Updated January 2018

You will have no problem finding beer in Spain. It is available in every restaurant, cafe, and coffee house. It is a staple beverage for Spaniards, with 50 percent of the population drinking beer compared to only 20 percent consuming wine. However, most places serve just a single beer on tap, usually a very light food-friendly lager like Mahou or Amstel. If you are looking for something more interesting or crafty, it can be more difficult to find. The craft beer industry is just beginning to develop in Spain. Here are some of the best places in Valencia to taste the craft beers from Spain.

Olhöps Craft Beer House

You have to be alert to find this cool spot tucked away in a small narrow space along Calle Sueca in Ruzafa. You could pass right by Olhöps Craft Beer House if you blink at the wrong moment. They serve craft beers from all over the world including local Spanish beers. There are ten beers on tap that rotate. On the day that we visited, five were from Spain. We had a degustation (sample) of six beers for €10 euros. The Zeta Superhell hoppy pils from Valencia was my favorite, with the weight of a pilsner and fruity notes from the hops.

Olhops originated as an online craftbeer marketplace before opening the beer house to provide a physical location for customers to try Spanish beers. The decor is sparse and modern with concrete bar and floors, very much like the taprooms in many American breweries. They also have a store in the back with a wall of beers available for sale by the bottle. The food looked interesting with snacks like nachos and hummus, sandwiches and pizzas. Unfortunately, the kitchen doesn’t open until 8pm so we have yet to try anything on the menu.

Open daily from 6:30 PM – 1:30 AM

Olhöps Craft Beer House
Calle Sueca 21

Ruzanuvol Cerveceria Artesanal Ruzafa

This brewpub in Ruzafa is the only place in Spain serving Italian craft beer from Birrificio Lambrate and Birrificio Italiano on tap. These are two of the oldest craft beer brewers in Italy, both brewing beer since 1996. There are five beers on tap that constantly change (€3.50/half pint, €5.00/pint). Follow Ruzanuvol on Facebook to see when new beers arrive.

The food menu is full of tapas like patatas bravas, croquetas, hummus and Italian specialties. We like to share a couple of their Piadines around the table. Piadines are thin flatbread sandwiches typical of the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. Ruzanuvol fills theirs with almost a dozen different combinations of meat and cheese. The spicy “salami picante, queso scamorza, hoja de roble” is a favorite.

Open daily from 7:00 PM until midnight

Ruzanuvol Cerveceria Artesanal Ruzafa
Carrer de Lluís de Santàngel, 3

Portland Ale House

Every now and then we crave a little taste of home. Portland Ale House is co-owned by Jared Mata and his uncle Mauri, both from Oregon. They have created a space with the comfort of an American brewpub and serve the food and beer to go with it. This is also the only place we know of to watch an American football game.

Their microbrewery, Stone Castle Brewing, was founded in 2006 in a location outside of Valencia. When we visited Portland Ale House they had three of their beers available on tap: an IPA, an Amber, and an Orange Wheat brewed with Valencian oranges. The menu is full of American bar favorites, like nachos and chili cheese fries. We’ve heard that their burgers are the best in Valencia. For me, it’s the only burger that I’ve had in Valencia and it was really good even by American standards. The bacon cheeseburger patty was thick, flavorful and perfectly cooked to medium with just a hint of pink in the middle.

Portland Ale House is open Tuesday through Sunday from 7:00 PM until 2:00 AM.

Portland Ale House
Calle Salamanca, 10

Las Cervezas Del Mercado

Located on the lower level of the Mercado Colon, Las Cervezas Del Mercado sells Belgian and craft beers from all over the world. This beer market/cafe has a comfortable rustic industrial feel and a large bar. The current selection of 16 beers on tap is listed on the screen overhead and can also be found on their website.

They rotate beers through all of the taps but one: the Guinness Special Export is always on tap. Las Cervezas del Mercado has exclusive rights with the only tap of this in the world outside of Belgium. In addition to what is on tap, they have hundreds of different bottled beers from around the world available for take out only.

To accompany the beers, they serve creative sandwiches created by recognized chefs and tapas like patatas bravas. These fried potatoes covered with hot sauce and garlic mayo seem to be the most popular tapa in Spain and Las Cervezas del Mercado’s version was pretty tasty.

HOURS OF OPERATION: Monday – Sunday 10 am – 11:45 pm

Las Cervezas Del Mercado
Mercado de Colón, Carrer de Jorge Juan, 19

Birra & Blues Centro

It’s hard to miss Birra & Blues Centro, with its prime location across from the Central Mercado. This modern space doesn’t look like a typical brewpub. There are lounging areas around the big circular bar and lot of outdoor seating on the patio. They brew their own beers in a brewery located in Patacona Alboraya at the north end of Malvarossa beach in Valencia. Originally from Italy, they started brewing in 2011 in the back of the Italian restaurant Spaghetti & Blues. This location in central Valencia opened in 2015. They have ten of their beers on tap and you can get a sampler.

