Standing out in Spain's craft beer industry

Our book, The National Geographic Atlas of Beer is in the final proof stage. It's full of geography, history, and culture of beer, as well as stories told to us by brewers. Here is one interesting story, among many you will find in our book, which will be for sale in mid September, 2017. 

Brewmaster Liz Luyben

Take internet dating, goats, red tape, a 6 foot blonde, mix in a passion for brewing, and you end up with La Cabra Azul (The Blue Goat) brewery. Meet Liz Luyben. As a college student in the Netherlands, Liz got her hands on a brewing kit and became quite good at changing water into beer, especially with Belgian tripels. Then along came love. She and her husband not only met on the internet, they subsequently founded the largest free dating site in the Netherlands, which meant no time for her brewing hobby. With the success of their website, they relocated to the mountains outside of Malaga, Spain to enjoy life. But good beer was hard to come by in her remote village. 

So Liz dusted off her brewing kit and started to brew American IPAs. A local bar owner tried one and invited Liz to brew at his bar, where he would sell it. Mountains of red tape later, La Cabra Azul was born. The brewery was named after the blue skies of Andalusia and the goats that graze on the hills. The use of local ingredients whenever possible is essential. Liz has even started to grow hops (Emerald, Simcoe and Citra) for her beers! Berliner Weisse is her next big project. When asked what it is like to be a brewer in Spain, Liz said, “I am a six foot tall blonde, pretty much all Spanish brewers are short guys with beards. That does tend to make me stand out just a little. Then again I am not easily overlooked, which is a good thing!” Agreed. Like Liz, her tasty beers should not be overlooked!

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