Timeline of Craft Beer in Spain
The origin of craft beer in Spain dates back to the arrival of the new millennium. Starting in 2000, a hotbed of homebrewers decided to turn their hobby into a profession and founded companies for that purpose. In 2008, Spain had 20 craft breweries compared to the more than 480 it had at the start of 2018. The number of microbreweries between 2008 and 2014 increased by 1,400% in Spain, compared to 110% in the United Kingdom and 140% in Italy. However, the UK already had 670 microbreweries in 2008 and Italy had 200. Spain was late to join this trend.
We turn to newspaper archives to understand at what point in time the history of craft beer gained relevance in popular culture. The first time El País, one of the most widely read newspapers in Spain, devoted one of its digital pieces to craft beer was in 2012. A list of eight small‑batch beers appeared in the El Viajero section under the subtitle “These are eco‑minded beers, distinguished by their careful production and the purity of their raw materials”. Also in 2012 we find an article presenting La Virgen and La Cibeles as Madrid’s new beers.
As for key figures who have contributed to the development of beer in Spain, we should mention Boris de Mesones, who has worked in the sector for 25 years. He has written two books that are available online for free and serve as a foundation for most current brewers: Cómo emprender una microcervecería (How to Start a Microbrewery) and Proceso de elaboración (Brewing Process). Boris de Mesones is a brewmaster, teacher and judge in prestigious international competitions. As a consultant, he has worked with microbreweries such as San Frutos, Mica, Arriaca and Villa de Madrid, among others.
For his part, the renowned Steve Huxley boosted craft beer in Catalonia. The English author of the book Beer… Liquid Poetry. A Manual for Beer Lovers passed away in October 2015, but his legacy remains very much alive. In addition to being a brewer, he founded the Steve Beer Academy in Barcelona, where he taught. The newspaper El Mundo interviewed him for its digital edition in 2008, before the term “craft beer” became established.
Following the development of the craft beer movement, the Spanish Association of Independent Craft Brewers (AECAI) was founded in 2014 with the aim of “defining, promoting and defending the craft beer sector and its members,” according to its website. Domus, La Sagra, La Virgen, La Cibeles, Dawat, San Frutos and Arriaca are the founding breweries of AECAI. The association, which has 44 registered breweries, sets a maximum annual production volume of five million liters and limits the use of ingredients in order to define what qualifies as craft beer. In Catalonia there is also GECAN (Gremi d'Elaboradors de Cervesa Artesana i Natural), the non‑profit association founded in 2010 that defends, promotes and publicizes the sector.
In the field of law, Royal Decree 678/2016 of 16 December defines the artisanal production of beer as “a process that is carried out in its entirety in the same facility and in which personal intervention is the predominant factor, under the direction of a brewmaster or craftsperson with demonstrable experience, giving priority in its production to the human factor over the mechanical, resulting in an individualized final product that is not produced in large series.”
Neither AECAI, GECAN, nor the socioeconomic report published annually by Cerveceros de España provide figures on the consumption, sales and production of Spanish craft beer. We must turn to the latest report published by the DBK Sector Observatory of Informa in 2017. The craft beer sector in Spain produced nearly 20 million liters in 2017, compared to almost 15 million in 2016. Turnover in 2016 reached 45 million euros, compared to 26 million in 2015 and 15 million in 2014. As of April 2017, 480 companies were operating in Spain dedicated to craft beer production, 90 more than in 2015.
The craft beer sector has been slow to take root in Spain compared with the boom of the 1970s in the USA or the explosion of Italian microbreweries in the 1990s. The history of beer in Spain mirrors the tradition of other countries. For example, the UK’s Assured Independent British Craft Brewer inspired Spain’s AECAI. However, the progress is undeniable.
