Birra y Paz

What: Beer store
Where: Madrid, Spain (C/ Menorca 9)
Hours: Tuesday-Saturday 11am-9pm, Sunday 11am-3pm

I feel it is high time I write about one of the rising stars of the Madrid beer scene, my very local Birra y Paz. This relatively new beer store, which opened its doors in 2013, is located in Calle Menorca 9, right next to the Retiro and only a few blocks away from another craft beer institution, the pub El Estribo. It is owned by Mª Paz, a craft beer enthusiast who one day decided to quit her job and follow her dream of making craft beer her profession, and her husband.

I first came across this store purely by accident as I was coming back from work one evening. The space where it is located used to be occupied by a wine shop I had visited once or twice which went out of business just as I started this blog and turned my attention mainly to beer (coincidence?). Naturally, when I walked by and saw all the beer in the window, I was so overjoyed I had to pop in to take a look see.

I instantly became friends with Mª Paz. Her deep knowledge of all her products and eagerness to help out and offer suggestions to her costumers with a big smile, adds to the intrinsic joy I feel in buying beer. So much so that I have on occasion gone over there just to pay her a visit and have a beer in one of the small tables she has set up for that purpose. I know I am not the only one as Spain's own super-judge Baltasar Garzón is known to have done the same.

Birra y Paz got off to a relatively slow start, offering your run of the mill Belgian beers, Brooklyn Lager, a few English beers and a few Spanish craft beers. It has however steadily grown its selection and now includes a few gems you'd be hard pressed to find in any other of the beer stores around the city.

For example, among the Belgian beers you can now find the Troubadour Magma, Rodenbach's Caractère Rouge, or, as an absolute rarity in a store in Madrid (especially at that price), Westvleteren XII.

Italy is one of their specialties and you can find a reasonably large selection, as far as I know the biggest among the stores in Madrid.

They have also extended their American beer selection and, although it is not as deep as other places like Cervezorama, it is very well targeted. They carry some of the most interesting Rogue beers, such as their Chipotle Ale, to name but one brand as an example. They also stock most of the best Samuel Smith beers, including the Taddy Porter, the IPA and the Oatmeal Stout and are continuously on the hunt to add more English classics, such as winter warmers, to their portfolio.

Two of the most innovative brewers in the craft beer scene like BrewDog and Mikkeller are also heavily represented and the Spanish craft brew section has grown to have one of the most predominant spaces in the shop.

In case that wasn't enough, they have begun catering to homebrewers, offering kits, malt extract, crowns and other material, a section that takes up more space every time I go.

So if you haven't yet paid Birra y Paz a visit, I wholeheartedly recommend you check it out, I'm sure you'll find something there that tickles your fancy.