There is a slight nuance to ordering a beer in Porto. While most of the time, a request of “Uma Cerveja” will do the trick – and it did serve me well during my first few days in the Portuguese city – locals and those in the know are more likely to ask the barman for “Um fino, por favor”, the local lingo for a glass of draft beer.
It’s something I learn from my new-found friend Daniel while we sit in the chilly January weather outside Taberna Aduela: a cool, corner bar at the point where R. Das Oliveiras forks and diverges into two smaller, graffiti and mural-covered streets. Inside the Taberna is a cosy mix of red walls and wooden fittings, not too dissimilar from the city’s myriad wine bars, but the small Praça outside is packed with a mix of cool, young students, which shouldn’t be a surprise considering the area around Das Oliveiras is full of bookstores, fleamarkets, cute little galleries. and a fantastic hole-in-the-wall vegan doughnut spot.
The intricacies of ordering a beer here is something new to Daniel too. As we sit and sip our small finos of Superbock, he explains that, as a recent newcomer to the city, moving here from Brazil via a 2-year stint in New Zealand, he is still getting very much used to Porto’s bar culture. In many of the city’s small corner bars, tascas & tabernas, at any hour of the day, you will find groups of old men and women – for Porto seems to me to be an ageing city despite its reputation for being Portugal’s centre of all things youthful and countercultural – sitting at tiled counters sipping small 20cl glasses of Superbock.
In Porto it is always Superbock. The nation’s other mass-produced lager brand, Sagre, is brewed near Lisbon and doesn’t really get a look-in in the north of the country. The dominance of these two brands is mostly down to the restrictions on brewing imposed by the corporatist authoritarian government that ruled Portugal until 1974, when only these two companies were allowed to produce beer. Although things should have changed when the beer market opened up following the 1974 Revolution, there seemed to be no appetite for anything new. Super Bock or Sagres were ingrained in the beer-drinking culture.
However, things are starting to change. Portugal has been slow off the mark on the craft beer front compared to other countries but now, cities like Porto and Lisbon have a small, but rapidly growing, craft beer scene. In most of the city’s tascas, you’ll still expect the taps to be dominated by Superbock but look a little deeper and you will find Porto awash with great breweries, taprooms and craft beer bars.
Porto's Best Breweries and Taprooms
Since the craft beer revolution hit Porto in 2015, dozens of micro and nano breweries have popped up in the city and surrounding towns. While their beers can be found all over town, unfortunately only a small number of them have dedicated taprooms in the city.
Colossus Craft Brewery
When João Oliveira first started Colossus, he said it was more as a joke between friends, just aiming to brew a few beers for family and friends. However, it seems that true brewing talent always rises to the top and before long, João’s creations were winning him awards and he was able to open a small microbrewery a short walk from the city centre in the un-touristy Baixa neighbourhood.
After 3 years of brewing, Colossus were able to open an adjoining taproom cobbled together with discarded wooden pallets that’s unpretentious, friendly and inviting, with the added bonus that it isn’t as many of the city centre brewpubs. Here you can sit within sight of the fermentation vessels and sip any of their 3 core beers; Wanderlust, an imperial IPA; Adamanteia, a smoked witbier; and Vasco imperial stout, as well as some more unique small-batch brews. Of all the breweries in Porto, I found Colossus to have the tastiest, most inventive beers. You can find them stocked in almost all of Porto’s craft beer bars but the taproom is certainly worth a visit and, if you ask nicely, João may even give you a little brewery tour.
Where: R. de Dom João IV 679
When: Weds to Sat 6pm – 12am
Letraria Craft Beer Garden
One of Portugal’s most popular microbreweries, Letra literally translates as “letter”, and in a slightly confusing but perfectly on-brand marketing move, each of their core range of beers is named with its own letter of the alphabet: A is a blonde ale, B is a Bohemian pilsner, C is an Oatmeal stout etc.
Letra have 3 pubs in the North of Portugal, one each in Braga and Vila Verde just to the north of Porto, and the Letraria Craft Beer Garden in Porto’s city centre. In both the small, dim and moody upstairs bar and the downstairs bar/restaurant you will find more than 100 different beers. There are normally 20 available on tap – a mix of Letras 6 core beers, barrel aged ales and collaborations along with beer from other Portuguese breweries – and plenty of cans and bottles in their bottle-shop. The best thing about Letaria though is their fantastic hidden garden that stretches out from the basement level and provides a peaceful little tranquil space to sip a beer in peace away from the hustle and bustle of the city.
