Whilst in Barcelona recently I made it an aim to track down a few local beers to try. I'd read a bit about the burgeoning 'craft' beer scene in Catalunya and was keen (as always) to get hold of some local favourites. I did a bit of research prior to my trip and my most promising option seemed to be Rosses i Torrades, a 'celler de cerveses' on Consell de Cent (although RateBeer lists a few decent sounding bottle shops in the city). I wandered over to the shop from la Rambla, which took a matter of 20-25 minutes and was fairly uneventful. For those who are less inclined to walk, the nearest metro station is Urgell which is about 300 metres away from the shop.Upon entering you find yourself in what I'd describe as the 'main', but smaller room of the shop. This is where most of the beers, the keg lines and the till are. Towards the back of the shop is a much larger room with a few more shelves of beers as well as plenty of chairs and tables where you can sit and enjoy a drink.
As above I was after some local beers and these were plentiful and easy to find, immediately to the left on entering the shop. This is a complete guess, but I'd say there was probably around 70ish different Catalan beers on offer, from the likes of Catalan Brewery, Barcelona Beer Company, Espiga, BeerCat and many more. The shop was pretty busy when I got there (on a nondescript Monday evening, so make of that what you will) but the guy on duty was happy to make a quick recommendation and spoke good English. Just for the record, the Espiga Blonde Ale was his number one beer to try so I picked a bottle of that up and it'll feature in a future post! The main beer style on offer was pale ale although there were also a couple of dark beers and I did pick up an imperial stout from Dougall's, a brewery that I've subsequently discovered is based in Cantabria, northern Spain.
The shop also has an excellent selection of beers from around the world, clearly organised by country and labelled with mini national flags. As a south Londoner it was nice to see the Kernel Brewery and Partizan represented, other UK breweries on offer included Buxton, Tiny Rebel and Siren, so there is no shortage of superb quality English beer in Barcelona. There was plenty of stuff from across Europe on offer including the ubiquitous Mikeller and Italian craft brewers Brewfist, alongside more traditional beers from Belgium. The US was also well-represented with beers present from Cigar City amongst many others.In addition to the extensive bottle selection the shop has three keg lines so you can enjoy a glass or two of decent beer while you're browsing. When I was there the line-up was Mikkeler's American Dream, Siren's Soundwave IPA and the local Espiga Blonde, so all rather impressive really. The shops Facebook page seems to be the most up to date place to find out what beers are available both on draught and in bottles.
Prices at the shop were reasonable and pretty much in line with what you'd expect to pay for similar beers in the UK. I picked five beers which cost me around 15 Euro so for the maths geniuses out there, the local stuff works out around 3 Euro a bottle (approx £2.40 or US$4).
On the whole Rosses i Torrades is an impressive little store that stocks a great range of beers in a part of the world that you wouldn't necessarily consider a beer location.
Rosses i Torrades, Consell de Cent, 192, 08011 Barcelona
Open Mon-Sat, opening hours vary (Closed Sundays), please check before you travel!
http://www.rossesitorrades.com/
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