When you go to a restaurant you wouldn’t just ask for “food, please”, would you? So why walk into a bar and say “a beer, please” when there are so many different kinds of beer in the world, including Catalunya?
We have both kinds; lager and pils!
In Spain, the answer is that for many, many years most bars would only have had one beer on tap so customers would typically just ask for una canya (a small glass of draft beer) – and that one beer would invariably be a lager, predominantly Estrella Damm here in Catalunya. And if you asked what beers were available in bottles, you’d probably be offered more lager under a different brand label – and that’s if you were lucky!
That’s all well and good if lager happens to be your preferred beer style, but for some people from countries where there is typically a lot more variety, the lack of choice can sometimes be pretty frustrating. Thankfully things are changing in this respect with more and more types of beer becoming available and craft breweries popping up all over the country, and nowhere more so than in Catalunya. Even in touristic areas most bars still stock the “same old same old”, but an increasing number of establishments are slowly but surely recognizing the shift in the market and the growing demand for other styles of beer.
Have a read of our “Beer, Glorious Beer!” blog if you’d like a few suggestions for places in Girona city and El Baix Empordà county that serve a decent range of beers; not necessarily all craft beers, but at least a variety of styles.
Here, we’ll take a look at just some of the hundreds of Catalan craft beers now on the market that you can keep an eye out for. Click on the name of each beer as the top of each paragraph to go to the website of that brewery – unless they don’t have a website, of course!
Sadly, since we originally wrote this article we’ve had to update a couple of times following the closure of certain micro-breweries. Covid especially was hard on them all, and some didn’t make it. And we’re sure that there are others that we haven’t covered here, but we’ll keep adding new ones as we discover them. Feel free to email us if you know of others that we have failed to mention. In the meantime, get out there and “Support Your Local Microbrewery!”
Cervesa Moska de Girona
Moska de Girona have been on the go since 2008 and brew eight different styles of beer and use only natural ingredients without any additives or preservatives. In the last few years, they have been consistently winning individual beer awards at the annual Campeonato Nacional de Cervezas in Barcelona.
La Pirata Brewing
At La Pirata they like to experiment and, as a result, they have one of the widest ranges of beer varieties of any craft brewer around. They seem to have around sixteen different beers in total, some of which are brewed seasonally, so at any given time you should be able to find just the right beer for the moment. They are based in Súria in Barcelona province and have a taproom and shop there, and, although it’s not somewhere you’re likely to just happen upon, their beers can also be bought online.
They have won multiple awards for their beers at the Campeonato Nacional de Cervezas, including best brewery in the first two editions in 2015 & ‘16.
Cervesa Guineu
Named Guineu for the Catalan word for fox, these guys also produce many different beer varieties, about a dozen in all. They also brew a lot of “collaboration beers” with other breweries from all over Europe – just to keep things interesting! They are located just up the road from Súria in Valls de Torroella so we’re guessing there must be something in the water around there!
L’Arrossa
Normally rice (“arròs” in Catalan) shouldn’t an ingredient in any self-respecting beer, but if that rice is Arròs de Pals exceptions can be made. The quality of the rice in question even allowed L’Arrossa to win a silver medal at the Dublin Craft Beer Cup, no less! These days they brew five different beer varieties, including a very good Irish Extra Stout (maybe in celebration of that silver medal?).
DosKiwis Brewing
Founded by a Catalan-Kiwi couple in 2016, this wonderful brewery, just outside Rupià here in El Baix Empordà, also has a taproom so you can visit and enjoy their impressively wide range of beers in the very place they are brewed. They have a beautiful beer garden and regular beer tastings, and they also even have live music from time to time. This place is well worth a visit, but, in case you don’t want to wait until you can visit in person, you can also buy craft beers from them online.
We paid these guys a visit to learn a bit more about how they got started and why in Rupià. We also sampled a few of their brews too, naturally! Read more about our visit to DosKiwis Brewing!
