There’s more than wildlife to enjoy around the Galapagos Islands, a fact that is difficult to believe. If you’re on a multi-day cruise around the islands, you’ll certainly get to enjoy the food, though I’m sure there’s plenty more to eat in the towns (I just didn’t get an opportunity to do that aside from a couple excursions). One thing I didn’t expect to imbibe in was local craft beer — prior to arrival, I assumed it would all be imports and mass produced Ecuadorian brands. I was pleasantly surprised.
The only downside to staying aboard a ship in the Galapagos is that your choices are confined to whatever is available on the ship. There was only one brand of local craft beer available aboard our Lindblad Expedition, but I found that there were other brands in towns. Upon arrival at the airport in Baltra, I took a few moments to check out the little gift shop and saw a bottle of coffee stout that I was tempted to purchase. I decided against it because I didn’t know what was on the ship and thought I’d see it again. I never saw that beer again.
Because it was all that was available on the trip, I drank a lot of beer from La Endémica Galapagos and Santa Cruz Brewery. Lindblad Expeditions provided the summer IPA and Blonde Ale from La Endemica Galapagos, and Gringa pale ale and Mountain IPA from Santa Cruz (the latter brewery was on draft). I preferred the beers from La Endemica.
La Endémica Galapagos summer IPA was the best of the bunch aboard the Endeavour II. It was light, refreshing, and slightly hoppy — it was a great beer after a few hours in the equatorial sun. It’s also delicious with some of the Ecuadorian fare served. It was my preferred drink after the second daily excursion and before dinner.
There were a few times that I chose the blonde ale for variety. It wasn’t as good as the summer IPA, but it was a light and refreshing brew. It was a bit sweeter than the IPA and had a lower ABV, which was certainly better while on an active trip.
As for the Santa Cruz beers, the Gringa pale ale was the better choice. It was a lighter, more aromatic beer than the mountain IPA, which was not as smooth.
One evening on the Lindblad ship, the bar had an additional Santa Cruz beer — a white stout. As I had already tried everything else, I thought it’d be a good idea to have a new one. I should preface my comments with this caveat: I don’t think white stouts are good in general (there are rare exceptions). The Santa Cruz Brewery white stout is not an exception. It was a combination of light lager and coffee. Those are two flavors that don’t mix well. On the positive side, it’s brewed with coffee from the Galapagos.
On a day when we trekked to see the Galapagos giant tortoises along their migratory route, we were offered another local beer option with lunch. Rancho El Manzanillo, the ranch with a huge property full of the giant tortoises, had a couple of beers on the menu, but I couldn’t pass up a porter after days of drinking much lighter varieties. Also, how could I pass up a beer called Boobies?
It was a light porter (thankfully) with a pleasant roasted flavor and aroma. And it has a blue-footed booby on the bottle. The label would’ve made a fun little souvenir if I could’ve saved it.
The only beer outside the Galapagos worth mentioning is Cerveceria Latitud Cero Sierra Negra, which I had at El Capitan bar in Hotel Oro Verde in Guayaquil. On that final evening with some of our tour companions, we had a drink as we received texts about flight delays and cancellations on our way home. The standard malty marzen was a good option, even if it didn’t lessen the annoyance at figuring out our new flights home.
Beer might not be the priority for travelers in the Galapagos Islands, but it’s good to know that there are options to enjoy while relaxing after a day of wildlife trekking or kayaking.
