Some friends that visited Lisbon a few years ago (around 2017) told us great things about some great new craft breweries in Lisbon. As a beer enthusiast, to be honest, we didn’t believe at first. Lisbon is famous for its food, museums, churches, Tagus river, wines, and, now, for its craft beer.
We decided to visit Lisbon a few months ago, and we were there by the beginning of 2020. We have had a great time, it’s a wonderful place with a wonderful atmosphere. We were hosted in an Airbnb apartment next to Liberdade avenue – that’s what they call the “Champs Elysee of Lisbon”.
We found in Google and Untappd great things about Gallas Brewery, which is located in front of the Tram 28. By the way, the Tram is one of the most famous touristic attractions in Lisbon. It’s the very same equipment for almost 100 years!
A brief history of the brewpub
21 Gallas Brewpub is located at the Graça neighbourhood, which is located inside the historic centre in this city. Gallas is a small craft beer factory, downstairs at the Brewpub. We went there by subway, from Intendente station. Just a few steps leaving the sub. Quite easy to reach.
When we first arrived, we were received with a big and warming smile by Lui, the sommelier of the brewery. He explained everything to us, and told us the whole story. Mr Gallas is from Rio de Janeiro (yes, Brazil!) and went to Portugal a few years ago, where it founded the brewery. Gallas was an enthusiast of beer and used to make beers and hamburgers at home in Brazil. In Portugal, he made it professional, with a big investment.
Let’s talk about the craft beers
21 Gallas have 15 beer taps (14 of them were active), with a great selection of IPAs, NEIPAs, Stouts. For those who love Belgian beers, they only have options in bottles. At least during our visit, there weren’t any on tap. But as I’m a hop hear and an IPA fan, I was very well served there.
Caparipa: an American IPA with tons of hops
First, we tasted Caparipa. It was their first release, in early 2018. It’s a 5% American IPA, with the hops Simcoe, Citra and Amarillo. A very citrus flavour, with a medium body and a great foam head retention. When I first tried this beer (it was by the first glass in Portugal), I was very pleased with their quality.
Caparipa is the sort of beer I could drink several pints in a day. I would give it an 8/10 grade.
Wit Cinco, a witbier with oranges and coriander.
After trying the IPA, I went to a lighter option, the Wit Cinco Abril. It’s a 5% abv Witbier. It’s a Wit, yes, but with a different yeast strain. Lui explained that they used a neutral yeast (maybe the US-05?). The main “actor” in this beer is the orange peels. It looks like they put many oranges on it.
It’s very easy and pleasant to drink, a very refreshing beer. A good experience! My grade for the Wit Cinco is 6/10.
Now the imperial stout Boris
Boris is the dog of the brewery. They adopted it from a cannel, Boris was an abandoned dog, which Gallas recovered, took care, and now it’s the reference for them. Wherever you look to, in photos and posters, you can see such a happy dog.
They made a Russian Imperial Stout called Boris. They explained that the name was because of the abbreviation “RIS”. BO-RIS. Also, “Boris” is a Russian name (as far as I know).
This beer was fantastic. A great and heavy body. Very good to drink. It was probably the biggest moment of my trip to Lisbon in Portugal.
They place coconuts and cocoa on it, and also, lactose. That’s just like a liquid dessert. A grade 10/10 for me. A big moment!
Lab Series: special and experimental craft beers
Gallas brewery also has its Lab series, which are experimental and different beers. They make mixtures with IPAs, sours, and many stuff. We have tried the Tornado Lab beer, which is a barrel-aged dark sour with lactose (grade 9/10). Then we tried the Ragnarok Kveik lab, which is a very hoppy and very bitter and kveik yeast-based beer (grade 8/10).
Such Lab beers aren’t released by them in the market – you can only drink them exclusively in their taproom.
Then I tried Sour de Proposito, which is a sour beer with pineapple, and a very balanced aroma (grade 7/10).
Not only craft beers – They have great burgers!
I ordered the biggest burger possible. They had the “Mammoth” in their menu, which had 400 or 500 grams of patty meat, cheese, bacon and a special sauce. A very great food experience as well. They also had a vegan burger option, but as I’m very much into the meat, I went for the big one!
Conclusion
There are other good craft breweries and bars in Lisbon that I will visit soon. But definitely, 21 Gallas was a very pleasant visit. Great people, great food and beer.
The brewpub is quite small, and there were some people on it. They have many beer options from 1,50€ to 4€, depending on the style and alcohol. In my opinion, breweries don’t need to be big, they must be warming and cosy. Quality in the first place.
As a conclusion, Lisbon is very well served in terms of craft beers, and a visit to Gallas is very recommended. Cheers!
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