Birra Blues – Valencia

Birra Blues is the first place that come up when you search for “craft beer Valencia” on Google maps

It’s a craft beer bar with an out-of-town brewery and a blues style beer bar/restaurant in town. The bar also had the advantage that it was just round the cornerThe other reason from a tea shop my parents visited, last October. Turns out me travelling Europe has perks to them too. Tea transport.

Birra Blues is very easy to find. It’s a corner building at an intersection near the town-centre. There are tables outside where you can sit and enjoy the Spanish weather.

Inside, you’re greeted by a ‘central’ bar with tables surround it to the left and right. Upstairs, there is more seating and behind the bar are the toilets and a ‘VIP’ section.

The bar in the centre of the place

I found it difficult to see what beers they had on. Some taps were labeled and some weren’t. I ended up going for DIPA because it was what the woman behind the bar gave me to try although I was actually after an IPA. You then have the choice of a small or large – I went for the large not realising it was a pint! Yes, a pint of DIPA.

At 8.3% it was quite a beer for a first drink at 1pm in the afternoon! Flavour wise the beer was very malty, smooth and quite boozy. It reminded me more of an American DIPA rather than the kind of DIPA we get in the UK. I would say it was more traditional in style. It had a bitter aftertaste, and it was quite thick. A pint of it does fill you up a bit so, whilst I enjoyed it I won’t be asking for a pint again in a hurry!

My DIPA pint!

Birra Blues is a cool little place. The beer is good and the food looked really nice. However the service could have been better. The lady who served me behind the bar was acting as a cleaner, cook, prep chef and bar woman. I have never seen someone having to work so many jobs at one time.

A few extra staff on would have made all the difference.