España por favor
Think Spain is just for summer sun? With some of the best beer, food and culture, long Spanish evenings might be just what you crave.
Ferment team
Saturday 13 December 2025
This article is from
The Elements of Beer
issue 125
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Sun, sea, sand, sangria, cerveza… this is generally how we Brits see a Spanish getaway, but thanks to the nation’s surging craft beer scene, devotees of the brew now have even more reason to visit Spain, whatever the calendar says. And what a treasure trove that unlocks; between regional festivals, seasonal adventure, and local delicacies, ‘off-season’ Spain is full of delicious surprises for the beer adventurer.
When autumn rolls round, Spain’s cultural calendar fills with harvest festivals and traditional, region-specific celebrations, providing the country’s craft breweries with a rich seam of inspiration. In Galicia and northern Spain, for example, the Magosto chestnut harvest festival in late October and early November is a beloved tradition featuring roasted chestnuts, bonfires, and communal gatherings.
Quite understandably, craft brewers have embraced this seasonal theme. For example, in Catalonia, Cervesa del Montseny brews a limited Castanya beer using local chestnuts. It’s a malty amber ale with subtle, nutty sweetness, perfectly timed for the chestnut season. Montseny takes its name from the mountains in whose foothills it is based (in Sant Miquel de Balenyà, just outside Barcelona) an area known for its chestnut forests. The brewery itself is a stone’s throw from the annual Fires de la Castanyada (chestnut fairs) held in several nearby towns.
PHOTO: Segovia © Diego Allen
In another autumn tradition, late October brings the Fiesta de San Frutos to the town of Segovia, celebrating the city’s patron saint. On the beer front, brewery Cerveza SanFrutos is a family-run craft brewer located in Segovia’s Hontoria district, which marks the occasion each year with special brews and promotions. In 2025 it ran a ‘¡Viva San Frutos!’ event, featuring takeovers and other promotions, from Oct 16–31. Visitors to Segovia in late October will not only witness the city’s beautiful and atmospheric ‘San Frutos night’ (in which the old town is transformed with live music and candlelight) but also enjoy a 20% festival discount on bottles at SanFrutos’s taproom and shop.
In the Basque Country, the changing seasons and harvest are celebrated in a way that more reflects the region’s gastronomic traditions. The mighty Basqueland Brewing, based near San Sebastián, is one of Spain’s most acclaimed independent craft breweries. Each October, Basqueland throws an anniversary festival that has become a pilgrimage for craft beer fans across Europe, and which is firmly rooted in local food culture. Its eighth anniversary party, for example, was held at Zapiain Sagardotegia, a traditional Basque cider house in Astigarraga. It’s a day of live music, food pairings, and of course special celebratory beers – in 2023, Basqueland invited renowned breweries like Cloudwater and Lervig to join the festivities; easily enough to ensure an international crafty crowd.
Madrid, too, joins the autumn beer revelry. The capital’s biggest craft beer festival, Beermad, frequently runs in October, with dozens of independent breweries from across Spain set up at the open-air market, alongside food trucks and live music.
As winter sets in, Spain still has plenty to offer. In the north, craft breweries have popped up in ski country, inviting travellers to pair snow with suds. The Aragonese Pyrenees, known for ski resorts like Formigal and Cerler, now even host a cerveza artesana route (and we’re confident you don’t need that translated).
For example, in the Valle de Tena near Formigal, you can visit Cervezas Tensina, a microbrewery in Tramacastilla de Tena founded in 2016. Tensina is proudly of its place, and brews a range of unfiltered ales using pure mountain water. Over in the Valle de Hecho, Pirineos Bier has set up shop on the outskirts of the Oza forest, producing impeccable small-batch ales for those coming off the slopes (or who lacked the motivation to ever get on them in the first place. We see you). As a bonus, these mountain breweries often incorporate local, seasonal ingredients, rooting them in a specific time and place.
PHOTO: Cerler Ski Resort
Head south, and Spain’s lower latitudes offer milder weather, rich culture, and popping beer scenes. Andalusia in particular has embraced craft, and winter is an excellent time to visit for a more authentic experience. In Granada, the up-and-coming Segral Brewing is copping plenty of attention; run by a husband-and-wife team, its beers are known for incorporating local ingredients like citrus peel or herbs from the Alpujarra mountains with a modern craft approach. You’ll find its beers and plenty more in the city of Granada itself, with great craft bars such as Artesana Beer Paradise, representing the local scene and quality breweries from across southern Spain.
Over in the Canary Islands – a perennially popular winter-sun destination – craft beer now offers respite from the ubiquitous light lagers. On Tenerife, Cervecería Tacoa is one of Spain’s oldest brewpubs and remains a must-visit, offering German-style and modern craft beers ranging from IPAs to a rich stout.
While not as entrenched as in Belgium or Germany, Spanish craft brewers are also beginning to jump on the Christmas/winter speciality beer train. In Madrid, for example, nomadic brewery La Quince has cooked up Navidad en Chueca, a spiced strong ale, while several Barcelona brewpubs now line up their own barrel-aged stouts for release in December.
All the best craft adventures involve stepping off the beaten path, and Spain’s vibrant independent brewing scene offers adventure, culture and authenticity all year round. So next time you’re looking for an escape, why not think different, and plot out your own craft-centric tour of Spain; the 365-day craft nation.
Whatever the holiday season
Basqueland “Omako Basoa” Imperial Pastry Stout (11% ABV)
An absolute beast of a stout brewed in collaboration with New York’s Finback for Basqueland’s 10th anniversary. Omako Basoa drinks like a liquid dessert, layering pure cacao, Madagascar vanilla, and Ethiopian coffee over a dense nine-malt body.
La Pirata Black Block Imperial Stout (11.2% ABV)
The flagship stout from La Pirata Brewing, Black Block is a Russian Imperial Stout that’s picked up multiple gold medals in Spanish beer championships. Viscous and jet-black, it’s a gob-slapping slug of espresso, dark chocolate, and liquorice notes that’s consistently high in the BeerAdvocate ratings.
Montseny Castanya Chestnut Ale (7.8% ABV)
A unique seasonal beer from Cervesa del Montseny, brewed with sweet chestnuts from Viladrau in Montseny Natural Park. The result is an amber-brown ale with toasty malt depth, a hint of caramelised chestnut, and a dry, lightly smoky finish reminiscent of roasted nuts.
Cervezas DouGall’s Leyenda Winter Ale (6% ABV)
An English-style ale from Cantabria, this strong bitter pours copper with a creamy head, offering notes of biscuit, toffee, and orange peel. While not as heavy as the impy stouts listed above, its balanced toasty profile suits the cooler months, and demonstrates the breadth of Spanish craft brewing.
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