Where to drink Costa Rican craft beer near Santa Teresa in 2026: the Calle Cimarrona brewery in Mal Pais, Butterfly Brewing in Montezuma, the bars with real local taps, the bottle shop, and what a pint, a flight and a two-for-one costs.
The best craft beer near Santa Teresa is at Cervecería Calle Cimarrona, a working brewery on the road to Cabuya in Mal Pais, where a pint of its own IPA or pale ale runs about 3,000 to 3,500 colones and live music nights come with two pints for 5,000 colones. Butterfly Brewing in Montezuma is the other brewery within reach, and Kooks and Drift pour the best Costa Rican craft taps in Santa Teresa itself.
The short version
There are two breweries on this end of the peninsula and neither is in Santa Teresa proper. Calle Cimarrona brews in Mal Pais, ten minutes south of the cruce, and is the one to build an evening around. Butterfly Brewing Co. and its Imago Gastro Pub are in Montezuma, 40 minutes away, next to a butterfly garden and the trail to the upper waterfall, and it is a daytime trip with a 4:30pm happy hour. In town, Kooks Smokehouse is the sports bar with local craft on the list, Drift keeps Papagayo drafts on tap alongside its cocktails, and The Liquor Store at Plaza Coral is where you buy bottles and cans to take home. Prices are consistent: a craft pint is 3,000 to 4,500 colones ($6 to $9) anywhere here, against 1,500 to 2,500 colones for an Imperial.
Cervecería Calle Cimarrona
Calle Cimarrona Brewery sits on the road to Cabuya on the Mal Pais side, a five-minute walk from the Mal Pais tide pools and rentals, and it is a real microbrewery rather than a bar with a tap list. Untappd lists it as a Puntarenas microbrewery with more than 50 beers logged and around 3,800 check-ins, and Costa Rican beer writers credit it with dark IPAs and pale ales that helped build the country's craft scene. The taproom is open air with a food menu and a stage, and its Instagram promotes live music nights with two pints of house beer for 5,000 colones (about $9.50). Google has it at 4.9 from 34 reviews and the theme is cold beer, friendly owners and a Mal Pais crowd rather than a tourist one.
Hours shift with the season and Google's listing is not reliable for this one (it showed only Wednesday evenings at the time of writing), so check the brewery's Instagram, @callecimarrona, for the week's nights. Expect evenings from about 4pm to 10pm on the days it opens. A regular pint is around 3,000 to 3,500 colones; the two-for-5,000 deal runs on music nights. Who it suits: anyone who wants to drink the beer where it was made and hear a band without a cover. The honest caveat is that it is not open every night and it is a dark, unlit road back to Santa Teresa, so arrange a taxi or a sober driver.
Butterfly Brewing Co. and Imago Gastro Pub, Montezuma
Butterfly Brewing Co. & Imago Gastro Pub is 500 metres east of the canopy tour on the Montezuma to Delicias road, inside Montezuma Gardens, a small inn with a butterfly garden and a private trail to the upper and lower Montezuma waterfalls. The pub is open Tuesday to Saturday from 12pm to 7pm, with happy hour from 4:30pm to 6:30pm offering two pints for 5,000 colones, discounts on cocktails and 20% off food, per its Facebook page. The butterfly garden runs 8:30am to 4:30pm on the same days and costs 1,000 colones for pub customers. Google has the whole operation at 4.8 from more than 200 reviews, and live music runs some evenings from 5pm to 7pm.
The beers are brewed on site in small batches, so the board changes; expect a blonde, a pale ale, an IPA and one darker beer most weeks. Who it suits: a day trip from Santa Teresa that combines the waterfall hike, the butterflies and a brewery, which the day trips guide puts alongside Cabuya and Montezuma village. The caveat is a listing quirk: Google marked it temporarily closed at the time of writing while its own social pages showed regular hours, which usually means a green season break, so message before you drive 40 minutes. Sunday is drinks and a limited menu; Monday it is closed.
Kooks Smokehouse and Bar
Kooks Smokehouse and Bar is 200 metres south of Super Costa on the main road in Santa Teresa, open from 7am to 2am, and it is the closest thing the town has to a beer bar: an American-style smokehouse and sports bar that lists local craft beers alongside its brisket, ribs and wings, per kookscr.com. It has nearly 2,000 Google reviews at 4.7 and shows every major game. Expect a rotating selection of Costa Rican craft in bottles and cans, with Numu (the gluten-free craft brewer that has distributed in Santa Teresa, Mal Pais and Montezuma since 2024), Papagayo and one or two others on the list, at 3,500 to 4,500 colones. Who it suits: a burger, a game and a proper IPA. The caveat is that it is a restaurant with beer rather than a taproom, so the tap count is small and the kitchen is the draw.
