The Barcelona and Catalan Beer Blog

Barcelona Beer Spots - La Cerveteca

2011-06-23T19:16:00.000+02:00

Perhaps the best located and easiest to find, La Cerveteca is one of the original beer bars in Barcelona. Located next to the Correos building in the old city, its small and ever-lively atmosphere is complemented nicely by the knowledgeable bar staff and a nice selection of beers. On tap they usually have 4 or 5, and at least one local brewer. The lack of seating is not as big a problem as it might seem initially as there is ample table space and it's very easy to forget about the time as you sample the fine selection of ales.

The prime location within walking distance of almost all the sites in the old city and I would recommend stopping at one of the local tapas bars or crossing the street to the happening Born district for dinner after tempering the summer heat and a hard day's sightseeing with a well-served ale.

Barcelona Beer Spots - The Drunk Monk

2011-06-21T11:21:00.000+02:00

Okay, so technically this bar is not in Barcelona itself. It's in Mataro, about a half hour via train outside the city. And it's only open in the evenings. But for beer lovers this is it. The owner, Sven, is a great source of information and is always happy to recommend a new beer. And the beer menu itself is constantly being updated with new and seasonal beers. It has, by far, the widest selection of beers that I have yet found in the region, both local and international. The Drunk Monk often hosts tastings and is one of the congregating points for microbrewers from all over Catalunya.

If you have the chance it's definitely worth a visit to spend an evening among some great beers.

Initial thoughts on the Beer Festival in Molins de Rei

2011-05-23T21:02:00.000+02:00

Once we found the place, last Saturday's Beer Festival was definitely the place to be for Catalan microbrews. We met some great new brewers (we'll post some notes about Vella Caravana, Auskekens, Alpha and Maquis in upcoming blogs) and tasted some great beers from some of the already established brewers as well. The prize for me for best beer of the day went to the Reptilian Imperial Stout - just an out-and-out fantastic beer, even if the summer-like temperatures made for less-than-ideal drinking situations. Also nice to see the girls from 2D2Dspuma. 16 brewers in all, and while there weren't a huge amount of people, the small size made it a great way to really get to go one-on-one with the brewers, ask them about why and what they are making now. And from what we heard Saturday, looks like 2011 is in for some great new beers as the year moves on. Next beer fest is the big one in Mediona, and most of the guys I spoke with (brewers and visitors alike) are already getting excited about it!

I Annual Microbrew Festival in Molins de Rei

2011-05-21T09:21:00.000+02:00

Today we are off to a the I Feria de Cerveza Artesana in Molins de Rei, just outside of Barcelona. Looks like there will be a great selection of local microbrews, some well known (like Glops or Zulogaarden) and others from lesser-known brewers. In total 16 different producers will be showing us their best brews. We'll keep the notebook handy for new and great beers!

Just for fun...an interesting article

2011-05-18T09:34:00.002+02:00

“25 Beers With Scholarly Significance"(http://www.onlinecollege.org/2011/05/17/25-beers-with-scholarly-significance/).

Barcelona beer spots - 2d2dspuma

2011-05-01T19:51:00.000+02:00

This little bar off the Passeig Maragall is pretty new and is one of my favorites. They've got a great beer store (one of the best Catalan microbrew selections I've seen) and right next store is their bar, which offers a lot of the beers. They have local beers on tap as well as a good selection of bottles. They also do good food (they claim they make the best hamburgers on that side of the city, but as yet I have not had the pleasure of trying them so I can't confirm that. Down side is that bar-restaurant is only open in the evenings, but the beer store is open morning and evening (they do close for siesta) and is definitely worth a look.

Barcelona's brewpub - La Cervesera Artesana

2011-03-22T13:45:00.001+01:00

Just off the Passeig de Gracia on a street heading up into the Gracia district is Barcelona's own Cervesera Artesana Brewpub, La Cervesera Artesana. Tucked into a quiet street and boasting a line of English-style ales which include an Iberian Pale Ale, Stout, Honey Ale and one made with bolets (local mushrooms)!

A nice place to check out for those looking for a more traditional brewpub without heading to an Irish pub.

Beer rings

2011-02-26T21:14:00.000+01:00

Today I want to show you something different, related to the beer world but quite different. Bijuteria i Mosaics make those fantastic rings with beer caps. Isn't it a great gift? You can contact them if you want some or if you need more information about the different caps they have!

