Micro Cervejaria Barley

It was from the generous offer from the owners of Pub Garagem 23 (Beto and Denise) in nearby Ivoti who made my Micro Cervejaria Barley experience possible on October 19, 2010. We took the 30 mintue drive to this countryside brewery, which occupies a beautiul space of land off a highway. You won't see the brewery from the road though, so keep track of the mile...err....kilometer markers on the highway.

There is a small tasting room which is housed in a seperate building from the much larger brewhouse. In this room are clusters of wooden tables and chairs, photo memories of the brewery, a small souvenir section, brick walls, small displays of canned beer collections, and two taps towards the back. Normally this ground is only open to the public on Saturday, but we were able to schedule our own visit on a Tuesday.

After the "tour" of the brewhouse, we finally got to tasting a couple Barley products. I got to partake in a mug of thier Pilsen Natural (unfiltered pilsner) directly from the tank, as well as a sampling of their winter Amber Lager. Those products I've seen around Porto Alegre (but hadn't gotten around to trying), but I was surprise to learn they also made a hefeweizen and a filtered version of their "pilsen natural". The unfiltered pilsner is quite sweet but refreshing; the amber lager was okay, and according to Beto, had seen better days.

The owner wasn't around when we visited, so the owner's son gave us the tour. He took great care of us (gotta love Brazilian hospitality!) with the tour, answering questions, and sampling of the two beers. At the end, he gave me a few parting gifts, including Barley branded glassware, stickers, and a hat.

Barley's beers won't turn you on your head, but given the rest of the visit, was a minor issue. While in the area, Abadessa is only ten minutes away (and another brewery I got to tour!), but unlike Barley, has no formal tasting area.