Spanish beers are all relatively cheap, and fast becoming trendy as the world adopts the ‘tapas’ habit.

FOR THE dedicated beer fan, Spain offers a wide variety of locally produced beers, lagers, pilsners and regional beers, most of which come in bottles, cans or draught and are served in cañas – small glasses – drawn from the barrel.

In Madrid, there is also a tradition of serving a free tapa or shot of liqueur to “lessen the influence” of the beer!

As you hop from city to city, ask bartenders about regional beers as there are literally hundreds of them.

However, there are also a handful of well-established national Spanish beer brands.

San Miguel

When most people think of Spanish beer, they think of San Miguel. However, San Miguel was originally produced in the Philippines, albeit by Spanish settlers.

The San Miguel that is currently available here is purely Spanish though, having separated from the Asian brand a number of years ago, and now brewed in Barcelona and Burgos.

San Miguel is an excellent lager beer, with a crisp taste and very good bitter finish. It is refreshing and full of flavour, and is very much suited to Spain’s climate.

San Miguel now accounts for about 80% of Spanish lager exports, and has big name endorsers like Jet Li.

Spanish beers have clearly hit the big time when they appear as product placement in movies.

San Miguel’s Pale Pilsen featured in the Japanese animated movie 'Ghost in the Shell', when Bateau (one of the leading characters) drinks a can of it, faithfully redrawn to resemble the original.

Collectors take note – in the Philippines, Hong Kong, and Korea white label San Miguel is available, with white lettering painted on the bottles. These are being phased out so if you come across one, hang on to it.

Cruzcampo

Another particularly good Spanish lager beer is Cruzcampo, a beautifully refreshing beer, although perhaps lacking the flavour of San Miguel.

Zaragozana Ambar 1900

If you want to try something a little more obscure, then go for La Zaragozana Ambar 1900 Pale Ale.

Although not actually a Pale Ale or Ambar, this Spanish lager beer is more complex than most, with a slight hoppiness and a dry finish.

Brewed as a recreation of a beer that won gold medals in London and Paris at the turn of the 20th century, it is definitely worth checking out.

Alhambra & Mezquita

In south western Spain, Cervezas Alhambra thought it was a good idea to call their strong, 7.2% alcohol beer Mezquita (mosque), in homage to the neighbouring city of Córdoba, or so they say. But possibly its name is more of a slap in the face to the local teetotal Muslim community.

Alhambra, as you would imagine, are based in Granada, and their Mezquita is a bit spritzy with not much fruit taste, but it’s a good substitute for half the price of a Chimay or similar beer.

Fans of strong lager will like Alhambra’s 6.4% Reserva 1925, and their sweetish Cerveza Negra goes well with a roast dish. The Especial, a lighter style lager, tastes cleaner than your standard San Miguel or Estrella.

Mahou

In 2007, Mahou purchased the Granadan Alhambra Brewery (established in 1925), although previously Mahou had a brewery in Madrid.

Their family of beers consists of Classic Mahou, Mahou Five Stars, Laiker (without alcohol), Black Mahou and a Mixed Shandy, or ‘clara’. Classic Mahou is a lighter beer, with a taste reminiscent of the American Coors Light.

El Águila

Talking of Coors, The Coors Brewing Company purchased El Águila brewery in Zaragoza, in 1994 for $50 million, with plans to brew its Coors Extra Gold there for distribution in Spain.

It continued to brew El Águila products, Águila and Águila Maste