When we discovered La Birreria in Andorra la Vella's medieval center, it was quite a surprise. Tiny Andorra sits between two famous wine producing countries and its tax-free status makes wine incredibly cheap. Truth be told,because of the country's size it hadn't even occurred to us to look for a local beer during our visit.
We decided to spend an afternoon in Andorra la Vella, the country's capital and only city. We ended up in the oldest part of the city, where sidewalks too small for trucks and centuries-old buildings drew us in.
Late in the afternoon we found ourselves in front of an intriguing shop called La Birreria.
Through the windows we saw a rainbow of shelves chock full of beer bottles. And a handful of high top tables invited us in. Of course we had to accept the invitation and go in to see what they had to offer.
Inside we discovered over 600 beers of different brands from all over the globe. They had everything from Japan to Poland, Thailand to Canada. They even had oddities like Homer Simpson’s favorite beer, Duff, and He'Brew, “the chosen beer.”
The shopkeeper told us it's a popular place and they sometimes have standing room only. Fortunately we were there when no one else was around, so we could take our time looking over what they had to offer.
They had half a dozen or so beers on draft and quite a few bottled varieties in the cooler. We had a great time looking at the colorful shelves and reading the labels, but we were more interested in sampling some.
For us, part of the fun of traveling is trying local foods and beverages, and beer is no exception. Since Andorra only has one brewery, Alpha, our choices were a little limited, but Alpha does brew a few different beers. Dan decided to try their Crepuscle stout and I went to the other extreme and ordered the Alpha Eagle, a blond ale.
I'm not sure which we enjoyed more: the shop or the beers. Maybe both. If you're planning to visit Andorra la Vella, consider adding this shop to your list of things to do in the evening. La Birreria is open from 5-11 pm. For more information, see La Birreria's Facebook page.
Do you enjoy trying beers or wines when you travel?
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Written by Linda
Linda is multilingual and has been to over 50 countries She has an insatiable love of travel, cuisine, and foreign languages. Her goal is to make travel easier for others and to offer a brief escape to another land.
I love trying different beer when I travel. Then whenever I see that beer in a bar at home, I remember my time in that country 🙂
Absolutely! Do you have any local microbrews where you are right now?
I am not a beer drinker, but my husband loves to try micro brews wherever we travel. We were recently in Michigan in the dead of winter, visited a micro brewery and bought a six pack for him and one for our son-in-law to take home as he is also a beer lover. We had neglected to take into consideration the below zero temperatures and the fact that every location we visited from then on (and there were quite a few), we would have to take the beer inside with us, along with our suitcases, etc. What a pain!
With all those glass bottles, that must have been incredibly heavy!
I absolutely love to try the local beer, wine and other libations whenever I travel to a new place. Goes right along with trying the local cuisine — and chocolate!
What about coffee, do you enjoy that too?