Cerveceria Internacional

At the hostel, I met a guy named Jeff who is also doing the Conversation Corps program in Madrid. We hit it off and decided to take to the streets of Seville for some exploration. He had a list of places he wanted to hit up, so I tagged along. One of them, was Cerveceria Internacional, the most amazing bar I've ever been to. Not only was there practically a book of all the beers they had available, but the atmosphere of the place was truly amazing. Definitely a highlight of my weekend visit to Seville, and a place of recommendation to anyone in the future.

Getting there was a bit fun too, as we were winding through many small streets of Seville, and straying far from the regular 'tourist track'. Both of us like to do our own thing when it comes to travel, so I was glad that we were in search of something that won't show up on a "Top 5 to do!" list on a travel site. 

We mapped the route, got there, and one street was suddenly an intersection of 5 roads. We knew it had to be near by, so Jeff asked someone, "Perdon, donde esta la cerveceria internacional?" The guy looked at us and said, "a la izquierda". We looked to our left, and there it was. He must have thought we were crazy stupid or something. 

Excited to have found it, it took a moment to realize that it was closed. We knew that we were meant to go to this place, and no sooner did we say that, did the owner of the place walk up and ask if we wanted to come in. Immediately thrilled, he opened up the door and invited us in.

This place was unbelievable. The far wall showcased bottles from all over the world, and they had over 12 different beers on tap, specialty glasses, and recommendations for just about everything.
 

 I knew we had found a treasure.

This photo became our viewpoint for the next 3+ hours, as we engaged in conversation, beverage consumption, and tapas tasting. For having just met a few hours before, you would have thought we'd known one another for years.

I love when that happens.

Overwhelmed with options, I asked the bartender for some of his favorites. Between him, and Jeff, I knew this was going to be a wonderfully interesting event. 

My first was "Gulden Draak" which was not only fun to say, but also a great beverage to experience. It had the body of a beer, but the sweetness of a liquor, and all the fun of a great name and a fancy glass. It took us a while just to get acquainted with the color and the smell.

 The next was similar to the first but a bit darker in color. Very rich tasting.

What I liked most about this place, other than getting to be conversationally acquainted with both of the bartenders, was the fact that we were the only ones speaking English there; all the other people were locals. On my trips of course I want to see the major sites that show up when you Google the name, but its little nuggets of the local's lives, things that the won't take you to on the tour of the city, that I love. Not only did I expand my beer horizons, but I spent a fabulous evening getting to know someone who has really traveled the world, and as we kept on talking, we got to know a bit more about ourselves as well.

What more could you ask out of an evening on the town? Everything was excellent. Even better, after several rounds of drinks and trying all the best tapas on the list, our bill was less than 25 euro. You can't beat that with a stick. Why would you want to.

Here's the website of the place: http://www.cerveceriainternacional.com/ check it out if you're interested.