My wife Kim and I recently spent two weeks in Portugal. We dedicated more than a little bit of our time to exploring the local craft beer scene and visiting breweries, brewpubs, and taprooms. In this story, we share some of our craft beer discoveries in the city of Porto and some advice to help make your beer adventure a success. This is our second story about beer in Portugal. Read our story about Lisbon here. (Photos by Kim Jones.)
- Craft Beer in Portugal
- Welcome to Porto
- The Beer Tour
- Other Beer Destinations
- Portuguese for Beer Drinkers
The Emergence of Craft Beer in Portugal
A decade ago, locally brewed craft beer was exceedingly rare in Portugal. That has changed in recent years, and the scene is growing fast. You’ll find some good beer in Portugal, but keep your expectations realistic, especially if you live in a craft beer hotbed like Seattle, where Kim and I live. Remember that wine is the dominant adult beverage in Portugal. The local wines are fantastic; if you are interested, we recommend paying them some attention.
Welcome to Porto
As I said in my previous story, Lisbon is a city with many hills. Porto, on the other hand, is a city with basically one hill. Also, Porto is a much older city; Lisbon was largely rebuilt following an earthquake and tsunami in the 18th Century. The city’s namesake wine, port wine, is a big deal; hence, it is big business in Porto. For some, it’s the primary reason they visit.
Porto is at the mouth of the Douro River, so everything is either uphill from the river or downhill toward the river. When you visit, it’s like that you’ll spend most of your time north of the river, near the heart of the city. The river’s south bank is lined with large warehouses owned by winemakers who use the “caves” for storing and aging port wine. Even in the off-season, Kim and I found the port wine experience a bit too busy and touristy for our tastes. Still, you should definitely stick your head into one of the port caves for a tasting. It seems silly not to. You’re in Porto for crying out loud. But this is a story about beer.
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We stayed at a beautiful hotel called Porto A.S. 1849. It was located at the base of R. das Flores, a popular and lively pedestrian-only street with shops, restaurants, and bars. In the evenings, the sound of buskers filled the air to entertain the people sipping wine and hoisting Super Bock (the local mainstream lager) in front of the local cafes. Super Bock, Portugal’s ubiquitous beer, is more interesting than the ubiquitous American lagers. It’ll do in a pinch. Most beer destinations were up the hill from our home base towards Praça da Liberdade and the Baixa (the main town square and the downtown neighborhood).
Beer and Food Tour with Taste Porto
Along with our self-navigated explorations, we enjoyed a delicious and informative Beer & Food tour with Taste Porto. We had a blast, met some fun people, and highly recommend this tour. Usually, Kim manages our self-designed tours, so it was a welcome break for her. Our table, beer, and food awaited us at each stop along the way. At the time of publication, the Craft Beer & Food Tour cost 69€ each. That price includes an ample amount of beer and food. By the end, our heads and bellies were full. We hope to explore more of the city with Taste Porto in the future. Perhaps a wine and food tour next time.
Our guide, Pedro, led our group on a fun dinnertime adventure, walking from place to place, four stops along the way, about one mile total, mostly flat. We started the tour on the back patio of a cozy beer bar; we enjoyed a couple of local beers there as Pedro gave us a primer on the craft beer scene in Portugal. We ended the tour about 3.5 hours later in a lovely beer garden.
Armazém da Cerveja
This was our gathering spot for the start of the tour. We sat at picnic tables on the back patio, enjoying finos (regular-size draft beers) and listening to our guide, Pedro, share the history of beer in Portugal and the recent emergence of the nation’s craft beer industry, something he seems very familiar with. Armazém da Cerveja is a comfortable, unpretentious, and friendly little pub with a fierce love of beer. The craft beer scene is still small, so everyone who knows anything about local craft beer knows everything about it. In other words, chat with your beertender if you want to learn.
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It feels like a neighborhood hangout and a popular after-work destination. They serve local beers alongside a sizable collection of international beers: a dozen Portuguese beers on tap and an array of cans and bottles. Note that if you search for it online, you will find a Brazilian company with the same name. Don’t get the two confused. (Armazém da Cerveja: R. Formosa 130, 4000-254 Porto, Portugal.)
Mercado do Bolhão
We followed Pedro a couple of blocks down the street to Mercado do Bolhão, where we enjoyed some beers paired with tasty empanadas: one packed with Iberian pig and the other with wild boar. In addition to learning about the beers, our guide shared a lot of information about the food we were eating and the cultural background of Portuguese cuisine. Basically, answering the question, “Why so much pork?” (The Portuguese are very good at pork.)
The Mercado is a huge public market where greengrocers, fishmongers, cheesemongers, butchers, and purveyors of culinary delights share the space with restaurants serving food over the counters. Beer and wine are available. Find a seat at one of the communal tables or stand around as you nibble and sip. Visit a cheesemonger and build your own cheese board. Do the same with the cured meats at a butcher. The Mercado was one of the highlights of our visit to Porto—we visited twice! (Mercado do Bolhão: R. Formosa 322, 4000-248 Porto, Portugal.)
