INTENTION: CLARITY IS KINDNESS
This is a running collection of my first/second/running impressions of the beer-centric establishments that I visit in Madrid. Therefore, this list is not a “top-10” or “must-see” in Madrid. It is more a place to keep my track of my experiences, and to share what be more like my one-person opinion or perspective of an entire beer scene. This is inherently bias and unfair and inefficient. So if I say something was “off” that day, my goal is not to talk shit, or to put anyone down; further, it doesn’t mean that you should not go there and form your own opinion, quite the contrary.
THE THING ABOUT LISTS IS…
Top 10 blah blah lists abound on the interwebs. I struggle with the “whats your favorite…” question; so I usually respond with, “well, my top 5 might include…” and then I am careful to list only 2-3 things. Because I don’t like the idea of a top 10 that does not evolve, or take into account the context, time of year, time of day, etc… For instance: am I visiting on my own? I might pick a place that is a bit more seedy, but has great beers. Or that doesn’t have food, but has great beer. Am I with my parents? Well, I know a handful of places that the whole family (including myself) will enjoy, but that I may not frequent as often on my own.
Before the list begins, here are my thoughts on the Madrid beer scene, as I see it, in mid 2022/2023.
Madrid is not immune to the Hazy/Hype beer scene that I quite frankly believe puts the craft beer industry at risk of strangling itself if it doesn’t remind its consumers that there is more to life than different shades of overpriced juice that pairs with… well practically no food that I have attempted to pair it with.
Most craft beer bars/breweries are Hazy IPA heavy – however, unlike in San Diego when I left (Summer 2022), you can still find an amber, a lager, a stout, a red ipa, a black ipa, etc… So that is nice. You can also find a good mix of Session beers, although they tend to be Hazy IPAs as well.
In general, I haven’t found the local owners/bartenders to be super informed about the classics. There are exceptions, but it does bum me out given that Belgium, Germany, France, and the UK are SOOOO close. Few people seem to study them or advocate on their behalf.
Many people just want to try the hype beers of USA. Several have suggested that I import Hazy IPAs from the USA to Spain. To which I respond, “fuck no, why the hell do you want me to bring you a 3+ week old hazy IPA that has not been properly stored? Let’s focus on supporting our local brewers instead.” My most cynical self believes that people mostly want to try certain beers because it will help their instagram feed. Whereas I do believe that we sell much more than just beer (we sell an experience, a quality of life), there is some work to be done worldwide to improve the image of just enjoying beer for its flavor and how it can make a certain dish just shine.
I digress.
Places I’ve Been, and How I Would Describe Them
La Buena Cerveza – Really cool local beer bar with very local vibes. You can tell this place is run by two brothers and supported by long term friends and customers. They have two fridges to choose from and 6 taps. Spaten Lager is pretty much always on tap, which I love. The other 5 taps go to mostly Spanish craft breweries and rotate pretty often. Many of their beers are also stored on dry shelves, which I don’t mind for the most part, but they do have IPAs and lighter beers there, that I wish would just stay in the fridge. One of my favorite bars to hang out.
Be Hoppy – One of the highest quality beer shops in Madrid. This reminds me the most of my favorite SD shop (Bine & Vine). They keep a well curated, small, adequately sized collection of craft beer on tap and in bottle/can to go. They have more dedicated fridge space than MOST bars in Madrid. They respect date codes and freshness better than most, and if they don’t like it, they don’t buy it. All the beer that NEEDS to be in the fridge is there. If they don’t trust the consistency of a brewery, and they haven’t tried that particular beer specifically, they won’t cary it. Sounds simple, but you’d be surprised how much that matters. They are also very knowledgable about what they stock. So you know you’re getting quality.
Bee Beer – Both a beer bar and a nomad/gypsy brewery. Very cozy and in near center of town. A smaller collection in the fridge, with a good selection on draft. My first impression was quint, and my following visits have maintained that perspective. They have two locations.
Gaztrambirra – Newer, hip location a little further away from the tourists. A great local crowd, and an enthusiastic owner. I was there on a Friday night, for instance, and they had a great range of beers on tap, and a good rotating crowd of people that all seemed to know each other. They have patio space too.
La Verbena – Local brewery that is also a gypsy brewery. I tried two of their beers, and they were both solid: a marzen and an IPA. The decor was simple, and sort of reminded me of a San Diego craft beer tasting room – which to me means sort of just there, and not a lot of style. Good beers though, and a nice owner, and I’ll be back to continue to check them out and support them.
Peninsula – They have two locations – the brewery is further out of town – most tourists won’t make it out there, but if you like visiting breweries then you should. They have a tasting room, a food truck, and a beer garden at the side. They also have a location in downtown Madrid (called Peninsula Centro). This spot has a more modern craft beer tasting room vibe. Also has food. Their beers are solid. Across the board they clean, reliable, and have a great variety. They have the palate similar to the San Diego breweries that I liked, and they also do a lot of collabs, so you get a bit of diversity of influence in there. The brewer is highly trained and the brewhouse is neat, tidy, well run.
