo. Anyone know if they carry any Surly or Bells?

 

Bell's - Yes. Oberon is year-round there and you can find relatively fresh Two-Hearted every now and then.
Surly - No

The other brewery that I can think of that is there but not in Texas is Terrapin. They had regular Wake n Bake at Lupulo when I was there in January. Other than that just the regular big distro guys (Stone, Boulevard, Founders, Smuttynose, Victory, Harpoon, etc.).

 

Sweet! Thanks PJ! The Terrapin would be a nice bonus...I had their Hopsecutioner on a Disney trip with the fam a few years ago. Would certainly like to try the Wake n Bake.

 

Also worth stopping for a drink of 4 is La Factoria. Its Right down the street from Lupulo and they have fantastic craft cocktails. I suggest the old fashioned made with the Don Q gran añejo.

 

Helping out @guinness77 on another PR thread I found this nice list that might be helpful to leave in here https://foursquare.com/top-places/san-jaun/best-places-craft-beer (posted Feb 2016)
The Old Harbor restaurant is closed though.

 

Seems like Tallgrass started distributing to the island early this year.

Also found out about a good store in Ponce. https://www.facebook.com/gulfponcebypass/ A decent option for those who might need to pick up something while in the South side of the island.

 

I am originally from Mayaguez, and went back to visit in 2015 after not having been there since 2013. I do like that there is a craft beer scene, although it's called "artisinal beer" instead. It's funny, because I found a LOT of good selections at gas stations as well. There is one on Route 2 in Mayaguez that even had the latest Stone Enjoy By.

Rincon Beer Co was always great as well and would give you a great selection of local and US brews.

Honestly, I had a few of the different brews and I feel like there is some work to be done from most of the PR Breweries. But with some time and effort, they'll get there. I'll be going in May for Memorial Day weekend and am excited to see what changes for the better might have occurred.

 

Just wanted to thank everyone who provided all the great information in this thread so far. Was initially wondering if there was any scene in P.R., and it sounds like there's a very promising and burgeoning scene for sure. I went from somewhat skeptical to pretty darn excited.

The wife and I will be flying into San Juan on the May 1st, and will spend five days on P.R. and five on Vieques. Plan on hitting as many of the places mentioned as possible, and trying as much of the local fare as possible.

Since we are going to be staying in rural areas for the most part, I was still wondering if there's a bottle shop in San Juan anyone would recommend for stocking up purposes? And I can't forget, any suggestions on the best local beach beers?

Thanks again all, and cheers!

 

The main (and I think only one) distributor has a store in San Juan. Check this post (http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/rincon-puerto-rico.386392/) for more details about it.

If you don't mind AALs then Medalla Light is the way to go. Classic lame and cheap lager but your $ will stay in the island. I can't think of any local craft options that you could get enough of to stock up for the beach. Maybe Bell's Oberon or Terrapin Hi-5 are your best beach options.

 

@stephens101 Stock up before you go to Vieques, I'll tell you that much.

Not sure what part of San Juan you are staying at, but 24 Market actually has a decent cooler with singles of craft beer bottles. Check the dates though on some, I'd say. I actually was at 24 Market last year by accident. Our flight back to New Jersey got cancelled and we figured we'd try our look on Avenida Isla Verde and walked into that place. Decently surprised to find Enjoy by 7/4/15 on June 30th.

6150 Av. Isla Verde, Carolina, 00979, Puerto Rico is the address, just in case.

If you actually were to go in, you won't find the cooler immediately. It's somewhere in the back, and don't be confused if it looks like a bar/convenience store, it definitely had a cooler with craft beer in there. Pretty decent selection.

 

Did 24 Market have any local craft singles? I'll be in the area all next week and in walking distance. Thanks for the tip!

 

@socon67 - I honestly can't remember if they had any of the PR beer. The day we went to 24 Market was our 8th day on the island so by then we had tried almost all of the PR beer and were just hankering for some good options from the "mainland".

 

I actually serediptiously found SN Otra Vez at one of the small grocery stores in Isabella. That (plus a few bottles of Rum, and the absolutely pristeen beaches) kept me quite happy for the duration of my stay.

I didn't see any PR beer at 24 Market. As has been said, La Taberna Lupulo is where you are going to get the best selection of available stateside crafts and locals (Stone/Prairie/Bells/Boqueron/Rincon etc. etc.). Plus, it's just a really great place to get your drink on. As an added bonus, the bathrooms are "post-gender", so you don't have to worry about whether you're in the right one...but you will.

 

Had a great time here which unfortunately needs to end. Taberno Lupulo did not disappoint; great beer. I has a "Red Dragon Saphira Saison" that I don't see on BA but was a nice beer.

 

So, I just got back from Puerto Rico. I stayed by my hometown, Mayaguez and found plenty of options to keep me entertained for my duration. One thing I did notice was that the "local" craft beer scene at least in bottle form, isn't as prevalent as last year. I could hardly find anything, but I could find beers like Bear Republic, Stone, Sierra Nevada, Founder's, and others pretty easily.

Because the weather was hitting 100 consistently, I stuck with Founder's All Day, Terrapin Recreational Ale, and Founder's Mosaic for the most part. They did have most of the Bell's too.

I checked dates on everything and everything had a bottle date of February 2016 or later - so that was nice to see as well.

Went to a gas station that actually had Founder's Mosaic and Bell's Two Hearted Ale on tap as well.

 

Few updates as I'm researching a bit before my trip next week...

Pimenton pizzeria in Carolina seems to be a newer hot spot for beer on the island. looks like they have a great relationship with the distributor since they got one of the two Lizard of Koz kegs that hit the island. The other one went to Rincon Beer Company.

Oskar Blues now distro the island. All of their regulars and seasonals available.

Lagunitas also entered the market.

 

Any update on the Puerto Rico craft beer scene? Actually headed there next week.

Being with the family, probably will only get to go to one or two of the breweries. Looking at Ocean Lab since we are staying in San Juan and possibly Rincon Beer Company since we're planning a day trip there.

 

La Taberna Lúpulo in San Juan is probably as good as it's going to get: http://www.latabernalupulo.com/ I can't remember, but I believe it's now under "American" ownership, so it might be even better now.

It's been about 2 years since I've been to Rincon Beer Co but they do a pretty decent job of having local and "US" taps there. I think one time they had Stone Enjoy By there. It's hit or miss.

Just recently it seems like Puerto Rican beer started canning... it's a bit away from Rincón but for an extra 10 - 15 minutes south, you can hit up the Victory Gulf Station. If you try looking them up on Facebook, all you are going to see are macro options, but that's just because my people... well, we drink Medalla and Heineken because it's much, much cheaper. But last year, I visited and was able to get some Bell's, Founder's and Bear Republic. The place is literally a gas station, but with a great selection of stuff and for not a bad price. Boqueron Brewing just released a Blonde Ale that should be available there.

EDIT: Crap, I totally forgot about Beer Box. This might be a better bet than Victory since it is technically "on the way" to Rincón but they open after 5 PM. The Victory Gulf is open 24 hours.

 

Thanks for the info @beertoro. So would you say it would be safe for me to Uber to Ocean Lab from Condado, particularly if I decide to venture out on my own and leave the family back at the hotel?