Interesting Spanish Beers

[Santiago]

One good place I found in Besalu was a small coffee shop just off the main sqaure. They sell 4 different beers from two independent Cervezerias in the area.

Cervesa del Montseny "Lulpulus" is a bottle fermented pils. It has a nice hoppy flavour and makes a change from the sea of wishy-washy lagers normally produced by Mediterranean countries.

Mosca de Girona make a "Rossa" which is best described as an amber lager. Smooth and hoppy at the same time. Reminds me of some copper beers from the States.

I've got a "Malta" from Montseny which I assume is going to be a malty lager.

I think they are both better than the Cap Donna beers from Argeles.

I'd be interested in getting a case of some of them if I can find a cheaper supplier than the Cafe. Presumably direct from the producer. If anyone else is interested in getting some just send me a PM.

[john]

I've sampled the wares of Mosca de Girona,Santiago. Some quite interesting stuff,and could be great.

Be wary of "Malta" in Spain. Often these are little more than low gravity,ridiculously sweet Ovaltiney drinks. The Spanish have a sweet tooth,but Maltas are often OTT.

It is good to see that Spain,Italy etc. are discovering that something other than pils sells

[Arthur and Lyn]

Actually, France has some good beers, but they are confined to the north. Its a surprise I know to many people, but Nord/Pas de Calais is beer country, rather an extention of the wonderful beers of Flanders Belgium. I suppose its has traditionally been a Northern European thing, but its good to see Spain and Italy might be starting to appreciate the finer drinks in life.
Arthur

[Santiago]

I asked about why France has so few breweries at a trade fair once.

The answer was interesting.

During the First World War, the goverment ordered all the breweries to provide their copper to make shells and bullets. In 1914 there were over 500 breweries in France. After the war, the breweries in newly-French Alsace filled the gap and companies like Kronenbourg, Kanterbrau and Fischer grew massively. The Belgians were also keen to export their beer. The wine producers of the Languedoc saw their chance too and introduced the industrial working classes of the the North to wine.