What is a brewpub?

One of the main assets of Cierzo Brewing Co. is our brewpub in the center of Zaragoza, the first in the city and also in Aragon. A business model that is still little known in Spain, but that has been dazzling brewers half the world for decades, or even centuries, as we will see in this article.

We will begin by describing a brewpub, for those who have not yet had the luck to visit one. It is a catering business, generally a restaurant, which, in addition to other products, serves beer made by themselves, within the same facilities. Etymologically, the word brewpub is the fusion of the verb to brew, which in English means to make beer (among other meanings), and the abbreviation pub (from public house), which designates a tavern or an establishment that serves drinks and in many cases also food. Being Anglo-Saxon words and a new concept in Spain, it is not strange to see it written as brew pub, brewpab, brew pup or prew pub, among many other incorrect forms.

This gastronomic combination, between craft beer and high-quality food, is the main reason for the existence of any brewpub. For this reason, there should never be a lack of a wide and varied food menu with which to pair the different beer creations that are produced in these premises.

Drygate Brewpub in Glasgow (Scotland).

Ideally in a brewpub is that the manufacturing process is in view of customers, separated by a glass or similar for security reasons. In this way, the consumer can observe where and how the beer he is drinking is made. But even more important than this visual appeal is the fact of having beers with the maximum possible freshness, which do not suffer the damages associated with transport and storage: inadequate temperatures and humidity conditions, sudden movements, loss of aromas and flavors, etc. None of this occurs in a brewpub, since beer is consumed directly from the ripener itself, where it rests after its manufacture at a controlled temperature. What has been known for a few years as a zero kilometer product.

John Mitchell, creator of the first brewpub in North America.
Image from www.brewersassociation.org

Someone might think that brewpubs are a modern invention, but in reality they are as old as beer or breweries, at least in the way we know them today. While modern beer was born in monasteries, at the dawn of the last millennium, knowledge was soon transmitted to the people, and it is logical to think that it was the taverns themselves who began to create their recipes in their businesses. The oldest brewpub in the United Kingdom, called Blue Anchor, dates from 1400 and was in the Cornish region. For its part, Germany and other Central European countries are plagued with brauhauses still in operation, but centuries old.

An invention not so modern, but that had its resurgence in the last decade of the 70s, along with the craft beer. First in the United Kingdom, in the heat of the defense of the Real Ale, and later in North America, where the boom of the craft beer took place. Interestingly, the first brewpub (post-ban) on the other side of the pond did not open in the United States, but in Canada. It was the Troller Pub, in the province of British Columbia. In 1982, the Grant’s Brewery Pub was inaugurated in Yakima, Washington.

The beginnings were slow and expensive, but time proved right to the advocates of good beer. At the end of 2017, the United States had 2,252 brewpubs and the number continues to increase.

Naturbier, the first brewpub in Spain, opened in Madrid in 1989.

As with craft beer, the brewpub concept in Spain is still in its infancy, but growing in good health. We already have about 30 establishments of this type, located mainly in Catalonia and Madrid. A good example of this growing interest was the appearance of Cierzo in the list of the 50 best bars in Spain that Esquire magazine makes annually.

Our establishment, a pioneer in Zaragoza, has a total space of 600 m², located in the center of the city, a few meters from the Plaza de España and the most famous tapas area in Aragón: el tubo. Our clients, in addition to being able to enjoy a wide selection of beers, of the best quality and served by the best professionals, have multiple pairing options at their disposal, both for lunch in Zaragoza during the week with our daily menu, and for dinner any day in style with the best grilled meat.

In short, a gastronomic alternative that is gaining more followers as the craft beer sector advances in Spain. And it is fortunately that more and more consumers know how to value this artisan product, who go to beer tastings, who are informed, who buy online and most importantly, who enjoy this drink that never ceases to amaze us.