Pilsener is now joined by an IPA (Indian Pale Ale) and a Brown Ale. They are craft beers, brand «Porches» and can be tasted at the renovated Vila Vita Biergarten, precisely in Porches (Lagoa), accompanied by a gastronomic menu full of good things, many of them new to the menu.
The «most authentic German beer garden in Portugal» reopened in early July, after having undergone a refurbishment that gave it an even more Bavarian atmosphere. The interior space is now lined with wood vintage from 120 to 140 years old, whoever enters the Biergarten will feel transported directly to a rustic chalet in the Bavarian Alps.
Last week, to make known all the news in terms of decoration, beer and menu, Vila Vita invited a select group of journalists, including the reporter from Sul Informação.
The menu maintains the concept of “beer food” and “butcher at the table”, with some new dishes being added. And it became known – having been able to taste – that there are now more proposals to share with friends, in the good tradition of German beer gardens.
Thus, from the Biergarten's renovated kitchen, headed by executive chef Manfred Kickmaier, came starters such as Obatzda, a Camembert and Brie cheese spread, with red onion and warm brez'n, or the Blue Crunchy Bavaria Cheese with Potato and Blueberry Rosti (Bayerischer Blauschimmelkäse), the Nuremberg Spiral, a beef and pork sausage, seasoned with aromatic herbs and accompanied with apple mustard and which is the «excellent sharing dish», or the vegetarian Schupfnudeln pasta dish with vegetables grilled dishes and basil and almond pesto and also the Schweinebauch, the Crunchy Pork Belly, accompanied by Aljezur sweet potato seasoned with turmeric and apple.
One of the important characteristics of this Biergarten is that the meats are produced in the Vila Vita estate in Alentejo (Herdade dos Grous) and cut by the German master responsible for the butcher's, which works half-walls with the garden. These are details that make a lot of difference.
But because it is a beer garden, the highlight of the tastings was also the news in this area. IPA Porches is a «gastronomic beer, with a lot of freshness, but that ends up with some dryness, which almost forces you to eat something», explained the Food&Beverage director of the Vila Vita Group.
This beer features 'light hops and medium intensity malts so as not to become heavy'. Therefore, despite being an IPA, it has "a fruity style, balance of acidity and dryness in the retro taste", which means that it "needs food to be consumed".
Developed for Vila Vita – and can only be consumed in your Biergarten or in the resort, a few kilometers further on, next to Nossa Senhora da Rocha beach – these beers have the signature of the master brewers of Coimbra Dux: Paulo Silva and José Miguel Faria.
1500 units of the IPA were made and sold out, such was the success. And the master brewers are developing a new craft beer for the Biergarten in Vila Vita, this time «a special edition of a beer with a Belgian profile».
The renovation of the beer garden space, to give you a cool more from Bavaria, it also led to the creation of a new bar at the entrance, covered with the traditional wooden tiles used in the Bavarian region, or the transformation of the first floor into a true «Beer Social Club», a space for groups, who can request the it has its own beer keg and it even has a raised platform area that can host a band and serve for dancing.
Open throughout the year, for lunch and dinner, it is at the traditional October Fest that the Vila Vita Biergarten concept reaches its maximum exponent. «There are people, Portuguese and foreigners, who reserve from one year to the next, in such a way that this festival has become their habit. And there are those who come from Lisbon or Seville on purpose», adds the F&B director. And so it was even necessary to extend the period of the party, so this year, the October Fest will be from the 27th of September to the 8th of October.
After finishing a well-watered meal with three or four varieties of beer (Pilsener, IPA and Brown Ale from the private label «Porches» and also Weiss from Erdinger), it was time to finish the meal with a digestive, a schnapps (distilled brandy) of apple (fresh) or raspberry, produced in Austria.
To close, a visit to the kitchen led by chef Manfred Kickmaier and Portuguese Alexandre Cabral. Manfred explained that the food that comes out of there is "typical German brewery food, but with a Mediterranean twist." And everything designed to be accompanied by good beer.
VITA BIERGARTEN
Open Tuesday to Friday from 13:00 pm to 22:00 pm, on Saturdays and Sundays open from 12:30 pm to 22:00 pm (closed on Mondays).
Especially at dinner and at barbecues on Fridays, it is advisable to book
EN 125, Porches Roundabout · 8400-489 Porches · Algarve, Portugal
+351 282 381 177
[email protected]
Photos: Elisabete Rodrigues|Sul Informação
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