Barcelona Beer spots

2011-02-02T09:11:00.000+01:00

In the coming weeks we will be posting more information about the best places in Barcelona to get a great Catalan microbrew. What started only a few years ago as a tiny spark of interest among a select few people has really forced its way into the cultural life of Barcelona, even if it is still relegated to a few brewpubs and bars. It's growing, and we're excited to be a part of it!

Bleder - Handcrafted beer with a Mediterranean touch

2010-11-23T16:59:00.001+01:00

Last week we had the chance to enjoy a dinner/tasting with the owner/brewmeister of one of the most promising of the Barcelona microbreweries: Fortiverd.

Salvador Rocafull gave a good, short introduction to beer, and confessed his lifelong passion. After spending 2 decades working with yogurt companies, his knowledge of fermentation is unquestionable. But more importantly, his desire to produce a great and distinctive beer is wonderful. As of now, there are only 5 microbrew styles (on the market, with number 6 on its way in the next few months. We got to taste all 5 of them over the course of the evening, and we'll get our reviews up here soon. But suffice it to say, if you can get your hands on a Bleder, give it a shot!

The Catalan Microbrewery movement

2010-11-18T11:02:00.000+01:00

The other day I walked into a shop in Barcelona and saw literally dozens of (mainly Catalan) microbrews from around the Spanish peninsula. It was great, and reminded me that this blog was designed to be about promoting the growing brew culture in a land where beer is all-too-often overlooked. But from the time we started this blog to now we have witnessed the explosion, and dramatic increase in selection and quality throughout the region. It's slowly catching on in other places as well, but a recent trip around Spain showed me that the revolution is still widely overlooked. But I see no signs of a slow down in the process here. If anything, it's growing faster than ever. Tonight we have a beer tasting featuring one of the most promising microbrew-meisters at The Drunk Monk. Should be a good time!

Catalan microbrewery makes it to the States

2010-01-21T19:44:00.002+01:00

The Catalan microbrewery Companyia Cervesera de Montseny (CCM) has become the first microbrew from the Iberian penninsula to make its presence felt in the USA. Hopefully this will be the start of a broader recognition for the outstanding beers that are being produced in this region, which has been fighting an uphill struggle to gain recognition and presence outside of the local market. We raise our glasses to CCM and Shelton Brothers importers for this monumental step in Catalan beermaking. Here's hoping 2010 brings more good news like this, and of course, more good beer!!

A visit to Glops

2009-07-30T09:02:00.005+02:00

Just the other day the three editors of The Barcelona and Catalan Beer page had the chance to visit Glops microbrewery. So naturally, we all jumped at the chance. The brewmaster/owner of Glops, Alex, has a very down-to-earth style that makes it very easy to ask him questions about his beers. His explanations of how he started and how he makes his beers were clear and concise. The tasting at the end of the visit was great, as not only did we get the chance to sample three varieties, but with Alex on hand to explain exactly what went into to each beer it was a great way to delve a little deeper into what is fast becoming one of Barcelona's best-known microbreweries.

The three beers we sampled were:

Glops Blanca - White beer, cloudy and the spices with notes of coriander make this a particularly easy-drinking beer for the summer months.
Glops Fumada - In the Smoke Beer/Bamberg style, with notes of bacon and spices associated with the style, Alex said it was one of his favorites, and it's easy to see why.
Glops D'Hivern - Heavy notes of sweet spices, particularly honey and rosemary (he used a rosemary honey plus an additional dose of rosemary) for this one. It is an interesting beer, and a great choice if the mood hits you.

Mediona Artisanal Beer Festival 2008

2008-06-24T18:33:00.009+02:00

This year marked the third annual beer festival. It takes place in the quiet village of Sant Joan de Mediona, about 40 minutes from anywhere. Actually, it's about 40 minutes from Sant Sadurni and Vilafranca, which are as close to somewhere as you might hope to be. This year, we were assured by some who attended previous editions, was by far the most organized and with the best displays and beer selection of the the festivals to date. The early morning cloud cover gave way to a spectacular sun which left us slightly singed round the edges, but nothing that didn't wear off after a week or so. In short, it was a perfect day to examine more in depth the wealth of beers available (I counted more than 30 different varieties of Catalan beers).

In addition to the impressive number of Catalan microbreweries we discovered, there were representatives from other regions in Spain like Galicia, as well as Italy and the Cerveteca, which offered an excellent selection of beers hand-picked by Steve Huxley. For those less interested in the fermented drinks section, there was also a lively craft fair and live shows, including music and clowns to keep people of all ages in high spirits. And I must give a hearty thank you to the people running the Barbecue pit who kept us well fed and helped soak up those suds from the ever increasing number of samples. Everthing from hamburgers and butifarra to fruit smoothies were available.