Drift
Drift is 50 metres south of Super Muralla on the Playa Carmen side, open from 11am with the bar running until 10pm (later on live music nights) per its own site, though Google lists it closed on Sundays so check before a Sunday visit, and it is the cocktail bar of Santa Teresa with a beer list that takes craft seriously: Papagayo craft drafts on tap at $4 to $7 alongside Imperial and Pilsen, per its own menu on driftbarcr.com. Google has it at 4.7 from nearly 470 reviews. Who it suits: one craft draft before moving on to the cold-pressed mezcalitas that made its name; see the best bars and cocktails guide. The caveat is that the beer list is short and the cocktails are the reason people come.
The Liquor Store Santa Teresa
The Liquor Store Santa Teresa is a bottle shop in the Plaza Coral shopping centre on the Playa Carmen side, open 10am to midnight daily. It sells Costa Rican craft in bottles and cans, imports, spirits and wine at retail prices a few hundred colones above the supers. Expect 2,000 to 3,500 colones per craft can and case discounts if you ask. Who it suits: anyone stocking a house for a week. The caveat is that stock rotates, so the brand you want may not be there, and it has only a couple of Google reviews to go on.
Malbec Wine Bar and La Pasión
Malbec Wine Bar is 200 metres north of the cruce next to Taco Corner, open 6pm to 11pm Tuesday to Sunday. It is a wine bar first, with a short craft beer list, small and quiet. La Pasión on Calle Buenos Aires in Playa Carmen opens 7pm to 2am Tuesday to Saturday and describes itself as a drinking den with cocktails, craft beers and natural wines; it is the late option, with a mixed 3.1 rating on a few reviews. Both suit a second stop rather than a beer pilgrimage.
How to choose
| Place | What it is | Craft pint | Deal | Hours | Food |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calle Cimarrona | Brewery, Mal Pais | 3,000 to 3,500 colones | 2 pints for 5,000 on music nights | Evenings, check Instagram | Pub menu |
| Butterfly Brewing | Brewery, Montezuma | 3,000 to 4,000 colones | 2 pints for 5,000, 4:30 to 6:30pm | Tue to Sat 12pm to 7pm | Gastro pub |
| Kooks | Smokehouse and sports bar | 3,500 to 4,500 colones | None published | 7am to 2am | Full BBQ menu |
| Drift | Cocktail bar with Papagayo drafts | $4 to $7 | Daily 2-for-1 on selected drinks | 11am to 10pm, Sunday varies | Full menu |
| The Liquor Store | Bottle shop, Plaza Coral | 2,000 to 3,500 per can | Case discounts | 10am to midnight | None |
| Malbec Wine Bar | Wine bar with craft list | 3,500 to 4,500 colones | None published | 6pm to 11pm, closed Mon | Small plates |
Practical notes
Flights are rare. Neither brewery advertises a tasting flight; ask at the bar and you will usually get a half pour of two or three beers to try before you commit. Two-for-one deals are the local version of a flight.
Cash helps at the breweries. Both take cards, but Calle Cimarrona's card terminal depends on the Mal Pais signal and Butterfly is up a dirt road, so carry 10,000 to 20,000 colones.
Transport is the real cost. Santa Teresa to Calle Cimarrona is a $10 to $15 taxi each way; Montezuma is 40 minutes on a rough road and not a trip to make after drinking. The getting around guide covers shared shuttles and taxis, and the renting a car guide explains why a 4x4 matters on the Cabuya road in green season.
Green season, right now, is quiet: the breweries open fewer nights and the bars are calm. From December the music nights fill and the two-for-one deals get busy. The live music guide has the weekly schedule and the nightlife calendar covers what happens after the taps close. Browse every bar in the /directory/drink hub.
FAQ
Is there a brewery in Santa Teresa?
Not in the town itself. Cervecería Calle Cimarrona brews in Mal Pais, on the road to Cabuya about ten minutes south of the cruce. Butterfly Brewing Co. is in Montezuma, about 40 minutes away. Both are microbreweries with their own taprooms.
How much is a craft beer in Santa Teresa?
A pint of Costa Rican craft is 3,000 to 4,500 colones ($6 to $9) in 2026. Calle Cimarrona and Butterfly Brewing both run two pints for 5,000 colones at set times. An Imperial or Pilsen is 1,500 to 2,500 colones at a bar and less at a super.
Which Costa Rican craft beers should I try?
Calle Cimarrona's own IPA and pale ale, Butterfly Brewing's small-batch board, and from the national brands, Papagayo (on tap at Drift) and Numu, a gluten-free brewer that distributes across Santa Teresa, Mal Pais and Montezuma.
Where can I buy craft beer to take home?
The Liquor Store in Plaza Coral on the Playa Carmen side, open 10am to midnight. The larger supers (Super Costa, Megasuper) carry a few national craft brands in cans. Ask Calle Cimarrona about takeaway bottles on the night.
Does Butterfly Brewing have a happy hour?
Yes, 4:30pm to 6:30pm Tuesday to Saturday, with two pints for 5,000 colones, discounts on cocktails and 20% off food, per its Facebook page. The pub itself is open 12pm to 7pm those days.