Brew Wild – This is a pizza joint that also has a reputable and consistent gypsy/nomad brand – called La Quince. Great pizza, and a seriously cool beer list from their own selection and from around Spain/Europe. Good mix of styles and abv ranges on tap, which always appreciate. Definitely worth the visit for lunch or dinner.
LEINERHAUS, Calle de la Ballesta, Madrid – You could go to this place 20 times and just think it’s a typical bar with German food, and that is fine. But the fridge is stocked with German classics, and the owner is a nerd about German beers. The food is fantastic as well. So not a craft beer destination, but definitely a beer-lover destination.
Fábrica Maravillas – Cervecería, Calle de Valverde, Madrid – The only manufacturer in the city center. Licensing and prices will likely keep this a reality. In a nutshell: they have been a little inconsistant, but I still enjoy trying their beers, and they have been more and more solid during my last several visits. I think I came into town during a brewer transition, so there may have been a bit of the old brewer checking out, and the new brewer getting into the groove. That said, there were a few beers that I wish they would have just dumped instead of serving. A cool place to visit, and it’s a cool little setup. I like them. Full disclosure: when I owned a brewery, I wasn’t always satisfied with our consistency either, so I relate, and I understand the difficulty of running a small business.
La Maripepa Cervecería | Calle de Jesús, Madrid – I really like this place. It looks like a on old school typical Madrileño bar inside and out, but they happen to have a great tap and bottle list. I haven’t met the owners and discussed beer philosophy yet, but I can guess that they like the classics and the new hype equally. The beer list includes both. They host regular tasting events as well.
Cervecería Oldenburg | Calle de Hartzenbusch, Madrid – Like you opened a door and accidentally (and happily) ended up in a German or Belgian beer cafe. Excellent selection of bottles from Belgium and Germany, with a tap list that boasts some more of the same, with a few more modern options as well. I really like this place.
La Tape cruce con Manuela Malasaña, Calle de San Bernardo, Madrid – A clean and modern non assuming beer cafe. Great kitchen that offers some very good menu del dia options, and an extensive bottle list. About 6-8 beers on tap. Mostly german/spanish. Nice patio when weather permits.
Beer Joint Madrid, Calle de Rodas, Madrid – Fun spot with a good tap list. They have a young exuberance to them that sort of reminds me of Toronado at times (take that with a grain of salt – I can say a lot of things, for better, and for worse, about Toronado – especially in their final years in San Diego). They love craft beer, and they also seem to also love drinking a lot of it. Which is fun.
La Osita | Craft Beer | Oso Brew Co, Calle de la Cava Baja, Madrid – Two British ex-pats that love Madrid so much they moved here to open a brewery. As of Dec. 2022 they are still nomad/gypsy brewers, but they are working on building their own brewhouse now. This is their tasting room on a very popular bar/restaurant street in Madrid. The tap list is a little heavy on the DDH/DDDH Hazy IPA side, but they are all solid, and they are expanding the selection. They also have a fridge of other local beers, and a cool bottle list with some rare gems on it as well.
Chinaski Lavapiés, Calle de la Fe, Madrid – Definitely some classic Toronado type vibes in here. Good selection of beers, relatively popular/full spot, with good music, and an overall decor that left much of the former (non-beer-business) in tact, including the signage outside. I would put this in my top 10.
Ossegg Cervecerías | Calle de Orense, Madrid – Brewer is from Czech Republic. Some of the best Czech-style pils I have tasted outside of that country. Very well done. They brew other styles, but the classic lagers are solid.
The Stuyck Co | Corredera Alta de San Pablo, Madrid – Great location and very cool vibes. Bar up front, restaurant seating in the back. Good pub food. Great beer list. They also do flights. I believe they were the top spot on Trip Advisor for several years. And I think it’s deserved.
Fogg Bar Birras & Cheese | Calle de Moratín, Madrid – One of the originals in the city. Beer and some great looking cheese boards, that I’ll be sure to update once I try. So far I have been in for a pint, and it was great. Straight-forward, easy going, laid back beer bar. The decoration, which includes the ever so popular “Mom Is Boss” type of signage or “artwork” always bums me out. I hate that stuff – it reminds me of a truck stop in texas, and all the commercialized jesus and over-consumption of junk that goes with it. Otherwise it’s great! The people are nice and the beer list is solid.
La Pirata Malasaña – NOW CLOSED | Calle de Manuela Malasaña, Madrid – This is a Barcelona brewery’s tasting room in Madrid. Cool spot. Good quality beers. Good snacks. The basement is pretty rad.
La Tienda de la Cerveza | Calle de las Maldonadas, Madrid – Took me a while to make my way here, and I plan on coming back more often. It’s one of the originals in Madrid, again I’ll make reference to Toronado here. Good bottle selection in the back, and I get the vibe that many of the OG’s of the Madrid beer scene had and/or still frequent this place.
Labirratorium | Craft Beer Store & Homebrew Supplies – Well stocked and very friendly team. They have five or six beers on rotation, and you can open bottles to drink there as well. They do catas (tastings/classes) most months which are very high quality (in Spanish). The beer selection is vast. Many are in the fridge, but like many Spanish craft beer stores, there are lots and lots of IPAs out on the shelf – cold space is limited, but I’m still against it. The homebrew supplies are well organized, and enough to get by, but they don’t really make a point of competing with online vendors, so think of them more as an express type convenient store than your super trusty and reliable homebrew store.
