Birraire - Beer Blog

Link to the first  and second  map. Another good and productive day of work was preceded, again, by a more than interesting beery evening and night, visiting different bars of the city of Madrid. On this occasion, the route drawn contemplated six stops , from which one was dismissed at the very start. However, a glorious, unplanned bonus track would eventually make it to the list. “Some of the bars visited on this second night are called to lead a paradigm shift in Madrid”

Link to the map It was a hectic start of a day : by circumstances beyond my control, I lost the 7:04 AVE train from Lleida to Madrid. I had never lost it before, and at that moment it affected me symbolically. When I changed my ticket, it also affected me economically. But that first part of day was developed without further incidents, after a placid trip and a productive day of work. “ The protagonism of the scene has moved south of Glorieta de Bilbao, even beyond Universidad ” 

I had been looking for the opportunity to return for a long time, and that moment came no more than the last few days before enjoying a three week vacation. With my women already having fun in the heat of summer, on the beach, the incentive to get back home at night was clearly smaller, so I set my professional agenda to spend four days and three nights in the capital of Spain . " It may look the same, but beerwise Madrid has changed forever "

Better than those famous Belgian comics: this is as true as life. Summer is almost over. Looking back to the experiences I have had during these melting-hot months, I can say aloud it hasn't been just another summer . At all. It started with the latest stages of Mrs. Birraire's pregnancy, followed by the birth of my baby daughter on August. It has indeed been an emotionally intense period: full of uncertainties, but with lots of calmed and quiet moments. It has actually been so quiet that I haven't even had relevant beer stories, beyond every single beer drunk. Well, to say the truth, there might have been a couple of worth-writing tales.     "An unexpected occupant had helped itself to a second home, to rest after all the hard work throughout the year"

Taking advantage of a long weekend provided by the celebration of the International Workers Day, I used the invitation received by the organisation of the Wroclawski Festiwal Dobrego Piwa  (WFDP)  to assist the sixth edition of this popular Polish beer festival. It would give me the great opportunity to have a first-hand experience with the new beer scene in Poland: so young, so bright. I had read few things about their brewing industry, but I was forewarned of what I'd find during my trip. So as I was driving early to the airport on April 30th I knew I was about to fly to a city that would amaze me as a beer aficionado . Besides, it was another nice chance for me to learn new things about life from the locals and their culture. Sounded like a plan.

The day's arrived, and early today I fly to Wroclaw (Poland) to attend one of the most massive beer festivals in Europe: the  Wroclawski Festiwal Dobrego Piwa , or Wroclaw Good Beer Festival. It's a great oportunity to learn about a beer scene that you seldom hear or read something about, not only about their beers but also about the general development of the industry. As for beers, I've known  Zywiec  (specially their Porter) for quite a long time. Lately, some new Polish brews have appeared in our shops and bars, as well as on tap during the last edition of the Barcelona Beer Festival. We are mostly talking about Browar Ninkasi , but specially about Browar Pinta , a brewery that has won some local drinkers' palate lately with their reproduction of the most varied styles.

Last summer I could once more enjoy everything that my beloved Wales has to offer. Gastronomy, dramatic landscapes, hikes, castles... as well as lots of pubs in which to recharge my batteries while meeting some interesting local people and learning about their culture and life experiences. The intention behind this post series is to review every pub we visited, whether they were top-notch or just average, describing what was special about them. In this sense, the CAMRA Good Beer Guide was an invaluable companion to lead my way to the best places: an authentic vade mecum on British beer. To begin with, let's talk about the first of the long list of pubs in which we drank lovely cask ales during our trip. We are now headed to the north-western part of this little and charming Celtic country.