Más Que Cervezas

What: Beer store
Where: Madrid, Spain (32 Calle del León)
Hours: 11.30am-10pm, Monday to Sunday

In my recent quest to uncover some of the best places for great beer, I have decided to stop today once again in Madrid. In fact, pretty close to my house, in a store called Más Que Cervezas. The reason is a practical one: I was almost out of beer yesterday, so I made the most of my visit to take some pictures and talk to Francisco, the person in charge of this fantastic store.

Located in the center of Madrid, in the Barrio de las Letras, this little store has already made quite a name for itself, despite having been open for less than one year. This is due to several different factors.

The first one is its location, it's in an area that gets a lot of foot traffic and many of those passers-by step in for, at the very least, a quick look. This is made easy by its ample store hours, which span from 11:30 am to 10 pm, every day of the week, therefore making it likely that whenever you pass by it will be open and you can go in.

The second one is the wide variety of excellent beers available. In it you can find several shelves dedicated to German beers, British beers, Belgian beers, Dutch beers, French beers, US beers, Mexican beers, and many other different nationalities. 

The central stands are dedicated to Spanish craft beers, a domain where the store's variety has grown the most as far as I've seen. There's still some room for improvement in this area as there are quite a few Spanish craft breweries missing, but the selection is a very good one considering the space available.

Francisco ringing me up

The third and final reason why this store has created such a buzz is because of its shop-keepers. Francisco and his sister are both extremely helpful and knowledgeable. They are always ready to assist you with your choices and can give you all the information you want or need on their beers, something which makes shopping there for new beers you haven't tried easy and comfortable.

You can also find a pretty good selection of spirits and a couple of gourmet products on its shelves, so it's always a perfect store to go to if you're thinking of taking a me day and just pampering yourself. In fact, Francisco is as much an expert on gin and tonics as he is on beer, from what I have had the opportunity to witness several times, so you are definitely in safe hands there.

A last detail worth mentioning, it's moderately priced, something invaluable in these times and which, to me, puts Mas Que Cervezas over the top.