Porto - Thursday 28 February 2019

A full day in Porto / Oporto would include tasting Calem port in Vila Nova de Gaia and end with a free concert by Still Life in the Casa da Musica cafe.

A return to O Fumeiro (Marques), uphill from Hotel Grande Rio, for coffee and croissant was a good start to the day. To go anywhere in Porto usually involves going up or downhill and this may partly explain why there are relatively few cyclists.

On the way downhill, towards the river Douro, I stopped to take a photo of the (closed) tiny Bar Santa Cachaça which I had passed on my first night in the city and not dared to enter!

Another photo stop was for a row of buildings at Praça de Almeida Garrett, opposite São Bento station.

Pelourinho (ornamental pillory) and cathedral beyond

Just down and up from here is the Sé do Porto (cathedral) in an elevanted position where you can enjoy views of the city and the river Douro.

CAL, Av. Vimara Peres 56

I passed CAL, a (closed) bar with bottles of port and beer in the window and a 'craft beer on tap' sign on the northern approach to the high level of Ponte de Dom Luís I metal arch bridge, designed by Gustave Eiffel.

Crossing the bridge, which is also used by the Metro, there are good views including the river far below. Looking back to Porto you can see the ancient stone walls, a funicular railway and the steps that I would later climb from river level.

On the Vila Nova da Gaia (southern) side are the various port wine lodges including Calem which I would visit later.

Having reached the south bank there are good views of the bridge showing also the lower level which is used by vehicles and pedestrians.

It is a steep descent to river level and after lunch at a cafe I joined an English language tour of Calem port lodge. John (João?), our professional guide, finished the interesting tour by presenting us with a selection of ports for a tutored tasting. This tour is recommended and the standard tasting (13 euros) includes Cálem Fine White and Cálem Special Reserve Tawny. Our group of five, which included an American / Australian couple, would stay on for some time here learning about each other's trips and origins with IT backgrounds being a common thread for three of us.

Emerging into the daylight the riverside views include the traditional Rabelo boats once used for transporting port down the river Douro. 

I crossed back to Porto on the narrow pavement of the lower level of the Ponte de Dom Luís I.

A long climb up the steps of the Escada Dos Guindais was made easier by the central handrail to pull on. 

A stop for coffee on the shaded first floor terrace of the bar of Guindalense Futebol Clube provided a welcome break. I hear this is a lively place to enjoy beer and music in the evening but did not have a chance to return.

After reaching the top of the steps you arrive at the Batalha end of the funicular and a little further on is Praça da Batalha with a view of the church of Saint Ildefonso at the northern end of the square. Rather stupidly I forgot to visit Cervejaria Levare at Praça da Batalha 12A, which had been closed when I walked past here on Wednesday.

Fábrica Nortada

However, I did walk another five minutes to reach Cerveja Nortada at 210, R. de Sá da Bandeira, for my first beer of the day at 4pm. 

Most of the beers are listed on a blackboard behind the bar.

I ordered Nortada Weiss Bier which was 3 euros for 30cl and served in a tall glass from a tap connected to one of the many horizontal stainless steel tanks in the spacious bar.

The beer range and menu is also available from clipboards at the tables.

I picked a table near the copper brewing vessels and was rewarded by the sight of steam when a brewer came to check on brewing progress.

A visit to the downstairs toilets revealed a sign showing that I had reached the 'Empty' stage and views into the lower level where there are fermentation tanks and a bottling plant.

There are other graphics in the main bar in a similar style.

Bottles of the various Nortada beers are on display.
Cerveja Nortada is a slick operation but my impression was that the focus of attention here was on diners rather than beer enthusiasts. Although the large space had some interesting features, especially the brewery, the rest of it was a bit too bright and modern to be cosy, especially when there were only a few customers inside. 

A Fábrica da Picaria

It was only another 10 minutes walk west for a third visit to A Fábrica da Picaria at Rua da Picaria 72. There is a step up to the entrance which is well worth remembering for the time that you leave or a surprise may result!