Where: Rua da Alegria 101
When: Mon to Thurs 4pm – 12am; Fri & Sat 5pm – 2am; Sun 4pm -11pm
Fábrica Nortada
Sitting in the heart of Porto’s city centre, the multi-leveled brewpub of Fábrica Nortada has been one of the leading lights in the country’s burgeoning craft beer scene since it was founded in 2017, opening its own bar just 10 months later in 2018. They’re now looking to produce around 100,000 liters, almost 2,000 barrels, each month. Although their beer may seem a little pedestrian to beer connoisseurs from other countries – when I visited they had a lager, a dark lager, an IPA, Weiss beer and a stout – but for the Portuense, at least it’s a big step forward from Superbock.
Where: R. de Sá da Bandeira
When: Sun, Weds & Thurs 12pm – 12am; Fri & Sat 12pm – 2am
Fábrica da Picaria
Located close to Aliados station on the bustling Rua da Picaria, sandwiched between a host of cool eateries and bars, Frabrica de Picaria opened the doors to its modern little brewpub back in 2017. Like Nortada, the range of beers aren’t particularly inspiring – think English IPAs, stouts and lagers – but they do them well and it is well worth popping in for a €4 tasting tray.
Where: Rua da Picaria 72
When: Mon to Thurs 11.30am – 12am; Fri & Sat 11.30am – 2am; Sun 12pm – 12am
Porto's Best Craft Beer Bars
Although there aren’t a huge number of city centre breweries in Porto, there’s no shortage of fantastic bottle shops and craft beer bars. Most of them are located within walking distance of each other on the northern side or the Duoro, with the exception of Beer Hop all the way over in Matosinhos which makes for one great pub-crawl.
Catraio Beer Shop
It was the staff at Colossus that recommended Catraio to me, firstly with the promise that it was the city’s best craft beer bar, and with the information that it was also the city’s first when it opened back in 2015. The guys behind Catraio are incredibly passionate about beer and will engage you in beer-related conversation for hours while you prop yourself up at their bar sampling any of the 10 brews they have on tap or from the dozens of bottles and cans. Events were being held at the back of the bar on both the evenings that I visited and the place really had a buzzing atmosphere. If you visit just one craft beer bar in Porto, make it this one.
Where: R. de Cedofeita 256
When: Mon, Weds & Thurs 4pm – 12am; Fri & Sat 4pm – 2am
Armazém da Cerveja
Part bottle shop and part craft beer pub, Armazém da Cerveja is a little gem of a place hidden away on the corner of R. Formosa. It’s an unpretentious place with friendly staff that will always be willing to suggest one of the 7 portuguese brews that they have on tap or anything from the huge stock of international cans and bottles in the bar fridges. Like in most of the bars on this list, beer flights in Armazém da Cerveja are incredibly cheap: just €5 for four tasters.
Where: R. Formosa 130
When: Sun to Thurs 4pm – 12am; Fri & Sat 4pm – 1am
HopTrip Craft Beer Shop
One of the only bars listed that isn’t in Porto’s city centre, hop trip is located 30-minutes away by bus in the coastal Matosinhos, making it the perfect spot for beer lovers that are staying either in that part of town or in Foz do Douro. The owners, Júnior and Vivianny along with their dog – a super-cute golden retriever – are friendly and the beer selection both on tap and in cans/bottles is excellent.
Where: R. Heróis de França 617, Matosinhos
When: Tues to Thurs 4pm – 12am; Fri and Sat 4pm – 1am; Sun 4pm – 10pm
Craft Beer House/Cervejaria do Carmo
Squeezed between two of Porto’s more popular squares, Carlos Alberto and Gomes Teixeira, Cervejaria do Carmo is rather unassuming. Inside are 4 or 5 taps atop the small, wooden bar with just a couple of tables scattered around. The front terrace that spills out onto the street is actually larger than the pub’s ground floor, with tourists and students sitting outside, supping their pints and smoking away in front of the colourful, blue and white tiled façade of the Igreja do Carmo. The beer selection may not be as good as some of the other pubs on this list, and more internationally-focussed, but it is a pleasant enough place to while away an hour with a good beer in front of one of the city’s most famous landmarks.
Where: Praça de Carlos Alberto 124
When: Mon to Thurs 1pm – 12am; Fri & Sat 1pm – 2am; Sun 2pm – 9pm
CRAFT BEER TOURS IN PORTO
Taste Porto run a craft beer tour (€59) from Wednesday to Saturday. The tour starts at 4.30pm and lasts 3 hours, taking in 4 local beer spots with 6 beers included. Alternatively, Detours Porto run a Craft Beer Experience (£35) lasting 4 hours where you will visit 2 breweries and meet a brew master who will talk you through his brewing process, before heading to Porto’s best craft beer bars.
