Beer in Spain: The Standards

For those coming from the USA, where you can step outside damn near anywhere, throw a rock and hit a newly opened micro-brewery/brew pub/taproom, the beer scene in Spain will come as a bit of a shock.  And it’s not that Spaniards don’t drink beer (I would say the majority of them drink beer the majority of the time), but rather the type of beer they drink.  Or don’t drink as it were. 

This is not to say that there is no “craft beer” or cerveza artesanal as it’s called.  In fact, if anything the scene is burgeoning in very exciting ways, but it’s still a long way away from the ubiquity that it’s achieved in the good ol USA.  Meaning that while you can get (really) great craft beer brewed in Spain, you’ll have to hunt for it and I've already talked about some very solid places to get your fix.  Regardless, you better accustom yourself to the local brews, the beers that will be on tap wherever you go, be it café, old man bar, restaurants, clubs, you name it.

The nice thing about Spain is that much like the culture itself, what beer you drink will depend on where you are in the country.  So in Madrid, you’ll be drinking Mahou, Cruzcampo in Sevilla, Estrella Galicia in Santiago de Compostela, Alhambra in Granada, etc. 

And all of these, while similar insofar as they’re all lagers/pilsners, are not created equally.  Everyone has their opinion and their favorites, and so here’s my two cents.  In terms of overall availability and taste, Estrella Galicia is my favorite.  If a bar has it on tap vs Mahou in Madrid, that’s my kind of place.  Alhambra is also quite good, and it’s my preferred plaza beer.  

Then comes Estrella Dam, San Miguel, followed by Mahou, and the worst of the worst is Cruzcampo. 

The best “cheap” beer I’ve had is Moritz, but it’s only available in Barcelona as far as I know so it’s unfortunately not a regular option for me in Madrid.  

More or less, all of these are the equivalents of our US domestic beers…Budweiser, PBR, etc, and so the best way I can describe them is as beer, with a strong emphasis on the lowercase b, recalling the stuff you sucked down out of solo cups at college keggers. 

You can drink them all like water, however, and especially when it’s hot as fuck like it’s been these last few months, they get the job done.  But for those accustomed to the wildy hopparific and bitter notes of pine and grapefruit and chocolate espresso stouts, these beers will taste about as exciting as a glass of water. 

In the next post, however, I’ll offer up some recommendations about some decidedly unboring craft beer currently being brewed in Spain.