Being a relatively hot country, you’d expect there to be many Spanish beer brands in Spain and you would be correct. What is Spain’s most popular beer? By volume, you could probably guess three maybe four Spanish lager brands, but does highest sales equate to highest quality and best taste when it comes to deciding which is the best Spanish beer?
In this guide, we look beyond the big mass-produced beers and take you on a beer discovery of Spanish craft beers from the best micro-breweries across the whole of Spain. All are reassuringly available from Basco. Let’s grab the bottle opener and get started in no particular order.
Er Boqueron
We’re kicking off with one of the most unusual Spanish beer brands. Er Boqueron is an award-winning beer that is the only beer in the world brewed using sea water from an area of the Mediterranean, near Valancia, tha tis known for its level of purity. Totally natural, with no added gas, this unfiltered and unpasteurised beer is light, refreshing and wonderfully easy to drink. Er Boqueron is one of the best Spanish beers and is the winner of two ITQI Superior Taste Awards 2014 for taste and quality. Scores 4.85/5 in our customer reviews. 4.8% ABV.
Tasting notes: on the nose, it is toasty with malt and biscuits with peach and pear to follow. On the palate there is fruit and bubbles with a touch of iodine and balsamic then sweet peach. Drink with fried fish, charcuterie, Spanish ham or on its own.
La Socarrada
Another of the more interesting Spanish beer brands is La Socarrada – meaning “scorched” due to its slighty smokey notes. It is made by a micro-brewery in Xativa, Valencia in small batches using a double fermentation process and continuous bottle maturation. This craft beer is a winter honey ale with made with barley malt, rosemary honey, hops and yeast with a kick of Spanish rosemary. La Socarrada won flavour awards by the International Taste & Quality Institute of Brussels (Belgium) in 2012, 2016 and 2021 and bronze in the 2015 South Beer Cup of South America. Scores 4.80/5 in our customer reviews. 4.7% ABV.
Tasting notes: on the nose, it has smokey shades, rosemary, toast and fresh bread. On the palate, there are notes of notes of black pepper, caramel, cherry and pear. Classed as a gastro-ale, its perfect pairing is is with Spanish ham, Iberico pork, roast lamb or suckling pig.
Moritz Original
In Catalunya, one of the most famous Spanish lager brands is Moritz. Recognised as Barcelona’s favourite lager, this delightfully light, golden lager beer has a rich history that dates back to 1856, It has won numerous awards over the years starting with a gold medal at the 1888 Universal Expo of Barcelona. Often referred to as “Spanish sunshine in a bottle”, it is still made at the original brewery at the Ronda de Sant Antoni, in the Raval. It is brewed using natural spring water from the Font d’Or in Montseny, extra pale barley malt, aromatic hop flowers from Saaz and lager yeast from Moritz. Scores 4.55/5 in our customer reviews. 5.4% ABV.
Tasting notes: Moritz has soft, pleasant with sweet notes of malt and cereals and a light bitter finish. This gasto-lager is perfect with a Bocadillo de Jamón or seafood.
Alhambra Reserva 1925
No list of the best Spanish beer brands would be complete without Alhambra Reserva 1925 – an ultra-premium Spanish beer made in Granada. The recipe of this full-bodied, intense and exquisite flavoured artisan craft beer has not changed since it was originally conceived in 1925. Slow crafted in Spain, Alhambra Reserva 1925 beer is brewed using the purest water from the Sierra Nevada mountains and the best maize and hops from southern Spain. Alhambra Reserva 1925 was awarded Spain’s Best Strong Lager 2016 at the World Beer Awards. Scores 4.68/5 in our customer reviews. 6.4% ABV.
Tasting notes: it has a light toasted aroma and a thick, creamy head with a firm, full bodied and well-rounded flavour. A beautifully balanced, bittersweet flavour, it has notes of bitter orange and a hint of caramel flavour at its finish. Alhambra Reserva 1925 pairs perfectly with seafood and grilled premium Spanish meats.