Cervesa Marina
This brewery was set up by two brothers in 2010 in Blanes and they have a wide and interesting range of beers, some of which are brewed in collaboration with other breweries, both domestic and international. They have won multiple awards for their brews and even organize a beer festival right on the seafront in Blanes every May.
Barcelona Beer Company
At the BBC they pride themselves on the quality of the natural and local ingredients they use to produce their unpasteurized beers and the fact that they don’t use any additives or chemicals. They have five core ales and another five seasonal beers. They also have a taproom in the centre of Barcelona that also serves food to accompany their beers.
Beercat Barcelona
Located as they were in Sant Marçal in the Penedès region which is more famous for its wine, these guys needed to be innovative. They obviously succeeded because within two years of beginning operations they already needed to move to a bigger brewery in Vilafranca de Penedès, which now also houses a gastro bar and restaurant. You can even hire their Foodtruck for events and parties! Their six core brews are all unfiltered, unpasteurized and even vegan-friendly.
FDL Beer Project
FdL was founded in the Sant Andreu neighbourhood of Barcelona in 2013 by a couple of craft beer enthusiasts. The initials in the name stand for “Flor de Llúpol”, which is Catalan for “Hop Flower”. In 2018 the words “Beer Project” were added to declare their “intention of expanding beer horizons and knowledge; allowing the project to stay alive and mature beyond the district of Barcelona where we were born”. In 2020 they relocated to Banyoles. They produce two main beers from their own recipes inspired by traditional Belgian beer styles: Comrade (6% dubbel) and Piroutte (8% Belgian tripel).
Vic Brewery
This brewery in, you guessed it, Vic, uses only what they believe are the best ingredients, sourced from regions all around the world such as California and England and they even use an Australian hop called… Vic! They have a range of five very tasty beers.
Cervesa del Montseny
Founded in 2007, this was one of the first microbreweries established and is now one of the largest. Their craft beers are handcrafted, natural, and unpasteurized and contain no artificial preservatives. They have a taproom if you want to visit them in Sant Miquel de Balenyà, but if that’s not handy enough for you their core brews are also more widely available in shops and supermarkets than most other craft beers, making it easy for you to pick up a few to try at home.
Soma Beer
Based in Girona, these guys seem to like to always try something different and they have been involved in several collaborations with other brewers. They especially specialize (!) in the production of extra-hopped styles of craft beers and their brews are available in bars in the city but they do not have a taproom themselves – at least not yet anyway! You can also buy their beers from their website.
Ales Agullons
The brewers in this place are fans of English-style beers, so that’s what they produce. They live and work in a farmhouse near St Joan de Mediona that used to produce wine in its past life. They have five core beers as well as some “special” seasonal varieties.
Art Cervesers
The emphasis is this brewery is all about using local and natural ingredients of the highest quality. All their beers are unfiltered and unpasteurised and one of their principal aims is to produce beers that will encourage more people to sample craft beer in the hope of “converting” them. They are located in Lliçà d’Amunt, just outside Granollers.
Nómada Brewing
According to the brewers themselves, the eight varieties produced by this brewery are all about innovation, passion, attention to detail – and emotions! Their beers are, in their own words, “an artistic projection of our feelings”. Well, they must be feeling emotionally pretty good because theirs are amongst the most popular craft beers in bars in Barcelona! Founded in 2011, they sold 40% of the company to Mahou-San Miguel and now work in partnership with them, allowing them to reach a much larger market, meaning their beers are amongst the easier ones to find.
WHYM
This small-scale brewery was originally located in Santa Cristina d’Aro but later moved to Vilablareix. The name comes from the English words for the ingredients for beer: Water Hops Yeast Malt. Some of their beers are available year-round while some are brewed seasonally. Given the size of the brewery, their beers are not the easiest to find – but if there’s one place you might come across them it’s here on the Costa Brava, so keep an eye out! You can also order their beers from their website and their prices are very reasonable.