The food is also worth coming for, with an extensive menu of Italian pastas and thin crust pizzas as well as Spanish tapas. We like the Choricitos Al Infierno (little sausages from hell). They are cooked in the pizza oven and come out tender and juicy. This is one of those places that you can count on to get a bite to eat at anytime during the day, even if you are not on the Spanish schedule.

Birra & Blues Centro is open everyday from 11:00 AM until 1:00 AM (2:00 AM Friday and Saturdays).

Birra & Blues Centro
Avinguda de María Cristina, 12

Tyris on Tap

The owners of Cerveza Artesanal Tyris started brewing in 2009 because they felt Valencia needed its own craft beer. Today they produce over 300,000 litres of beer at their brewery northwest of Valencia in Riba-Roja del Turia and are one of the most widely distributed Spanish craft beers. They have a tasting room, Tyris on Tap, in the center of Valencia’s old town. The outdoor terrace sits on a secluded little street, while the interior bar is decorated with the steps of the brewing process. Here they have up to ten of their beers on tap. They make classic styles like the Au Yeah American Pale Ale and the Tyris Original Blonde Ale, as well as the more unique Smoky Porter and Lemonzilla Fruit Pale Ale.

They have a full menu with tapas (the patatas bravas are pretty good), salads, cheese and meat boards. You could also try one of their burgers or hot dogs (add chili con carne to your dog for €2 euros extra).

 

Open daily 7:00 PM – 1:00 AM, sometimes open for lunch on weekends, though I haven’t quite figured it out. Their hours are not posted online.

Tyris on Tap
Carrer de la Taula de Canvis, 6

The Market Cerveza Artesana

The Market serves a selection of craft beers from Spain and around the world. This was the original location of the Tyris tasting room before Tyris on Tap opened around the corner a year ago. They have Scotland’s BrewDog ales on tap, so we recommend trying the BrewDogs at this location and going around the corner for the full selection of Tyris beers. They also have many craft brews by the bottle.

The Market has the cozy dark atmosphere of a British pub with some quirky touches. The space is too small for a kitchen, so they only serve a short list of tapas which come from the Central Market, hence the name The Market.

Open Tuesday through Sunday (closed Monday) 7:00 PM until 1:30 AM.

The Market Cerveza Artesana
Calle Cajeros, 1

Beers & Travels Bar

Beers & Travels Bar is one of the newest spots in Valencia to grab a cold craft beer. Beers & Travels began in 2012 as a craft beer store and travel agency combo that arranges beer related trips to countries like Germany and Belgium. They opened this new bar just down the street in August of 2016. The large space has a traditional pub feel with a long bar inside and plenty of table seating where you can watch sports on the big screen TV’s. There is also a nice outdoor patio in the lovely Plaza de Manises.

They have 10 beers and a galician cider (Sidra Maeloc) on tap, as well as 13 beers in bottles. We were most excited to find two beers on tap from Premium Beers From Spain, a microbrewer founded in Valencia (Xativa) in 2010. La Socarrada is an unfiltered and unpasteurized golden ale brewed with rosemary and rosemary honey. It has a mild herbal flavor intended to pair well with Spanish foods, especially Valencian paella. Also from Premium Beers From Spain, TORO is licencsed by the Osborne Group. It is a slightly toasted red ale that is aged in Pedro Ximenez Jerez sherry barrels. Both of these beers were awarded in 2016 as one of the best flavors of the world by the International Taste & Quality Institute in Brussels.

Beers & Travels Bar is open at 9:30 AM for breakfast Monday – Friday and at 11:00 AM weekends. They serve sandwiches, salads, meat and cheese platters, and traditional Spanish tapas. Closing hours vary each day, so check the website.

Beer & Travels Bar
Plaza de Manises, 3

 

Baden Baden

If you are hankering for some German bier, head to Baden Baden along the Gran Via in Eixample. They serve traditional German biers on tap and in the bottle, along with an extensive menu of German food. When you walk through the door, it’s like you’ve been transported to Germany. Sometimes you just need to have some bratwurst, sauerkraut, and of course, a good German brew. For more information on Baden Baden, see our article A Little Bit of Germany in Valencia.

Baden Baden
Gran Vía de las Germanías, 33

Of course, a beer tour wouldn’t be complete without your traditional English and Irish pubs. Here are a few of the many available here in Valencia:

English Pubs

NEGRESCO ENGLISH PUB

Liverpool – Russafa

Irish Pubs

Finnegans of Dublin

St. Patrick’S Irish Pub

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