Rosa Blanca
Born in Mallorca in 1927, Rosa Blanca is the Balearic’s best loved beers. This well-balanced, creamy beer is brewed with traditional lager ingredients of barley malt, maize, rice and hops. Rosa Blanca is one of the country’s lower alcohol Spanish lager brands and has a hint of citrus. This is because towards the end of brewing, when the beer is maturing, Citra hops are added cold to Rosa Blanca, at between 0 and 1º C. This extracts the fruity aromas and citrus notes of this variety of hops, without any bitterness. 3.4% ABV.
Tasting notes: it’s a balanced, very harmonized beer with mild malty sweetness combining with a soft bitterness. Creamy and pleasant there’s a fresh Citra hop aroma with stone fruit notes and a refreshing hint of citrus. Rosa Blanca can be drunk on its own or with any type of dish from fish to sweet desserts.
Victoria Malaga
Brewed in Malaga, Andalucia, Victoria Malaga is one of the classic Spanish beer brands and has been in existence since 1928. Its slogan Malagueña y Exquisita”, meaning “From Málaga and Exquisite” is accurate as this light, golden, fine sparkling beer is carefully made using the traditional slow maturation process, with a minimum of 12 days which ensures its “exquisite” flavour. The bottle’s historic label famously features a German tourist, holding his boater hat, mopping the sweat from his forehead whilst enjoying a refreshing glass of beer. Interestingly, its innovative new brewery in Malaga was nominated for the GANA Building of the Year 2018 Award. 4.8% ABV.
Tasting notes: sweetish aroma of malts, grass and sharpish herbal hops. Refreshing with a balanced body and taste. Lemon pepper flavour with hints of lime. Victoria Malaga is best served ice cold and is perfect with all Spanish tapas and pintxo.
Estrella Damm Inedit
We come to the end of our search for the best Spanish beer and the final beer on our list is a rather special one. Created in collaboration with chef Ferran Adrià and a team of sommeliers from El Bulli, Estrella Damm Inedit is the first beer specifically designed to accompany and complement food. A true gastro-ale, this wheat beer is uniquely brewed to create a complex aroma and an opaque look. This wheat beer is in the style of Witbier, originally from Belgium, and made with unmalted wheat. Using unmalted wheat gives this beer more body and a softer, fuller mouthfeel. Inedit is flavoured with spices, giving it its special taste and making it a uniquely distinctive and dynamic beer. In 2020, Estrella Damm Inedit won a gold award at the World Beer Awards and a silver in the International Beer Challenge awards. 4.8% ABV.
Tasting notes: highly aromatic with a creamy fresh texture, coriander, orange peel and liquorice with a pleasant lingering aftertaste. Designed to be enjoyed with fine food, served chilled in white wine glasses, it works especially well with starters, salads and oily fish, and can be paired with spicy or sweet and sour flavours.
Best Spanish Beer Gift Sets
Sometimes one bottle isn’t enough or you want to surprise someone with your knowledge of the best Spanish lagers. That is why you might wish to consider a Basco Beer Gift Set of some of the best Spanish beers in a special presentation box. We have several available including:
Spanish Craft Beer Gift Set – 3 bottles: El Boqueron, La Scarrada & Moritz in presentation box.
Er Boqueron Beer Gift Set – 3 bottles of El Boqueron in presentation box.
La Scarrada Beer Gift Set – 3 bottles of La Scarrada in presentation box.
Moritz Beer Gift Set – 3 bottles of Moritz Original in presentation box.
Alhambra Reserva 1925 Gift Set – 3 bottles of Alhambra Reserva 1925 in presentation box.
Tapas recipes to accompany Spanish beer
Tapas and Spanish beer go hand in hand. Basco owner and Basque-born chef Javier De La Hormaza has compiled a whole host of beautiful homemade tapas recipes from Gambas Pil Pil to Spanish Omelette, Fried Padron Peppers to Chistorra Sausage Rolls With Lemon Aioli. Click here to browse and attempt Javier’s easy to follow tapas recipes.
