Known for its superb wine-making, Portugal also has a rich history of beer-brewing, now celebrated at Museu da Cerveja: a cavernous beer hall housed inside a listed building once occupied by the Ministry of Finance. The edifice, set under the Pombaline arches of Lisbon’s central Terreiro do Paço square, is part of a wider urban regeneration project that is slowly gentrifying Lisbon’s waterfront Baixa district. Restored by local architect Tiago Silva Dias, Museu da Cerveja combines history with modernity, with the entrance still being marked by a sign that reads ’Ministerio das Finanças’. A Beer Museum on the first floor tells the story of beer-making in Portugal and former colonies Angola, Brazil, Mozambique and Cape Verde, exhibiting ancient copper brewing paraphernalia. The ground floor is home to a shellfish bar and a restaurant offering patrons fresh shrimp, crab and codfish cakes, washed down with cool beer piped straight from the brewery vats. Diners can choose to sit inside on banquettes cocooned by egg-shaped wooden frames, at large dining tables or outside in the square, where a cool breeze comes courtesy of umbrellas equipped with electric fans.
