You would be forgiven for thinking that Guatemala isn’t exactly a craft beer destination. I certainly didn’t expect much. After arriving, I did what I always do when I move to a new place: I worked my way through the local beer selection. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of craft options. Even the national mass-produced lager was solid. Gallo lager, sold under the name Famoso outside of Guatemala, is the most ubiquitous beer in the country. It’s equivalent in the States are the light lagers from Budweiser, Coors, or Miller, and it’s much better than any of those options.
Head-to-head, I have to give Guatemalan beer the edge over Israeli craft beer (sorry Israel), at least based on my time in each country. The most common styles are blonde, pale, and India pale ales, but I found plenty of variety outside of these options. In general, the darker styles of porter and stout were not my favorites, but that is also very much affected by the weather. I don’t usually want to drink black beer when it’s 80 degrees and sunny. The only style I found really lacking was wheat beers, which are perfect for Guatemala’s climate. Oh, and of course sours, but I’m typically in the minority when it comes to my affinity for acidity.
Craft beers in Guatemala are almost always sold as singles, while bigger brands, such as Gallo and Cabro, can be sold in 6, 12, and 18 packs. Unlike Israel, where singles can go for as much as $10 a can, singles of craft beers in Guatemala are at American prices or slightly cheaper. Hard seltzer isn’t super common here, although you can find alcoholic Topo Chicos in most stores. Israel humbled me as a beer snob, making me appreciate the simplicity of light European lagers. In Guatemala, that trend continued. I was more than happy to relax with a Gallo after a long day of fingerprinting, thinking of craft beers as a nice treat rather than a must-have.
Our favorite craft brewery was Cerveceria 14, which not only makes great beer, but also has an awesome brewery 15 minutes outside of Antigua. There are games, food trucks, and live music every weekend. They also have great swag, so we bought quite a few things from the brewery. Their flagship pale ale, Dale Pale Ale (a play on both Dale’s Pale Ale by Oskar Blues and what you’ll hear parking attendants yell at you – dale!), is a crisp and citrusy ale that was always my go-to brew. We didn’t visit, but they also have a location at El Paredon, a beach on Guatemala’s Pacific coast. Also in Antigua is Antigua Cerveza, which has a very relaxing beer garden in the city, with bocce, good food, and occasional live music. Last in the city is Antigua Brewing Company, which has a nice rooftop bar but subpar beer. The only real reason to visit ABC is the best cocktail bar in the country, Ulew, is hidden inside.
Cadejo Brewing, Principe Gris, El Zapote Brewing, Quetzal Brewing, and San Roque Brewing are all in Guatemala City, as well as the Gallo factory. Cadejo was the first place outside of our Cayala bubble that we visited. The food and beer were solid but nothing extraordinary. Principe Gris is in the hip part of Zona 4 known as Casa Aguila along with some great restaurants. Their beers are delicious and unique, including an IPL and a dunkel, but other options are limited. The other breweries I only tried off store shelves. Quetzal and El Zapote make decent IPAs and lagers, and Quetzal has one of the few good wheat beers in the country. San Roque, which I’m still kicking myself for not visiting, had the best shelf presence. Their labels feature colorful portraits of dogs that change depending on the style. Their restaurant/brewery is called The Bark (again, kicking myself). They made the best New England IPAs I tried in the country.
Lastly, up by Lake Atitlan, we found a truly experimental company. Ixiim is based in San Juan La Laguna and makes beers from cacao, honey, and corn. They were interesting, although not exactly something I’d want to drink regularly.
Now that we’re back home in the States, Guatemalan content is running thin. I will be putting out two or three more blogs over the next few weeks to wrap up our time there, and then it’s back to American content for a bit. In keeping with the beer theme, I hope to visit a variety of New Hampshire breweries while we’re up here, so check back in a few months once I’ve had some time to explore. Cheers!
Beer and Diplomacy 
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