With the beer of the month offer still available and complimentary peanuts I settled in at 5pm in the room at the back with the long table and a view of brewing tanks.

Marta had not yet left for the evening yet and I was able to present her with some CAMRA magazines including West Berkshire 'Ullage' that has featured Quinten Taylor's article about beer in Lisbon and Porto and Reading & Mid-Berks 'Mine's a pint' with Quinten on the cover. She kindly posed for a photo wearing the Hop Stuff and West Berkshire Brewery badges that I also gave her.

With my next beer she gave me a dish of marinated Tremoços / Lupini beans to try and showed me how to remove the skin first. There are popular as a snack with beer in Portugal apparently.

There is a shaded elevated terrace with tables accessible from the back of the room. 

On the wall behind my long table is a brewing infographic. The simple limited menu now includes
Bifanas no Pão / Hot pork sandwich: 1,90€ and Cachorrinho / Hot Dog with Cheese: 2,90€.
I liked the small scale and good value at A Fábrica da Picaria. It will certainly be my first choice bar to visit in Porto next time and hopefully Marta will still be there to welcome me back!

Catraio Craft Beer Shop

Another ten minute walk west led to Catraio Craft Beer Shop at Rua de Cedofeita 256, a pedestrian street.

In contrast to the minimalist feel at the previous bars, the dimly lit interior (from lights in bottles) included more decorative features and seemed cosy.

The tables were quite busy so I sat at the bar. My first beer was the reasonably priced and refreshing Ora et Labora Pilsner by Post Scriptum Brewery located between Porto and Braga to the north (1.5 euro, 1/2 pint, 4.5% abv).

An 'In the pursuit of hoppiness' map on a blackboard shows the location of various breweries in Portugal. Ronaldo makes a cameo appearance just above the island of Madeira. Arrows point to Portugal for good beer, Spain for good tapas and Morocco for good hash.

A second beer here was Atlantida by Cerveja Bolina based north of Lisbon (6.5% American IPA, 2.50 euros, 1/2 pint).

Up to 13 beers from the Catraio Craft Beer Shop draught beer range are displayed on untappd.com and details are also fed to a flat screen by the bar. The latest untappd check-ins at the bar are also displayed at the base of the screen. (My untappd.com account name is timofnewbury.)

There were shelves of bottles and leaftlets near the entrance so I left my remaining copies of Ullage magazine there on the way out at 8pm.
With a cosy ambiance, knowledgeable staff and a wide range of beers, Catraio Craft Beer Shop can be recommended but note that it does not uusally open until 4pm.

With a mission to reach Casa da Música by 10pm for a concert it was time for a meal and although it was not my first choice, Migalhas 2 provided excellent value with grilled fish and a half bottle of wine for less than 10 euros. 

With good timing, it was 9.45pm as I approached Casa da Musica, Porto's new concert hall. 

This gave me time to order a drink and find a good seat near the stage of the cafe for a memorable (free) performance by Still Life Trio featuring Margherita Abita (vocals), João Silva (violin) and Claudio Marrero (sax and keyboards).
A late finish but an easy journey back to my hotel by metro. This had been a 19000+ steps day!

Postscript:

Many thanks to Marta who kindly gave me A Fábrica da Picaria branded glasses as souvenirs for Quinten's visit in 2018 and my visit in 2019. 

While I am looking after Quinten's glass until I can hand it to him in Reading one day, my glass was put to good use on Easter day!

Barcelona on a Tuesday afternoon

After two sunny days on the Costa Maresme, I caught a RENFE Rodalies (Cercanias) train from Pineda de Mar to Barcelona Sants (5 euros) on Tuesday 30 January, 2018.

There is a train every 30 minutes for the line, partly single track, that runs next to the beach for most of the 75 minute journey.

Costa Maresme - view from the train near Pineda de Mar / Calella

Passengers for Barcelona airport can change at Sants for a further 17 minute journey.

Thankfully I had nearly 24 hours left to visit some more beer bars in Barcelona!