Drac Brew
This is another brewery that has moved to the environs of Girona City, in this case in from its original home in Sant Feliu de Guíxols. They have 10 different varieties of beer that are available all year, and they have a taproom where you can go and sample them all, and also order food. Unlike many other craft beers, these are all fairly low in alcohol content and so could be classified as session beers.
The tavern also stocks other bottled beers as well as their own and is in the heart of Old Town Girona. The food menu is all vegetarian and there are vegan options too. You can check out both the food and beer menus on their website in Catalan, Spanish and English. They even have a page dedicated to the “Benefits of Beer”!
Limbik Co.
Limbik are from Figueres in the Alt Empordà and they say their beers are inspired by the beauty of the surrounding countryside. Their beers are made with only 100% organic and local ingredients and can be purchased from their online store.
Rufa Cervesera
Another craft brewery from Figueres, this one was founded in 2012. We’ll use their own words to explain where the name comes from: “In the Empordà the Rufa is known as the cloud that flies over the region announcing the arrival of the north wind, in the same way, the foam of the Rufa floats on top of an Empordà in a liquid state foreshadowing a new moment of pleasure ready to be tasted.” They have four core beers, plus other limited edition brews, and you can taste them all at the brewery by taking a guided tour. Small groups of a max of five people cost €12 per person, or €10 per person for groups of 6 to 12.
La Brava
Located in Vulpellac, in the center of the Baix Empordà, La Brava is brewed with all-natural ingredients, and with a fermentation three times longer than the big brand beers, La Brava is a pilsner-style beer inspired by the region that it takes its name from.
Basqueland Brewing
As you can guess by the name, these guys are not Catalan, but we felt they deserve a mention for a couple of reasons. First of all, they have won best overall brewer at the aforementioned Campeonato Nacional de Cervezas in 2017, ‘19 & ‘20, and secondly, their beers are fairly readily available here in Catalunya in certain bars and shops. You can also order online for home delivery and even though the beer will be coming from the Basque country, delivery is free if you order €48 worth or more.
We’re sure our Catalan brewers won’t mind us including their Basque brethren here!
La Black Flag
Located in an industrial estate on the outskirts of Girona city, this is a beer shop and not a brewery. You can either visit in person, sample beers and purchase from the shop, or else order online for home delivery, which is free for orders of €75 or more. They have a pretty vast selection of craft beers from all over the place – local and also international.
The Barcelona Craft Beer Tour
So there you have it… A brief introduction to just some of the craft beers being produced in Catalunya at the moment. And there are more.. too many to cover in one blog.
If you happen to find yourself in Barcelona between the days of Tuesday and Friday any week you might like to join the guided Barcelona Craft Beer Tour. Starting at 18:00, it’s a walking tour with a starting point at Belushi’s right in the centre of the city, one block from Plaça Catalunya. The cost is €25 and this includes an introduction to brewing and the different types of beer, a brewery tour, six different beers to taste along with some snacks, and of course an introduction to some of the best gastropubs in town. You can book online, over the phone, or in person.
Mar de Birres, Palamós
The Mar de Birres craft beer fair is coming back to Palamós for its 5th edition on Saturday, 7 October. In fairness, they’d be further along than only their 5th, but they’ve been unlucky with previous events being cancelled due to adverse weather conditions and, of course, Covid! The event takes place from midday to midnight near the main port (by the nets) and, apart from the craft beers, there will also be food trucks and live music.
Untappd
And finally, there’s a “new” social networking application called Untappd that allows users to “check in “ as they drink beers and then rate the beer and share the location. “New” is in inverted commas because the app was launched in 2010 in California but it is only becoming popular on this side of the pond more recently. It has to be said that it works better in the Barcelona area than on the Costa Brava as not that many bars here have been “verified” and added to the app, but even so, it can be a handy tool for finding establishments that serve just the type of tasty beer you’re looking for.
