When one thinks of Spain one normally thinks of wine or bullfights, but very rarely of good beer. Now, one man has started a crusade to change all that by trying to bring a culture of flavoursome ales to the country.
Meet Josep Borrell, a keen home brewer for a number of years before September 2008 when he started his own commercial microbrewery near the city of Girona in Catalonia in north-east Spain.
One might think he has his work cut out for him, but he believes the culture of beer in Spain now is similar to where wine was 25 years ago when the quality was poor.
“Over the past 25 years, the quality of wine has improved in Spain,” he told Suite 101. “So now people are very interested in good wine. The culture of beer is just starting.”
Birrart Brewery
The brewery is called Birrart and all the beers are branded Moska with a picture of a fly. The mosca fly is deeply rooted in the history of Girona after the bites from a swarm of mosca flies once played a key role in turning back French invaders.
After just a year, the brewery is producing about 6000 litres of bottled beer a week and these are sold through nearly 40 bars and shops in Girona and Tarragona. Sadly, with two exceptions (more of which later), Josep has been unable to attract interest from the main bars in Girona city centre where cheap bland lager seems to dominate. He is not too worried though as currently he is selling everything he makes.
“It is important for me that I don’t grow too fast,” he said. “I have bars that every week buy my beer and they have loyal customers. That is good.”
He has been interested in beer for a long time. “It is a personal interest of mine,” he said. “I like Belgian beers and I like English beers. Then I discovered you could brew them yourself, so I started doing that in my kitchen. Now I own my own brewery.”
Bottled Beer
The brewery only makes bottled beers and the four beers it produces are all bottle conditioned starting with the 4.4% Rossa, a blond beer with a hoppy bitterness. Next up is the 5% Torrada, a dark amber cloudy beer with both a citrussy smell and a citrussy bitter taste. The 4.4% Negra is a black beer but definitely not a stout. Finally, the 5% Poma is an apple beer, though not a cider. With the colour of apple juice and a smell of apple pie, it is the bitterness from the Fuggles hops that dominates the taste.
There are no finings used in the brewing process for any of the beers, Josep preferring to let them settle naturally. This also makes them suitable for vegans.
Girona Bars
As mentioned, only two city centre bars are stocking the Moska beers – The River Café and Babel. The River Café is at Carrer de la Barca 2, under the shadow of the cathedral and, as its name suggests, near the river. Babel at Anselm Clave 21 is a slim bar with a glass front and an upstairs seating area with comfy chairs. Its non-Moska beers include draught Vol-Damm and bottled AK-Damm from the local Damm brewery.
Damm beers tend to dominate most Girona bars but the Moska fly has established a little foothold with these two bars plus some shops and a stall on the market. It is a small beginning but Josep hopes that one day the population of Spain will appreciate the taste of quality beer.
Steve Rogerson - Steve Rogerson is a UK-based writer specialising in television, technology, sports and beer.
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