They say Spanish beer is a great hangover cure for too much Sangria. Madrid has never been known as a beer capital, but the scene for indie beer here is as underrated as the city itself. Incredibly affordable by global craft beer standards, here are the top stops to hydrate yourself during the summer heat, all dotted around various neighbourhoods […]
In recent decades, beer lovers have had a challenge in France as most people there are really focused on drinking wine, but I think we can all agree that wine ultimately tastes like a small handful of grapes that have been squeezed into a cup of acid. Fortunately, it’s 2025 and grain is making a long-awaited renaissance in what once […]
Czech beer is basically perfect. Their totally neutral water profile means they concoct Pilsners that are almost unrecognisable from the macro gunk we drink in the UK, with heavenly clouds of foam and aromas of central European forests that will haunt your dreams (important distinction from haunting your nightmares). These beers are to be found everywhere in Prague, so our […]
It’s like they forgot Germany and Czechia are either side of them. The indie beer scene in Vienna is, in a word, Scheiße. We dug around for the dregs in case you need a switch up from Schnitzel and Sachertorte, but there’s clearly a reason Marx and Freud used to hang out in cafes and not pubs. AmmutsØn Craft Beer […]
“You wouldn’t believe the number of tourists who stick to the bars in sight of their cruise ship. We get barely a trickle up the hill, so we started this shuttle”. Matt, of Alaskan Brewing, stroked his predictably long beard. “I love bringing people up on it, though. Means I can play tour guide a bit too. Did you know […]
I have it on good authority that the Chicago musical was originally about the craft beer scene here.
Mexican beer hasn’t always had the best rep among the nerds aficionados, but long gone are the days where Corona, Dos Equis and Modelo are the only options. Relative proximity to fresh hops on the US west coast, expertise exchanges between the two countries, and a similar water profile (California was literally part of Mexico in the not so distant […]
It’s a richly immersive little bit of the USA, is New England. Maybe because it’s closer to old, O.G. England? It has culture, it has “history” (by North American colonial standards) and it has the softest of water which means they make the softest of beers. It also has a very, very long coastline full of edible sea creatures, all […]
Yeah, we went there. Sue me if you don’t like the list (US law is not applicable here in the UK so you will lose). New York City is probably the stupidest place to write about when it comes to indie beer, given there are as many bars serving good beer as there are bars serving…well, bad beer. NYC has […]
Yep, turns out there’s two of ’em. Indeed, the two Portlands perfectly typify the raging debate that has decimated US craft beer nerd-istry for the best part of a decade: Which IPA is better, East Coast or West Coast?