At the end of the day we counted 16 beers among the samples we managed to get down, taking them in threes with a break to clean the palate and maintain semblances of sobriety. Some, like Glops or Cerveceria Montseny, were offering the beers we have come to know and enjoy, with the added bonus of being able to talk to the people who actually make the beers, and it is reassuring to see how their passion burns for what they do. Some of the best new beers we tried came from small producers, local, even home brewers (in at least one case). The Moska brewery in Girona impressed me with their ale, and the Zulogaarden beers (produced for the eponymous bar in Molins de Rei) were fantastic. Marc took home a chocolate stout from Zulogaarden which was absolutely divine. However, for me the winner was Almogàver's Plata Ale, which is impossible to find outside of craft fairs like this one.

All in all, a fantastic day and a great way to get your feet wet in the blossoming world of Catalan microbrews.

Rosita, the beer from Tarragona

2008-06-24T18:28:00.006+02:00

Every beer has its own story, sometimes a little hidden, waiting to be discovered. The story about "Rosita", as you can imagine, takes the shape of a woman. It is the founders, Núria and Jaume Comte love story. A story marked by the social and family pressure because of the different origins and social classes of our main characters. But as all true love stories it has a happy ending: the birth of their daughter, Rosita.

And maybe you are wondering, how is Rosita? This beer has been brewed since January 2008, in Tarragona, in the town of Alcover. It is a blond beer and, as her parents define Rosita, with character.

Companyia Cervesera del Montseny

2008-06-08T19:56:00.004+02:00

The Companyia Cervesera del Montseny was born in 2007. They are located just next to the Natural Park of El Montseny, about 40 minutes from Barcelona. Right now they have 3 different styles of artisanal beers and have produced the specialty Hivern Ale (Christmas Ale):

+ Lupulus: Iber Ale. Top-fermented blond beer that incorporates malts and hops used in the elaboration of Pilsen and Lager beers.
+ Malta: Pale Ale. Top-fermented beer, pure English style.
+ Negra: Stout Ale. Top-fermented dark Irish beer with four grains: barley, weat, oats and rye.

With the creation of Iber Ale the Brewery has created a new beer style in memory of our beer culture (dated from the iberian times) before the Romans took Catalonia and Spain into the wine culture.

Llúpuls i Llevats - Glops

2008-04-26T16:16:00.012+02:00

How Llúpuls i Llevats started

Llúpuls i Llevats, located in l´Hospitalet de Llobregat, about 20 minutes from Barcelona, started its artisanal beer at November 2005. Àlex Padró, the founder of Llúpuls i Llevats, thanks to a trip to Germany discovered the artisanal beers and began its dream a reality: he wanted to have an artisanal beer company like the ones he saw in Germany. So he studied at the University and met Steve Huxley, a brewmaster from Liverpool that had made the best Ales from Barcelona and Steve taught him the art of making artisanal beer.

Steve, Àlex and other friends founded their first brewery and during 10 years they enjoyed and perfected their technique for making artisanal beer. At the beginning of 2005 Àlex decided to start his own beer business (Llúpuls i Llevats) with his girlfriend Carme Valero and another friend, Raul Ramírez. Since then we have had the pleasure of tasting one of the best beers of Barcelona: Glops.

Glops, the name of their beer

Llúpuls i Llevats Team started making:

Glops Torrada (Lager, Munich style)
Glops Fumada (Lager, Rauchbier style)
Glops Negra (Lager, Swartzbier style)
Glops Blanca (Ale, White beer style)

This four beers are made using nothing more than water, barley malt, hops and yeast, without any additives, filtering or pasteurization. The beers have an alchohol content around 5%, 15 Kcal/100g ( 45 Kcal per bottle) and group B vitamins.

Right now you can also find in shops two more beers:

Glops Rossa (Lager, Pilsen style)
Glops d´Hivern (Ale)

Information taken from Llúpols i Llevats.

Barcelona Beer and much more!

2008-04-26T14:19:00.003+02:00

We are glad to begin this new blog about beer. Our goal is to provide more information about the beer you can find in Barcelona and Catalonia. Not just the traditional and more famous beers like Estrella Damm, but true artisanal beers and, from our point of view, much more interesting and better!

We want to share with all of you our passion for beer and to let you know all about the good beer you can find in our region. Because the Spanish beer world is growing quickly thanks to Catalonia and other regions in Spain.

Here you will find information about the different Catalan beer companies you can visit, itineraries to discover a new beer world, our beer rankings, curiosities about beer and much more!

We are just a click from you.