Fábrica da Picaria
Our next stop was a brewpub called Fábrica da Picaria. The locals simply call it Fábrica because it was the first brewpub in Porto. Fábrica is a word you’ll see around Portugal associated with breweries: fábrica, fabricate, beer factory. Like many places we visited in Portugal, it is remarkable how well Fábrica fits so much into such a small area. There’s more seating around back and downstairs near the brewery, which is shoe-horned into the space.
In addition to tasty beers, the food here was great. On the back terrace, I enjoyed a pork sandwich with pir-piri sauce. I opted to pair my pork bifana with the Tropical IPA. For Kim and I, this was our second visit to Fábrica; we’d discovered it the night before while wandering on our own. The exceptionally friendly and good-humored staff recognized us. (Fábrica da Picaria: Rua da Picaria 72, 4050-477 Porto, Portugal.)
Catraio
This place is a hip, popular, beer-focused bar that seems to expand once you walk through the front door. This was the city’s first craft-focused beer bar. It opened in 2015, a testament to the tender age of Portugal’s craft beer scene. There are a lot of beer choices here, and Porto’s beer pioneers are happy to steer you toward something that matches your tastes.
I love the opportunity to use the term tardis-like; it is much bigger on the inside than it appears on the outside. Like Dr. Who’s Tardis, there’s something magical about Catraio. There are multiple levels; it unfolds toward the back as you ascend the stairs and pass through the kitchen. There are two different bars, one downstairs and one upstairs. You may discover different beers at each. Continuing back and ascending to the third level, you’ll eventually reach the rooftop beer garden. It’s not a rooftop; it’s built into a hillside. Catraio’s beer garden is like a beer oasis in the middle of the city. (Catraio Craft Beer Shop and Bar: R. de Cedofeita 256, 4050-174 Porto, Portugal.)
Other Beer Stops to Consider or Not
If you research the topic, you will discover other places around Porto. We did not visit them all. Of the ones we did visit, I share some info below so you know what to expect.
Cask, Tough Love Taproom Porto – The staff was friendly, and the beers were okay. The taproom is off the beaten path, down near the river to the west of the Cais da Ribeira. Tough Love is a brewery in a town south of Porto. This is just a tasting room. When we visited, most of the beers on the tap list were not theirs, which was disappointing. The location might seem a bit gritty and rough for some visitors.
Cervejaria Nortada – It didn’t feel crafty. The taproom and brewery are quite large, modern, and shiny compared to the other quaint and cozy places you’ll commonly find in Portugal. We learned that Nortada was acquired by Estrella Galicia, a very large Spanish brewing company. It seems Estrella infused the business with money. The beers were fine. The taproom was slick but a bit sterile.
Portuguese Language for Beer Drinkers
Most people you encounter around Porto or Lisbon speak English, especially in the service industry. For the past few decades, Portuguese kids have learned English in school, and as one person told us, “We all grew up watching Friends.” Still, knowing at least some of the basics is always polite, respectful, and valuable. I’m no expert, but here’s what I picked up.
- Beer styles are beer styles. Stout needs no translation. They may say eepa, but they expect you to say IPA.
- Hello. Ola, very similar to Spanish.
- Good bye. Adeus. (Ahdoo).
- Thanks! Men say obrigado and women say obrigada. Masculine versus feminine is based on who is speaking, not who is being spoken to. You’ll notice it shortened to something like brigado or brigada.
- Please. Por favor, just like Spanish.
- Cheers! Saúde! Sounds similar to salud in Spanish, but no L and with a softer D. SAudeh.
- Excuse me (to get someone’s attention). Desculpe. Di-SHKOOPeh.
- The bill, please. A conta, por favor (the check, please).
- No is noa. It is pronounced very close to no. You are an English speaker so just say no.
- Yes is sim. It is pronounced very close to si in Spanish. The m is there, but barely (SEEm).
- Good morning. Bom dia means good day/morning and is a common greeting before noon (bohm DEEah). Ola, bom dia!
- Good afternoon. Boa tarde means good afternoon and is used from noon until about 8:00 (boa TARdeh). We didn’t hear this too much. It seems formal. Usually, ola will do.
- Regular draft beer size. The most common size we saw was fino/imperial (usually 40cl, or 13.5oz). In Porto, they call it fino (fee-no). In Lisbon, they call it imperial (imperiall), so don’t expect a 20oz pint if you order an imperial. A beer, please. “Um fino, por favor” (north of Lisbon). “Um imperial” (Lisbon and south).
- Large draft beer size. If you want a big one, it’s caneca (cannecka). Caneca sizes vary. It may look like a typical pint glass or it may look like a big mug.
- Little taster-sized beer. Tulipa (toLEEpa).
- Ordering Beer: Here is a good video on the topic of ordering beer in Portugal.
