Tag Archives: bir and fud

European Craft Beer Pub Guide

I’ve done a lot of travelling in the past few years and I made an effort to seek out fine craft beer establishments wherever I went.  I was reminiscing with a friend the other day and I thought I might as well post a list of my favourite European craft beer drinking establishments.  Keep in mind that this is not an all encompassing list, but a list of places I visited and liked.  That being said, I truly believe these are the cream of the crop and that any beer enthusiast should seek them out.

Mikkeller – Copenhagen, Denmark
The impressive and cosy bar of the Danish craft beer geniuses.  What impresses me most about Mikkeller is their creativity and range.  They also server American and other European craft beers in their bar.

‘t Arendsnest – Amsterdam, Netherlands
You could argue there are better beer bars in Amsterdam, but this is this only one that serves only Dutch craft beer.  The bar itself is a beautiful wood paneled brown cafe located right on a ridiculously pretty canal.

Delirium Cafe – Brussels, Belgium
It’s grungy, smokey, crowded and you’ll never want to leave.  The quintessential Brussels beer bar is famous for it’s massive beer list featuring almost every Belgian beer available.  The staff are super knowledgeable and also rude.  I remember being scared to order, but it’s worth it in the end.

‘t Brugs Beertje – Bruges, Belgium
The classic Bruges brown cafe.  I highly recommend watching In Bruges then heading to this place for a gay beer or seven.  It might not be the best beer bar in Bruges, but it’s the classic and a must visit.

Akkurat –  Stockholm, Sweden
Surely the best beer bar in Sweden, featuring craft beer from around the world and from Sweden’s burgeoning craft beer scene.

Bir & Fud – Rome, Italy
Serving only Italian craft beer, this place is in the hip Trastavere neighbourhood of Rome. I didn’t know Italy had a craft beer scene until I visited this place, turns out craft is taking off in Italy.

Ma Che Siete Venuti A Fà – Rome, Italy
Across the street from Bir & Fud, this place takes care of the rest of the world and serves top notch stuff from Northern Europe and America.

Craft – London, UK
Can you believe I lived just over a mile away from this place and I only went there twice? I should be punished.  Founded in the summer of 2011, this place immediately became the top beer bar in London.  They have the very best from all over the world; tons of Mikkeller, English and American stuff.

Brewdog – London, UK
The punks at Brewdog are on a pub opening tear in the UK.  The London joint opened in December and has been packed since.  Features tons of Brewdog one-off stuff, as well as quality craft from around the world.

Oktoberfest – Munich, Germany
Okay, not a pub, but an essential and amazing experience.  I found most German beer halls to be very similar, so why not enjoy them at their grandest scale.  I went twice and I’d go again at the drop of a hat.  Check out my experience.

't Arendsnest in Amsterdam

‘t Arendsnest in Amsterdam, loved it

Brewdog Camden

Us guys at Brewdog, I miss it so bad

Delirium Cafe Brussels

If you can’t have fun at Delirium Cafe, just suicide yourself now

I went to a lot of fantastic pubs in Europe, but these are the standouts from a beer perspective.  Let me know if you think there’s somewhere else I need to go, I only need an excuse…

Cheers,

Chris

Beer in Rome

Erik and I spent the last eight nights in Italy (with the whole Wolfe family, we are not gay, not that there is anything wrong with that), four in Florence and four in Rome.  I’m not going to lie to you, it was pretty rad.  We ate and drank like kings.  Also, I’m pretty sure I gained about a pound a day, but it was worth it.  I’ll let Erik elaborate on the food aspect, but highlights included Mercato Centrale, Bistecca Alla Fiorentina, Florentine tomatoes, the quest for the greatest pizza, punchy arugula, and hole in the wall restaurants with mean waiters and amazing food.

True bistecca should be at least 5cm thick, and that is why Italy is rad

True bistecca should be at least 5cm thick, and that is why Italy is rad

Meat Sandwiches from Nerbone in Mercato Centrale, Florence

Meat Sandwiches from Nerbone in Mercato Centrale, Florence

More food from Mercato Central in Florence

More food from Mercato Central in Florence

More wares in Mercato Centrale, Chianti Classico and fresh olive oil

More wares in Mercato Centrale, Chianti Classico and fresh olive oil

Of course, while in Italy we had to sample the beer.  We found that generally, every restaurant would offer Peroni or Birra Moretti for about 4 euros, which is a ripoff compared to the price of fantastic wine, especially with Florence so close to the Chianti region.  We most definitely drank our fair share of Chianti, but we also wanted to check out the burgeoning Italian craft beer scene that we’d heard about, which we found no trace of until we got to Rome.

We first encountered Italian craft beer, which comes mostly from the North of Italy, in a deli near our hotel.  They carried the entire range of the Birrificio del Ducato, a craft brewery near Parma.  Erik bough them all and we drank them all.  I personally enjoyed the very malty Chimera Dark Ale and the peppery Verdi Imperial Stout, but all of their beers were good if not great, not bad for wine country.

Craft beer encounter number two happened a bit by chance.  When in Rome, scour the city for the best pizza the Romans already know about, which is exactly what we did (“do as the Romans do” is played out).  At out of the way Pizzarium, arguably Rome’s best pizza by the slice (it was definitely delightful), we found a stellar craft beer selection that included international and italian craft beers.  I can’t remember what we had (all Italian things start to sound the same to me after a few beers), but you must visit this place if you are a disciple of the heavenly pizza and beer combination.

Pizzarium in Rome, go there

Pizzarium in Rome, go there

The Pizza at Pizzarium, half way through rapid consumption

The Pizza at Pizzarium, half way through rapid consumption

Italian Craft Beer from Pizzarium

Italian Craft Beer from Pizzarium

Later on we hiked a long way from our hotel to the trendy Trastavere neighborhood, which was, from the looks of it, foodie heaven in Rome.  There were so many amazing looking restaurants (trattoria, osteria, ristorante) and wine bars (enoteca) on the way that we almost didn’t make it to our destination.  Bir and Fud and Ma Che Siete Venuti a Fa are two hole in the wall beer bars conveniently located across the street from each other.  I found them recommended on BeerAdvocate.com and they did not disappoint.  Bir and Fud serves only Italian beer and there is only an Italian menu.  We relied on the waiter, who initially told us to wait because he was busy eating, to help us out.  We first had an American Pale Ale because that is what he brought us without necessarily confirming that is what we wanted.  It was a great rendition of a hoppy west coast pale ale.  In the next round, we got to choose our beers.  I had a delicious imperial stout and Erik had a malty real ale, both were wonderful.  When you can get it, Italian craft beer is quite delicious.  At Ma Che Siete Venuti a Fa, we were presented with many intriguing international choices.  Erik had a Cantillon Lambic and I had a Danish IPA, which were, again, both quite tasty.

If you are ever in Rome, you do not want to miss these two beer bars or Pizzarium.  You will be happy, and fat.  In other news, I speak Italian now.  Grazi mille!

Cheers,

Chris