Madrid Craft Beer Guide: Microbreweries, Cervecerías & Spain's Growing Beer Scene

Spain's relationship with beer is transforming. The country that once had one of Europe's least interesting beer cultures — dominated by a handful of national lager brands served ice-cold in tiny glasses — has developed a craft beer scene in the past decade that would have been unrecognisable to Madrid drinkers of the early 2000s. The capital leads this movement: a cluster of serious microbreweries, specialist bottle shops, and cervecerías with 20+ taps has emerged across neighbourhoods like Malasaña, Chueca, Lavapiés, and Arganzuela. Several Madrid breweries have won international recognition at European competitions.

The Madrid craft scene has a Spanish character that distinguishes it from northern European equivalents. Session IPAs and American-style pale ales sit alongside interpretations of traditional Spanish styles and genuinely experimental beers using local ingredients — saffron, chestnut, smoked Pimentón de la Vera — that produce flavours with no direct international equivalent. Cervecería 100 Montaditos has nothing to do with this movement; the places worth finding are smaller, more self-conscious about their sourcing, and often attached to the microbreweries that produce them on-site. La Tape, Olímpica Brewing, and BREW Dog's Madrid location represent different points on the quality spectrum, but the most interesting finds are often the smaller taprooms in the industrial margins of Arganzuela and Villaverde. Madrid's craft beer scene rewards the traveller with time to explore beyond the tourist circuit.