Beer Paradise: Beer me porfavor!
If you are reading this, you probably smile when you see a beer… i mean… any beer!
I haven’t met a Costa Rican who doesn’t like beer, you see, here, everybody drinks beer, to the point that is easy to find bars that don’t sell anything else than beer… interesting ha?
Also, beer is very cheap, local brands run from 750-1000 Colones (between $1.50 and $2.00 a bottle) in most bars.
Like a good Costa Rican, beer is my number one favorite drink… followed by tequila shots and jagerbombs, but that’s a different post.
This country offers a good variety of beers: the local Imperial, Pilsen, Bavaria and Rock Ice are obviously the favorite among ticos, but one can easily find famous foreign brands such as Corona, Heineken, Tona, Quilmes and Tecate. However, let’s concentrate on the two most popular Costa Rican beers: Pilsen and Imperial.
The slogan “La cerveza de Costa Rica es… Imperial” is pretty catchy and straight forward, Imperial is probably the most consumed beer in this country. It’s a pretty sweet beer, favorite among ticos and foreigners, to the point that it has become a celebrity, you can buy Imperial t-shirts, hats, key chains, underwear, card decks and unimaginable things at any gift and souvenirs shop around the country.
Then, there is Pilsen, a.k.a “la rubia” (the blond) because of it’s golden color. Pilsen has adopted a different advertisement strategy: The Pilsen Chicks, a group of blond models that advertise the brand in bars and social events. I’m guessing the Pilsen chicks are responsible for the many male Pilsen consumers, I mean, the “Chicas Pilsen” make a yearly calendar that sell thousands of copies each year, generating good competition to Imperial lovers.
One more important detail about these beers: Pilsen is a little more bitter than Imperial in taste and it’s 5.2% alcohol, a little more than the 4.6% Imperial.
So it seems like we are in the middle of the battle of the beers here!!
Which is your favorite?
For more information on Costa Rican beers go here.
