Beer in the Middle of Wine Country

We LOVE the wine in Cafayate, so much so that I will dedicate a lot of time to explain my favorite wines, my favorite wineries to visit and so on, but in the middle of wine country, sometimes you just want a good beer! 

We took an afternoon off, the first in weeks, and traveled South of Cafayate to Santa Maria to a new Micro-Brewery (Ruta 40 Cerveceria). Of course the dogs joined us, thinking we were going for another long hike, but unfortunately, we only had a 30 minute walk up a dry river bed on the way, just to get some energy out of them and give me some energy.  We arrived at the sign that Charlie had passed on one of his trips back from Chile and followed it until we pulled up in front of someone’s house (the brewery) in the middle of a neighborhood.  The brewery has a little beer garden with a small brew room in the back and hopes to expand and serve food.  We are always excited to see and try new beer, as we have traveled up to Salta, Tafi del Valle, San Carlos,  and now to Santa Maria in a quest to find the best micro-brewed (cerveza artesenal) beer and offer them in our restaurant. As we were siting in the beer garden sharing the first trigo (wheat) beer we have had in Argentina, we realized how much time we spend in our restaurant!  The sun was shining bright as we were in t-shirts, flowers were still in bloom and it is the middle of winter, life is good!  Although, the beer didn’t really fit in our top five, we certainly enjoyed the drive, the beer garden, and the few hours away from the restaurant.  

Now, our absolute favorite trip and most fruitful in the last months in search of good beer was in our back yard, a town about 15k North from Cafayate, San Carlos.  The brewery, Me Echo La Burra, (I herd the burrow), is nestled in a cool little spot with a hostal, farm, and micro-brewery all in one - called Vaca Tranquilla (on a side note, a great place to stay the night - loved the rooms and the peacefulness of the place - and don’t forget a brewery is on the premises http://www.lavacatranquila.com.ar/ !!).   The picture below is all of us siting on the porch enjoying a nice cold one.  Me Echo La Burra has three types, a blond (rubia), red (roja), and dark (negra) beer.  The couple brewing are from Belgium and it is a true to form, strong Belgian beer of 8-9% alcohol with strong, rich flavors.  We have been carrying Me Echa La Burra for some months now and we have yet to have a disappointed customer, including ourselves.  The only warning we give, don’t let it sneak up on you!!  More than a few and you’ll be stumbling out of the restaurant!  Here’s to a cold one!