Somewhere around Xcanatun there is a brewery that has been spewing forth some very nice handcrafted beer without additives or chemicals. Water, hops, yeast and malt are the only ingrediants of Patito (Little Duck). Now you can head over to drink it at the corner of calles 64 & 55 where the brewery have opened a sort of pub, I suppose. It´s a very pleasant ruin of a house that has not been over restored. Apparently a real live Merida born chef trained at the French school (Bocuse) has made the menu adapting local recipes and ingredients. His name is Alex Méndez and I know that from reading the article I linked to. Otherwise I would have thought the food had never been given a second thought as everything I´ve seen come out of the kitchen is very mediocre. But, ni modo, we are here to talk about and drink some beer. You can walk down the street two blocks (if you pace yourself) and eat in Santa Lucia square. But you might enjoy the beer so much you won´t mind what you´re snacking on.
The very nice thing is this. There are two samplers of 4 beers each in 5 ounce glasses. If you are with close friends or family who have thrown caution and hygiene to the wind you can taste them all. The brewery started out with a Belgian Blonde Ale and a light Pilsner then they added an India Pale Ale. These beer are not pasteurized and have no added alcohol or flavors. Now they have added a Dry Stout, a Wiezenbier, a Porter Vanilla, a Belgian Strong Dark Ale & a Chocolate Stout. Seasonally they offer other specials around Christmas and Octoberfest.
The brewery and the mothership restaurant are located in Xcanatun on the highway to Progresso. The food might be better there as reviewed by the Casual Restaurant Critic. But I have my doubts as the prices there are in dollars and it´s on the cruise ship itinerary. But if you want a pleasant afternoon break drop in the downtown Hermana Republica and imbibe. FYI this brewery does not offer bottled beer though a few come in cans…
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