The best beer destination in Europe is not what you think

You'll be surprised to learn the top beer city in Europe

By Christopher Osburn Published July 7, 2024

Beer — engin akyurt/Unsplash

While beer is a big deal in the United States, it’s only been going through a boom for the last few decades. While there are well over 9,000 breweries currently operating in the country, back in 1988, there were only 100 craft breweries in the US. That’s a massive shift in beer’s popularity in 35 years.

Recommended Videos

Europe, on the other hand, has brewing traditions that extend for hundreds of years. While the US has only existed as a country since 1776, Germany’s Bayerische Staatsbrauerei Weihenstephan in the heart of Bavaria has been brewing beer since 1040. That’s a staggering 700 years longer than the US existed as a country.

So, to say that Europe is a beer destination is a bit of an understatement. Anyone who enjoys lagers, stouts, pilsners, wheat beers, and any number of other beer styles considers Europe to be a beer wonderland. But what country they’d love to visit varies depending on the person and the beer styles they enjoy.

That being said, there are some beer countries better suited for travelers than others. Danish company DFDS analyzed 70 European cities, 8,000 bars and pubs, sifted through social media posts, and looked over more than 40,000 online reviews to finally figure out the best European beer cities.

The best overall beer cities

Beer glass — BENCE BOROS / Unsplash

The folks at DFDS used the information they gathered to find the best beer cities in Europe. They did this based on a variety of factors including bar quality, social media buzz, beer quality, domestic price, and price rating. They ranked these from 0-100 and gave the city an overall number score. When it comes to country ranking, you’re probably assuming cities Brussels, Munich, Amsterdam, Dublin, or London are leading the pack, right? Well, you’ll be surprised to know that the top beer country is not what you’d think it would be.

The best beer city is…

Beer Madrid — Rodrigo Ramos/Unsplash

According to the data, the best beer city in Europe is actually Madrid. Yes, you read that right. Spain’s capital city led the way with an overall rating of 85. It was followed closely behind by Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Thessaloniki, Valencia, Porto, Brussels, Berlin, and Vilnius. Amsterdam landed at 13, Munich at 17. London and Dublin didn’t even crack the top twenty.

Cities for specific beer styles

Beer — Gerrie van der Walt/Unsplash

If you’re looking for a specific beer style, there are obvious cities you’d look to, right? Well, according to DFDS, that’s not necessarily true. The best city in Europe for ales and pale ales is Reykjavik. The best city for lagers is Vienna. The best city for IPAs is Lyon. The best city for Craft beer is Copenhagen. And most surprisingly not Dublin or London, it’s Madrid.

The cheapest beer

Dark beer — Dan Barrett / Unsplash

Now we’re finally at the most important part of the data. According to the people at DFDS, the cheapest beer in Europe can be found in Porto and Valencia with the average price for a pint just over $200. If you don’t already want to book a trip to Portugal or Spain, this data should be enough to sway you.

Topics

Christopher Osburn

Writer

Christopher Osburn is a food and drinks writer located in the Finger Lakes Region of New York. He's been writing professional

Food & Drink

A beginner’s guide to sweet red wines: Why they’re more exciting than you think

It's not just for red meat anymore

Glass of red wine with fruit and ice on table

When it comes to wine, it's really more about the exceptions than the rules. You could be forgiven for thinking that a glass of red should be robust like a Bordeaux or earthy like a California cab. At any rate, it should be "dry," right? Oh, no, budding wine enthusiast. I'm here to tell you about some red wines that are literally toothsome. It all started when I had my first glass of a fizzy, sweet Lambrusco, along with an Italian dessert pastry featuring dark chocolate and burnt meringue, and life got noticeably better.

Let's start with the basics: What makes a wine sweet? The answer is simple -- the amount of residual sugar left after fermentation. Grapes tend to be sweet, after all, and yeast eats sugar to produce (among other things) alcohol. By stalling the fermentation process (or back sweetening the result), a wine can taste sweet, regardless of whether the grape varietal is red or white. (There's also a thing called "noble rot," scientifically known as botrytis cinerea. Although it's a fungus, it imparts a distinctive sweetness to wines and therefore we love it.) Let's visit the wonderful world of sweet red wine.
Sparkling sweet reds: It's a thing

Food & Drink

Introducing regenified malt, the latest sustainable move in craft beer

A better way to make beer

Flight of beer

Thanks to a cool new certification process, there's a new ingredient in the craft beer sphere. Regenified malt is now on the market, and just showed up in an Extra Special Bitter release from a brewery in North Carolina. It's a sound step in the name of sustainability and a responsible way to raise malt, a key ingredient in beer.

It's the release of Riverbend Malt House in Asheville, North Carolina. The malt, dubbed Regenified™ Southern Select, is made from Avalon barley. Most importantly, it is certified regenified, meaning the product of regenerative agriculture. This farming style pushes practices that improve the land, including soil and water health as well as increases in biodiversity.

Food & Drink

Does mushroom coffee help you lose weight? Here’s what to know

Could your morning beverage help with weight loss?

Standing on a scale weighing body weight

Everywhere I turn, someone in the coffee world talks about mushroom coffee. Designed to appeal to health and fitness enthusiasts, mushroom coffee offers an elevated morning beverage option that comes with the added health benefits of functional mushrooms. Made from a blend of regular coffee and functional mushrooms, many have switched to mushroom coffee for added cognitive benefits, improved sleep quality, and sustained energy with less caffeine. But does mushroom coffee help you lose weight? Here's what to know about how mushroom coffee could affect your metabolism.
What is mushroom coffee?

In general, mushroom coffee is a type of coffee that contains a blend of regular coffee beans and dehydrated, ground mushrooms. The type of functional mushrooms used in mushroom coffee varies depending on the product and the brand. Many products on the market use reishi, cordyceps, turkey tail, chaga, and lion's mane mushrooms (or a blend of multiple mushrooms).