There is an impressive entrance to the Parc de l'Espanya immediately south of Sants station.

100 metres further, just beyond Hotel Transit, I visited Zarautz for lunch of San Sebastian style pintxos and local Estrella Damm lager.

After checking into Hotel Transit I caught the green line (3) Metro from Tarragona to Diagonal (2.20 euros fare) in the Eixample district.

Emerging onto Passeig de Gracia after the 17 minute journey, it was a treat to see Antoni Gaudí's Casa Milà, popularly known as La Pedrera, on the corner of Carrer de Provença.

Four blocks south west along Carrer de Provenca (171) leads to L´Espumossa Art & Cervesa Bar. Unfortunately it was closed for siesta time (15.00-17.00).

For readers of this blog it was worth taking photos of the menu and beer tap list blackboard displayed in the front window. 

Two blocks south east finds Mikkeller Bar Barcelona at Carrer de València 202 which was open and quiet at this time of day. The blackboard gives details of the lunchtime menu of the day - 11.50 euros and served from 1pm - 4pm.

Just inside, a colour-coded blackboard gives early notice of what beers are served from the 24 taps at the far end of the room.

The long room is furnished with Danish style furniture and light fittings in a style that will look familiar to anyone who has visited Mikkeller bars in Copenhagen.

Taking a seat at the bar, I explained my preference for pale beers to the barman who suggested Mikkeller Weird Weather Lactose IIPA. A sample of the hazy 8.3% ABV beer proved it had minimal bitterness and was soft on the tongue so the small glass ordered (4.5 euros) was a good beer to drink slowly.

As the only customer at the bar, there was a chance to chat with Martin the barman and discover that he prefers Barcelona to his Mallorca base in the winter months and that he originally hails from Uruguay. He kindly posed for a photo with a copy of Ullage, the West Berkshire CAMRA magazine and allowed me to leave it in the magazine rack for others to read.

Martin agreed with me that the bar is spacious and that space between tables allows customers more privacy than in a more compact bar. He suggested a visit to NaparBCN as another Barcelona bar that nails it as a nice place with good food.

Anakena House - museum entrance on right side of building

Before heading for nearby NaparBcn, there was time for a visit to the MMBCN / Museo del Modernisme, Carrer de Balmes 48, two blocks north east and then two blocks south east.

Coffer / desk by Joan Busquets (1905)

This small museum includes furniture, sculpture, mosaics and paintings from the era of Catalan Modernism (1888-1911). 

Following Martin's advice my next destination was NaparBCN, This was my second disappointment of the day. The doors were closed and an A4 sheet of paper was pinned at eye level - Hoy con motivo de la presentacion de productos Redken Brews, el local permnecera cerrado al publico general. Disculpen las molestias. I don't speak Spanish but I know that cerrado means closed so I had to make do with an exterior photo for this blog post. 

Heading two blocks south west and one block north west took me back to BierCaB, previously visited on Saturday night and where the excellent service was mentioned in my last blog post.

On this occasion there were plenty of spare seats so I was able to sit on a tall chair at one of the stylish metal tables that hang down and protrude from the side wall.
From tap 9, a change since Saturday, was Naparbier Capicua 1, a 5.4% New England IPA. Having missed a chance to taste Naparbier at the brewery's Barcelona outlet and as I enjoy this style, this was the obvious choice. The 25cl measure cost 4 euros and earned a good score from me (timofnewbury) on Untappd.  

A framed blackboard listed Tapas options but my eyes were checking the screens above the bar to choose my next beer.

From tap 10, a beer from Hamilton, Ontario, Ransack the Universe, brewed by Collective Arts Brewing was my second choice. Rich marmalade notes were revealed in this 6.8% ABV IPA.
Once again, with Manuel, at the helm, service at BierCaB was impeccable. 
My Tuesday afternoon in Barcelona was now over. To follow my Tuesday evening in Barcelona, which would begin at Barcelona Beer Company, look out for the next BeerEurope blog post.