🍺 Barcelona Beer Festival....and a recipe! 🍺
Bring your BFF to the BBF this March to discover some of the best craft brews in the world! Also, an easy-to-throw-together, finger-licking, classic Chicken in Beer recipe!
Anyone who knows me is aware I’m fond of a cold pint of beer….or two. In my opinion it’s one of the best beverages ever to have been accidently invented, with wine coming in at a strong second. There is nothing better during a Spanish summer than beer poured into a glass mug pulled straight from the freezer and watching an icy layer of the amber liquid float to the top of the glass.
While no one can be sure who the first person was to leave some soggy grain to ferment, researchers are pretty happy to claim Soria, in Spain, as home to Europe’s oldest beer, some 4,400 years ago.
When the Romans appeared on the scene with their well-established wine drinking culture, they were little impressed with the natives’ brews. Beer was considered a low-class drink only fit for barbarians. Emperor Julian even composed a poem about beer comparing Demeter, the goddess of grain with Dionysus, the god of wine, and rather than smelling of nectar, it smelt of goat.
However, the Romans soon came to learn the power beer had on the Iberians.
Numantian women in Soria would liquify the grains left over from their bread-making and leave it to ferment. The Numantian warriors, before embarking on a battle against the invading Romans, then drank the resulting brewed concoction, and not unlike English football supporters during the World Cup, became “crazed, fierce, demonic fighters”, as one Roman described them. Today, the Spanish proverb ‘Numantian resistance’ is used to imply a strident, single minded resistance to authority.
Spain has come a long way in the last 2000 years to become Europe’s 3rd largest beer producer following Germany and the UK. In 2021, the creator of the popular Cruzcampo and Amstel brands, Heineken España based in Jaen, became the first and largest brewery to be completely emissions free by using solar panels and heat energy generated by waste from the nearby olive oil industry.
In less than a decade, “Cerveza Artesana “or craft beer” has grown with 400 new producers creating 650 varieties of craft beer around Spain. Roughly 300 brands are controlled by more than 100 microbreweries with over a third of those found in Catalunya. Spain also boasts the largest production of alcohol-free beer in the EU, with 13% of consumption per capita.
Craft beers are becoming a rapidly growing industry and what better way to showcase the wide variety and diverse flavours of some of the best brewers in the world than at the Barcelona Beer Festival - “the biggest meeting point in southern Europe for craft beer amateurs and professionals.”
One of the first phrases any visitor will learn before embarking on a Spanish holiday is “Una cerveza, por favor!” (a beer, please) because the savvy traveller understands the way to truly know a country is through its food and drink.
“Una caña” (a small glass of beer) has become synonymous with tapas in any bar around Spain and in many places the tapas are a free (or cheap) accompaniment to the drink. So, it makes sense that a beer festival should also offer gastronomic stands, food pairing events, and cooking demonstrations.
Over three boozy days, the Barcelona Beer Festival is a gastro-cultural hive of activity as thousands of beer lovers from all over the world come to enjoy the flavours and aromas of craft beer and participate in the multidisciplinary activities available, such as theatrical and musical performances, blind tastings, workshops, and documentaries.
Barcelona Beer Festival dates for 2024:
From 22 to 24 March
Friday from 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m
Saturday from 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m
Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m
Located in Fira Barcelona – Montjuïc – Hall 2
For more information about ticket costs and beer prices, please visit the website.
In the words of W.C Fields: “Everybody’s got to believe in something. I believe I’ll have another beer.”
Cooking with beer.
Beer has been used in cooking for millennia; since ancient times it has been used to add depth and flavour to dishes, as a natural leavening agent in bread, and as a preserver. During the Middle Ages in Europe, beer was commonly used in cooking, particularly in monasteries where brewing was often done.
This recipe is a common one found in many European countries, including Spain, and it’s easy to see why. It’s a delicious way to incorporate the flavours of beer without the alcohol and is quick and simple to make.
I recommend a strong and full-flavoured beer for this dish. I found a Belgium wheat beer, Hoegaargen, a cloudy brew with tones of coriander and orange peel which seemed to do the job, though was probably a little more subtle than I would have liked. But any beer will do.
I bought chicken breasts from my local butcher because I couldn’t find any free-range legs or wings, but I recommend buying chicken pieces with the bone and skin to add extra flavour to the dish. But the chicken breasts came out super yummy too.
Chicken in Beer with Mushrooms
3 large chicken breasts, or boney bits such as legs, wings, etc
2 shallots
325g button mushrooms
2 bay leaves
1 tsp juniper berries
2 heaped tsp dark muscovado sugar
3 or 4 cloves of garlic, lightly smashed
2 cups (approx) of strong flavoursome beer
2 tbsp flour
Salt and pepper
Dried thyme (optional)
Bit of butter and a generous drizzle of oil
Coat the chicken pieces in flour that has been seasoned with salt, pepper and dried thyme.
In the butter and oil, brown the chicken pieces in a heavy pan, then remove.
Add the shallots and mushrooms to the pan to fry up a little in the chicken juices.
If you prefer a thicker sauce, add a teaspoon more flour to the vegetables at this point.
Return the chicken to pan, add the garlic, juniper berries, sugar, bay leaves, and beer.
The chicken pieces should be covered in the liquid, unless they are large pieces, then just make sure you turn the chicken over regularly.
Cover and cook on a slow simmer for about half an hour, depending on the size of the pieces.
Remove lid and cook a little longer to reduce the liquid.