Beer in Portugal
When you think of Portugal, wine, particularly port wine, is the drink that usually first comes to mind but the country is actually the seventh largest beer producer in Europe. If you then think of what they produce, no doubt you would assume lager but, like a lot of European countries, they have a fledging craft beer market. However, as in many places, the market is not helpful to the smaller brewer. History has had a large part to play in this.
Going back to 1933, Portugal was under a dictatorship and only two brewing companies were allowed to operate, both of which were owned by the State. They were Unicer – Bebidas de Portugal, which was founded near Porto in 1890, and Sociedade Central de Cervejas (SCC), set up near Lisbon in 1934. Protectionist policies prevented any foreign breweries establishing themselves in the country and so those two breweries had the market to themselves. This situation continued until the revolution in 1974/1975. This led to the markets opening up and allowed foreign breweries to operate and distribute their products within Portugal.
SCC, now known as Sagres, had signed an agreement with Carlsberg to sell their beer in 1972 but it was Heineken that took control of the brewery in 2008. Carlsberg had taken a share in Unicer in 1991 and became their biggest shareholder (60%) in 2018, a year after Unicer had rebranded itself as SuperBock, taking its name from their best selling lager. In addition to their lager, SuperBock brew a stout, a malty ruby lager called Abadia and the 1927 range, which is a nod to the craft beer market. This features a Weiss, an amber IPA and a Dunkel. Sagres also has a stout, a standard lager (called Sagres) and a premium range called Bohemia. The brewery also distributes Guinness but it is not very widely found outside tourist areas.
The Portuguese beer market is estimated to be growing by around 8% a year, driven by tourism and the growing interest in craft beer. However, although exact figures are difficult to verify, it is estimated that Sagres and SuperBock still have around 90% of the market, leaving little scope for the others, mainly smaller craft breweries. This makes distribution a challenge for these smaller breweries.
A conversation with one of the founders of Duque brewpub in Lisbon highlighted another problem. Duque is a small batch brewery and taproom and was the first brewpub in Lisbon. Established in 2016, the founders, two friends called Miguel and Tiago, steered the operation through the problems that Covid caused for all breweries and bars. There is however one large issue facing them. “It’s the price point. A drinker can pay double for a craft beer versus a beer from the two giants.” So, while there is plenty of evidence of growing interest in craft beer in Portugal (and beer tourism), it’s still very much an uphill struggle.
As in the UK, the exact number of smaller brewers is a movable feast. Not only are there numerous openings and closings but many are very localised. In 2023, the Brewers of Europe organisation reported that there was a total of 110 breweries. Portugal is represented in the Brewers of Europe by Cerejeiros de Portugal. Membership consists currently of only 20 Portuguese breweries. Similarly to the situation in Greece, the organisation has great difficulty in persuading smaller brewers to join.
So, what to look forward to when you go? The website https://wetravelportugal.com/craft-beer-portugal/ has a list of some of the bigger breweries and some places to drink their beers. Other websites to look at are where to drinkbeer and portoalities. New websites and online articles are popping up all the time. However, be warned, the bars come and go and so it is worth checking before trying to visit. Also, finding opening times can be interesting, especially for brewery tap rooms. As is often the case, the bars and breweries are concentrated around major cities such as Lisbon or Porto or tourist areas such as the Algarve. All the same, if you are heading over to Portugal this year, it’s worthwhile having a search before you go; there is some good beer there.
Christine Cryne