I was in the beer section of my local bottle shop and I was surprised to come across "Cruz Campo" beer. Previously I had never seen a Spanish beer in Minneapolis. You see San Miguel once in awhile, but always from the Phillipines.

What is your favorite beer in Spain? I like San Miguel and Aguila and I really like the dark draft beer at Naturbier on Plaza Santa Ana. I'm not sure whether it is home brewed or especially made, but it is good!

I love a caña in Madrid if it is served "metodo antiguo" with that nebulous layer lurking just under the foam. I have also been known to have a clara con limon if I am among friends who won't deride me for drinking "ladies beer"!

I'm sure GoMadrid has at least the occaisional "clara", what with his penchant for La Casera!

Favorite beers??
In Madrid: draught Mahou;
In Sevilla: Cruz Campo (now part of the Guinness 'family');
In Barcelona: Estrella Damm
In Galicia: Estrella de Galicia

Mahou, served in a frozen glass.

I usually prefer bottled beer rather than draft beer.

Like catalonian Woll-Damm?

More character?

Ok, let's talk about wine.

I think the barkeeps in Madrid deserve kudos for the way they serve their beer: Cold, clean and fresh, along with the best bar snacks in the world!

I have never understood the derision that "beer snobs" place on local, simple, well made beers.

A Belgian's Stella Artois is an American's Miller.

Mongo says:

<I have never understood the derision that "beer snobs" place on local, simple, well made beers.>

I agree 100%! Beer is the common man's drink and there's no point in going all frou-frou with it!

Like I always say, Think Globally, Drink Locally!

Your old pal,
Joe

Yes, I agree. The way that the bartenders in Madrid pour beer makes even the most ordinary beer taste great.

Does anyone know what the little thing on the side of the tap is called (in Spanish and/or English)? The thing that they use to charge the beer up with bubbles after they pour?

Also, I noticed there's a little brew pub just off plaza Santa Ana (maybe on Echegaray?). I've never been--more of a wine person myself...

Well, one day I'll make it to Spain and give the beers over there a try. But in the meantime I am partial to San Miguel beer for a couple of reasons, first because it's a great beer and secondly because San Miguel is my middle name as well as my mother's maiden name!

I am a big Mahou fan, too. There are some bars up north that have it on tap. But there is something special about draft beer in Madrid. It probably has to do with the great service (something which bartenders in Pamplona would do well to learn from) and probably the freshness of the beer. Lots of bars here don't seem to clean their lines very often either.

I don't mind the bargain beers at Carrefour. I like the small 25cl bottles of Carrefour beer. I drink it so cold I can hardly taste it anyway. Sort of like "Little Kings", huh, MM? Those are/were a favorite in some parts of the Midwest.

Husband is a homebrewer on a fairly large scale & intrested in local beer. I have noted your "lists" of beers. Any others would be appreciated!
Also anyone know if there are any local breweries that one could stop by for a "peek"?

I don't know if ChrisR has ever been to England, but you often get "Real-Ale" bores there who talk like this. What they never tell you is that when continental beer producers starting selling their lagers in the UK (Carlsberg, Heinekin) they had to produce weaker versions as the typical strength of English beer was 3.4%. This has now changed and you can get beers in the UK that are up to the continental average (4 - 5% ABV).
I sometimes brave one or 2 English traditional beers (and find some very enjoyable) but I would advise anyone new to English beers to be selective. Even hardened drinkers can have a bad pint and bad guts to follow (I wonder if that is what is meant by character?).
When I'm in Madrid I enjoy the odd glass of Mahou. I don't need to sneer at other beers - it's just that Mahou seems right, especially on a hot afternoon when something cool and refreshing is called for.
End of the day the old phrase "What's your poison?" seems apt here. If you haven't decided yet what you prefer may I recommend you carry out some more research! But not too much at one time.
Cheers

Chris I don't see my (defensive) comments as being a personal attack on you. Nor do I think the other posters were attacking you personally. I think if you make a snide attack on someone's opinion (in this case praising Mahou beer) you can expect others to make a defence. There are always two sides to any argument. However we try to make an opinion without meaning malice. I apologise if you think I made my post with malice (incidentally it was in response to your post which I also feel was a negative post).
To prevent this getting into a spat I won't add further on this thread.

Mmmmm... Mahou Beer (from Madrid), Cinco Estrellas. Mmmmm... :p I love that stuff. On my flight back to the USA (Madrid->Atlanta) I was fortunate that they had ONE can of CruzCampo (from Andalucía) onboard.

Here in Columbus, Ohio, USA you can find Estrella de Galicia which is pretty good too. I remember having one of these while watching a sunset on a near-beach terraza of Cambados, Galicia.

Saludos, MadridMan

Another great beer is one made the brewery Alhambra. In fact, I think it's Alhambra's premium beer. It's sold in a dark green bottle. It kind of looks like a mini-Champagne (Whoops! Excuse me, I mean "CAVA") bottle. The name is a year, I just can't remember which? It doesn't have a paper label. It's all part of the glass. Does anyone know what I'm talking about and can they remember what it's called?

It's not easy to find in Madrid, but you should try it some time because it's gooood!

Then there's always the immortal Mahou (Cinco estrellas, not Clasico)!

From their Website ( http://www.cervezasalhambra.es/ ), it surely is "Alhambra Reserva 1925".

Am I the only one who prefers Mahou Clasica to Mahou 5 estrellas?

Boy, you are really a verylucky guy, MM! First you get Spanish TV, and you have access to Galician beer! Short of being in Madrid, this is as good as it gets, in my opinion .

Envious in la Florida!

Yes, Alhambra Reserva 1925, that's exactly it! And served ice cold in the summer makes it twice as nice.

If it's of any comfort, Torrales, I have a six of Clásica in my fridge as I speak . It's a perfectly all right beer by me, I just think Cinco Estrellas is better. Personal taste.

Thanks for finding the info for me!

I also just learned that Alhambra is the only fully Spanish-owned brewery left. The others apparently have been absorbed by international companies. At least, that's what I've been told.

I notive some of you have mentioned Estrella Galicia, a great beer by the way. Has anyone ever tried Estrella Levante? It really exists, and belongs to the Estrella group. Found, not so surprisingly, in Levante. I've had it a couple of times and like it. Order it if you're ever in that part of the country.

Speaking of beer, when I go into a bar in Madrid and ask for a cerveza, what am I likely to get? Or will I be asked what I would like?

Maestro......In Madrid, If you don't specifie............Your getting Mahou.

Whoa, MedicalMan. Is that really true? It's been my experience that bars carry EITHER Mahour OR San Miguel and never both on tap because, I believe, of distribution licenses - much for the same reason that restaurants will carry EITHER Coca-Cola OR Pepsi but not both.

One of my favorite Madrid bars with a terraza and LOTS of space is the now famous (ahem...) El Brillante on the Glorieta de Carlos V (a.k.a. Glorieta de Atocha - across from the Atocha train station). They unfortunately ONLY have San Miguel on draft for cañas/jarras and NOT Mahou - but I think you can get Mahou in the bottle.

I think all the Museo de Jamon places carry Mahou on draft but not San Miguel and most of the smaller neighborhood bars carry Mahou on draft it seems.

Keep in mind that, in general, Spaniards are not beer-brand-loyal. Maybe it's because whatever they happen to get on draft (or is that "on draught"?) is going to be goooooood whether it's Mahou, San Miguel, Cruz Campo (in Andalucía), or Estrella de Galicia. I've YET to meet a Spanish beer I didn't like. heheheheh... :p Mmmmm...

Sal.. <hic!> ..udos, MadridMan