Beerhouse | Craftbeer Bar, Calle del Cardenal Cisneros, Madrid – This one is recommended to me often – so I had to visit, and I enjoyed it. They basically took over an old school looking neighborhood bar (a touch dive-y), and moved in a good draft system and beer list. I like it there. Chill, laid-back, great neighborhood, and good beers.
El IBU | Tasting Room for CCVK & Albufera de Vallecas – I still want to go out to visit the brewery, but this location is a little closer to home, so I checked it out. Super friendly staff and patrons. More of an office block type neighborhood, so more lively around happy hour ish times on weekdays. I tried six beers – three from each brewery. All but five were pleasant, if somewhat standard/middle of the road/acceptable/enjoyable. The smoked beer, however, was a complete diacetyl bomb, unfortunately. I couldn’t even taste any smoke, and it honestly made me wonder if the beer was supposed to something else, and whoever was in charge confused diacetyl with smoke, so that thought, “heck! let’s call it a smoked beer!” At any rate, the level of diacetyl was so darn high that clearly whoever was in charge of quality assurance is either not aware, or did not try this beer, or does not put quality/consistency/reputation over quantity/cash/whatever. This was a bummer for me. I had been looking forward to it. So if you’re in the area of either, definitely go for it. If you want to take a little trip further out the city to the brewery and catch some good sunsets, again, definitely do it. But if you don’t have a lot of time, and want to stick to guaranteed quality, then I would have to wait until I saw more consistency before I said you need to make it out there.
El Canibal – Restaurant/Bar – This place has a very cool/modern/hip vibe. High end & modern kitchen, w a good selection of beer on tap, a great wine selection, and lots of bottles of both. Stainless steel bar in a rustic and eclectic interior… if you get my vibe. Very near Reina Sofia & Atocha, so it could make a great pit stop before or after. Worth the trip either way.
Taproom Madrid | Beer Bar – This place does a good job of providing a nice and long beer list (about 30 taps – which is huge in Madrid). A modern craft beer bar that is still warm and welcoming and fairly spacious. I received chocolate buttons as a tapa – I am VERY on board with this. One qualm for me is they charge €7 for the pint and €6 for the half pint. With so many options, it seems they don’t want you to explore too much, and while I understand the incentive for not just charging half the price, I felt like I was being punished. So I only ended up buying one 1/2 pint (prices for that size aren’t listed, so when I paid for the first round, I knew I wouldn’t be staying for a second – €12 for a pint in total is out of control).
Cervecería L’Europe | Restaurant/Bar – Belgian/German beer bar vibes, but with a bit more stainless steel, and modern shipping container decor sort of vibe. Beer list was typical Madrid beer bar – they didn’t stretch themselves too far from Hoegaarden, Pils Urquell, and Leffe, but I have a feeling they’re owned (or at least in the pocket) of one of the likes. Bottle list was great, and they use all the proper glassware. Very friendly and attentive staff. Great place for a group of friends to hang out for a while.
Cerveza Majariega, C. Oxford, 6-A, 28232 Las Rozas de Madrid, Madrid – Recommended to me by someone who knows good beer. I went but they only had two beers on that day, so I didn’t get to try the lighter style lagers that I heard so much about. They had a doppelbock (fantastic) and an imperial stout. The latter looked like it would have been nice, according to the many pints I saw that were poured ahead of me, but I was served the thick slurry of yeast and protein at the bottom of the keg. The bartender even commented that it looked different, and I should have been more assertive about getting a fresh pour. So I will take responsibility for not advocating for myself, but I am also not confident with polite confrontation in Spanish yet, and it does speak to the overall lack of beer service standards and training in the industry as of late 2022. I hope to be a source of gentle training and guidance in that regard in the years to come.
La Virgen | I didn’t plan on visiting them really, because they are now owned by the local giant Mahou, so I sort of figured, why bother? However, they have a good range of well made and high quality beers. Even if the beers aren’t particularly cutting edge, they are clearly made with consistency, and I appreciate that.
Places On My List, That I Need to Visit
CCVK – Brewery – Still need to make the trip – but after traying many beers at their taproom (El IBU – reviewed above), I am not in a huge hurry – though it’s still on my to-do list.
La Grifería | Bar – Same owners as El Caníbal, so I’m excited to try it. Smaller footprint, and more of a neighborhood deli sort of vibe.
Cervezas Patanel | Brewery – A little south of the city center and Casa de Campo – the first time we tried to visit on a Sunday evening, they were booked with reservations, so we had to leave. This either means they make great beer and food, or it’s just the coolest thing in the neighborhood, and no one really cares. We’ll be back (with a reservation) so I’ll let you know.
Bacterio Brewing CO Alcorcon | Brewery – Looks like they’re doing mostly wild ales, so I’m excited to try. This neighborhood (Alcoron) has a high density of beer spots, so we’re planning a day trip to go check a few out.
