Beer Lovers - A quick guide to Lisbon's best Craft Beers and Bars

Since we opened Tings Lisbon’s Craft Beer Scene has exploded

Lince is on Lonely Planet’s list. We haven’t visited the brewery yet. But We have bought their bottles. Thomas loves their Stout especially because of the beautiful foam – a very rare thing in Lisbon

I am a huge beer lover. Beer is by far my preferred drink – and wasn’t it because of the alcohol I would drink Pilsners all day long. It’s the perfect summer beer – in general more hoppy than a lager, and lighter than a pale ale. After the Pilsner my preferred beers are Stouts & Porters.

This is the reason why I’m not a big fan of Craft Beers. The majority of the craft beers are IPAs – not because this kind of beer is popular or better than the Pilsner but because it’s supposed to be the most difficult beer to brew compared to IPA’s: Pilsners don’t lie. Because the beer’s so simple, any faults or mistakes show up. If you have a little fault in an IPA, you add some more hops, ‘hop it out,’ as it’s called, and you bury it… (Douglas Miller, Spectacular Failures).

Beer and Burgers go hand-in-hand. No only does Galla brew some of the best stouts in town – they also make our favorite Burger. Its honest, well made and tasty.

I don’t know if Douglas Miller is right or not – but it explains why I on most occasions leave a brew pub disappointed. When I find an IPA I like almost all of them are completely different next time I order it again… in other words – the quality is inconsistent and often bad (and undrinkable).

With the porters and Stouts things are different. Here it’s easier to find something I like. BUT they are most often too strong to drink if you have to work or are going out for dinner afterwards.

In recent times, drinking habits in the Portuguese capital have undergone a remarkable shift. "Five years ago, when we launched our beer, few people knew what an IPA was. They pulled a face when they drank it, and many glasses were left half full," says Bárbara Simões, communications manager for Lisbon brewery Cerveja Musa.

Joana Taborda Lonely Planet Writer 3 March 2022

Lonely Planet's Guide you to Lisbon’s best craft breweries and bars

Nothing Beats a good glass of Pilsner. Despite Salazar, Wine traditions and other obstacles Portugal brews one of the best ones I have had for ages – Carlsberg (who owns Super Bock) should be ashamed of the pilsner they brew in Denmark compared to this well tasting and refreshing beauty.

I don’t think Bárbara Simões is right in blaming Salazar’s exclusion of foreign beer business for the absence of other beers than Sagres & Super Bock Pilsners. It is after all, almost 50 years ago the dictatorship ended.

We didn’t have a dictator – still Carlsberg and Tuborg had the same monopoly until the craft beer wave started in the 90s.

The reason why the Crafts Beer wave hit Portugal 20 years after most other countries is because of the country’s wine tradition… I was so privileged to follow the start of 8a Colina and saw how much the guys struggled to start up their factory and Tab Room here in Graca…

The credit should go to guys like them and all the other crazy dedicated front runners who – despite the lack of beer tradition, lousy finances and conservative consumers risk their time and savings to follow their beer dream…

Last Time I researched the market I counted more than 50 Craft Brewers and/or Craft Bars… I have only visited very few of them. So it’s a thrill to find 4 of them on Lonely Planet’s guide to Lisbon’s Craft Beers.

Cheers,

Thomas