Beer Tourism in Extremadura

Cáceres and Badajoz offer a rich cultural heritage for all kinds of tourists, including beer lovers. Few people know about the close ancestral link that the region has with beer production in Spain. To understand it, we must go back to the 16th century.

In Extremadura we find the old Monastery of San Jerónimo de Yuste, which can still be visited today. It was to this sacred place that King Charles I of Spain and V of the Holy Roman Empire retired. In Charles I we find the first Spanish #beerhunter. Such was his devotion to beer that he had master brewers brought from Europe for the sole purpose of brewing beer for his personal consumption. In this way, Charles I introduced beer to the Spanish court as a drink for the nobility.

Some time later, Charles I abdicated and moved to the aforementioned Monastery of Yuste in Extremadura. There he had brewmaster Enrique Vander Duysen set up his personal brewery. If that’s not a true #beerlover, what is? This little-known story inspired Heineken to launch the beer Legado de Yuste, now withdrawn from the market.

That said, we now also find a handful of small breweries in Extremadura. Take note if you want to visit them:

• Ballut: brewery with restaurant in Badajoz.
• La Bicha: brewery in Cabeza del Buey, Badajoz.
• Sevebrau: brewery and restaurant in Villanueva de la Serena, Badajoz.
• Cerveza Piporra: started out as a nomadic brewery, but later merged with Sevebrau.
• Cervezas Cerex: brewery and distillery in Zarza de Granadilla, Cáceres.

At first glance, it may seem that there are few beer producers in Extremadura. However, when we conduct an in-depth search, we find at least a dozen contract brewers who brew in their neighbors’ facilities. In this regard, it is striking that most brewing companies do not own the facilities they use to produce.

By contrast, Extremadura has its own beer festival. It takes place in the town of Trujillo. It truly celebrates the concept of local beer and local product, as all the microbreweries from Extremadura attend. It could not be held in 2019 due to a lack of funding, but we are confident it will return this year.

Now that you know all this about beer in Extremadura, are you ready to follow in the footsteps of Charles I and drink like a king? Enjoy craft beer in a unique setting!