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Category: Spain

Review: La Tape, Madrid Spain

LA TAPE, MADRID SPAIN Towards the end of our trip to Spain earlier this month (January 2015), we were riding one of the many tour busses around Madrid in the afternoon and decided to get out a little early and walk around some as we made our way back to our hotel and we discovered this little gem. La Tape is a beer bar and restaurant (full service upstairs) that provides seven different local, regional, and international drafts, a full service bar, and lovely tapas made to order. The location is a beautifully set bar with seating at the bar, along the wall and in the back. They do have some cool art on the walls. We were there mid-day, which is not typically when people eat and drink in Spain, so there were only a few other people there sipping coffee and using the free WiFi. The servers were excited that we were wanting to explore their beer menu and offered us some samples before we ordered pints. I have listed the draft beers we tried below. They do have their own draft ‘beer’ called La Mixtape, an American Brown ale that was brewed by a local brewery Dawat …

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Review: Fábrica Maravillas, Madrid Spain

FÁBRICA MARAVILLAS, MADRID SPAIN On an early January afternoon we ventured out in Madrid seeking one of the only local breweries in town. This brewery is on a small old city street called Calle Valverde, not far from where our hotel was located. This brewery has a few tables outside to sit at when it’s warm and just a few tables inside and a bar to sit at if you can find a seat. They do have menus available in English and Spanish which give the descriptions of the beer and light tapas food they offer. Inside you will find modern decor, exposed wood and brick make the vibe really hip compared to many shops and eateries in the neighborhood that are not so. The staff is super friendly and willing to help you with the beers, which the offer in a couple of different sizes. I’ve read the owner and brewer is from Chicago, which explains the Americdan style microbrewery vibe to the joint. We definitely recommend this spot to anyone seeking good craft beer in Madrid! You will see in the pictures that they do have their brewing equipment just behind the bar and you can ask the …

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Taproom: Stop Madrid, Madrid Spain

STOP MADRID, MADRID SPAIN This has been a neighborhood hangout for over 100 years and if the walls could talk? OY VEY!!!. Old wood framing the shelves of wine and tapas display and hand tiled flooring speaks to the age and established character. Incredible wines available by the glass with friendly staff to help you decide, even in English! We were hesitant at first due to the crowd of people inside, but luckily found a table (barrel top) to sit at in the back. The servers did provide us some tapas for free with our beers, nothing special. We did notice that a number of people around us had ordered a variety of food and it looked delicious. The wine selection is pretty amazing (as you can see from the pictures) and really cheap per glass. Their beers range from local, regional and a few international bottles and drafts. Yes, you can see that they have a Mexican beer listed, it’s an import you know. 🙂 Below is a list of the few beers that I was able to try while we sat. The bar did slowly get more and more crowded as we were there, so we bailed after …

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Taproom: Cerveseria La Resistència, Barcelona Spain

CERVESERIA LA RESISTÈNCIA, BARCELONA SPAIN The last of the beer bars in Barcelona we visited in January 2015. Located in central downtown, we walked around a bit and then had to hang out front until they opened in the evening. It seems that this is a pretty popular bar with both locals and visitors as there were a few other people, patiently awaiting their draft of beers with us. The location is a somewhat small ‘hole-in-the-wall’ that has a bar up front with limited seating along it and a few tapas dishes if you’re hungry. A chalkboard with the draft lineup behind the bar provides lots of useful information about each of the beers they are pouring. The bar itself is somewhat small, so you might want to look for a table in the back if there are more than three of you in a group. The walls are covered with interesting art and prints from the past and local, recent artists. Don’t be surprised if you hear a variety of languages being spoken in this joint. We ran into a group of Brits at BierCab and then again at La Resistència. They were happy to chat us up while …

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Taproom: BierCab, Barcelona Spain

BIER CAB, BARCELONA SPAIN One of the many beer bars in Barcelona, we visited the Bier Cab after lunchtime (afternoon). The location provides you with both a ‘tap-house’ with 30 taps of local, regional, and international drafts, as well as the attached ‘bottle-shop’ with a large variety of beers to purchase. The location is in the central part of Barcelona, not far from tons of shopping and nightlife. It is open earlier in the day as most bars are, and provides a full menu of food. We didn’t order anything while we were there off the menu, but what we did see people enjoying a variety of burgers and other dishes. The beer list is an electronic reader/keg board behind the bar with lots of information about each of their drafts. They also update their website in real time with their tap-list, so if you’re wondering what they have, check that out. The bar/restaurant space has large windows in the front that look out onto the street and a beautiful wooden bar with glasses overhead (as you can see in the picture). We sat across from it and people watched as we sipped our beers. We did enter the bottle …

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Review: Blacklab Brewhouse & Kitchen, Barcelona Spain

BLACK LAB BREWHOUSE & KITCHEN, BARCELONA SPAIN We discovered the BlackLab Brewhouse + Kitchen in Barcelona during our trip in January this year (2015) and were lucky enough to meet the brewer and owner Matt during our visit. Matt is an ex-pat from Duluth MN. that brought his love for beer with him when he moved to Barcelona. The location is on the NE side of the Meseu d’Historia de Catalunya building on the Barcelona waterfront and recently opened, so the inside is somewhat ‘modern’ in style, with minimal decorations and vibe. There is outdoor seating and plenty of indoor space at the bar and restaurant rooms. The menu is somewhat of a cross between Asian-fusion and pub food. We ordered some fries and they were hot, spicy, and delicious. They offer tastings of any of their beers (which they only had 2 of their own as they had just opened a few weeks prior and their brewing equipment was not there yet) and any of the guest taps they have. The super friendly servers/bar tenders speak English, Spanish and a variety of other languages and love chatting with the customers. This really does make this place friendly and easy …

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