Craft Beer in Gringo Bars.

It's a bit of a shit photo, but it should give you an idea of the best sort of beer selection you can hope to find in Costa Rica or Panamá, which are probably a half-step ahead of the rest of Central America. A few international lagers, with the Japanese well represented. Sam Adams. Paulaner Hefeweizen and/or Helles. Leffe and/or Duvel. Bottled Guinness "Draft" as well as the mighty Foreign Extra.* North Coast beers are possible but sort of a rare bird. Distributors are notoriously flaky too, so rarely will everything be available at one time.

Most notable would the Libertas and Segua, upper left corner, from Costa Rica's Craft Brewing Co. Drink local, right?

This particular fridge is at Los Amigos in Jaco, right on the Pacific Coast and about an hour from San José (that is, it takes an hour unless weather, landslides or construction work shut the autopista). Popular spot with tourists and expats of all stripes -- families, fishermen, surfers, gamblers and whoremongers. I call it a gringo bar. Gringo bars often have better beer selections, catering to those with the hankering and cash for something besides Imperial. They often have better food as well (that imported U.S. ribeye was a thing of beauty). Just the remedy for a Yank expat tired of lean, chewy, grass-fed Brahman beef.

Another great gringo bar, with probably the best beer list in the country: Time Out Tavern in Escazú. And another: El Estribo in Santa Anna. Sportsmens Lodge in downtown San José. Most of them are also sports bars. And there are plenty more, here and there.

Rumors: I've heard about another guerrilla brewer in Guanacaste, brewing, bottling and selling his own to locals. That's makes at least three of them that I've heard about. They appear to be popping up spontaneously, with little or no communication among them. If nano-brewing falls somewhere between home- and micro-, then I think these guys are in that nebulous space between home- and nano-. Basically: They're homebrewers who are selling it because (a) people like it, and (b) they can get away with it. People want something different, they're willing to pay for it, and the authorities surely have better things to do than come around and ask for permits. Especially from someone brewing just 10 or 15 gallons at a time.

I'm trying to learn more, but what they're doing is not technically legal. My fear is that sharing the details could send the wrong sort of attention their way and shut them down.

Still... There's definitely a story there.

*So far, no true draft Guinness has appeared in Costa Rica, to the best of my knowledge. Might be just a matter of time.

Gone Surfing.

I was going to write something cranky about how the BJCP style guidelines long ago departed from any meaningful reality, since they've just added some new weirdness to the already weird. Instead I'll point you to Stephen Beaumont's post. Because I'm a huge Stones fan. "Totally pointless categorization of something that is the same shit – it just depends on how much you lay the backbeat down or how flash you play it." Yeah. What Keith says.

On the other hand: Whenever anyone whines about style guidelines, maybe it's best to put our fingers and our ears and sing, "They're just for homebrewing contests, lalalalala." It's probably a mistake to take them personally just because they fetishize and overcategorize one of the things we love most, a thing that has given us many wonderful memories in many interesting places, a thing that has whispered into our ears with some desperation that it cannot be divided into hermetic definitions, no, it won't be, because it's as liminal and dynamic as all the ideas we share and enjoy and send around the world every day. And it probably always has been that way.

Anyway. The style guidelines are too easy a target, aren't they? There's no sport in it.

Finally: I was also going to tell those of you in Paradise, or planning to visit someday, that you can now find Costa Rica's Craft Brewing drafts in a few places around the country. These include the Black Sheep Pub in Nosara, El Estribo in Santa Ana, and in Escazú at the Time Out Tavern. Which is the closest thing I have to a local, so that works well. So does the pitcher and a pizza deal for $20. The owners tell me the stuff is selling like hell. So that's good news.

The CRCB beers are likely in a few other places by now too. Brandon Nappy, please pick up the white courtesy phone. Feel free to share details in the comments section.

I'm disappearing to the beach for a few days. You're unlikely to hear from me. Enjoy your snow, if you have any.