Brew! Coimbra 2026: A Craft Beer Weekend Worth the Trip from the Silver Coast

Craft beer, international flavours, street food and live music return to the banks of the Mondego from 11 to 13 September. For international residents of Portugal’s Silver Coast, Brew! Coimbra offers an excellent excuse for a weekend visit to one of the country’s most atmospheric cities.

Portugal may be much better known for wine, but its craft beer scene has developed considerably over the past decade.

Small breweries across the country are producing everything from refreshing lagers and hop-forward IPAs to fruit sours, barrel-aged beers and stronger seasonal brews. Brew! Coimbra brings many of these producers together in a relaxed riverside setting.

The sixth edition of the festival takes place from 11 to 13 September 2026 at Verd’O Parque, next to Exploratório – Centro Ciência Viva de Coimbra, on the left bank of the Mondego.

This year’s event features 25 Portuguese and international beer brands, 12 street-food concepts, live music and several new experiences—including a beer made with rice grown in the Mondego region.

Gallery from 2019 – © RoyGabrielsen.com

From a new festival to an established Coimbra event

The first Brew! Coimbra was held in September 2019.

Its purpose was not only to introduce visitors to new beer styles, but also to place Coimbra on Portugal’s growing craft-beer map. The first edition brought together Portuguese producers and international brands from countries including Finland, Serbia, the United Kingdom, Norway and the United States.

Around 8,000 people reportedly attended that first festival. It was an encouraging beginning, but only a few months later the pandemic brought public events to a standstill.

After a two-year break, Brew! returned in 2022. It has since developed into a regular event, accompanied by Strong Beers, a smaller winter festival dedicated to richer and more powerful beer styles.

The 2026 festival is therefore not simply a revival. It is the sixth edition of an event that survived the pandemic and continued to expand.

Twenty-five national and international brands

Brew! Coimbra 2026 will bring together 25 beer brands, including international participants from Spain and Finland.

One of the festival’s objectives is to create contact between independent brewers and the public. Instead of simply ordering a familiar brand at a bar, visitors can speak to producers, learn about different brewing methods and discover beer styles they may never have tried before.

The international element is also important for the breweries themselves. Festival organiser João Claro hopes that visiting producers will develop relationships and collaborative projects with Portuguese brewers.

Such partnerships can help local beer reach new markets while bringing fresh techniques and ideas into Portugal.

International participation has been part of Brew! since its first edition. Among the foreign names represented in 2019 was Norway’s Lervig brewery. Lervig subsequently appeared on festival lists again in 2024 and at the Strong Beers winter event in 2025.

The new Beer Wall

One of the principal additions in 2026 is the Beer Wall, a mobile installation with eight taps.

It will offer a changing selection of Portuguese and international beers representing approximately ten countries. This makes it possible to introduce smaller, rarer or limited products without requiring every brewery to operate its own stand in Coimbra.

For visitors, the wall should provide a convenient way to explore beer from beyond the Iberian Peninsula alongside the Portuguese selection.

The organisers describe exclusivity and rarity as part of the idea. The exact list of beers is being announced progressively as the festival approaches.

Mondeguipa: a beer with a local identity

The most distinctive new product is Mondeguipa, created especially for Brew! Coimbra 2026.

This light and refreshing beer is brewed using rice from the Mondego region. Rice cultivation has a long history in the fertile wetlands of Baixo Mondego, particularly between Coimbra, Montemor-o-Velho and Figueira da Foz.

Rice is not an entirely unusual brewing ingredient. It can produce a lighter body and a clean, dry finish. At Brew!, however, it also gives the beer a clear connection to its place of origin.

Mondeguipa turns a traditional regional crop into a modern local product. It is a good example of how Portugal’s craft brewers can develop their own identity rather than simply reproduce styles created elsewhere.

The beer received its first public presentation during the festival’s press conference on 2 September. Coimbra City Council

A platform for home brewers

Visitors will also be able to taste the winning beer from Taça Mondego, a national home-brewing competition held in Coimbra on 4 July.

Home-brewing competitions play an important role in the craft-beer world. Many successful breweries began as small experimental projects in kitchens, garages and improvised brewing rooms.

Competitions allow those brewers to receive feedback, compare recipes and present their work to a wider audience. For festival visitors, it is a chance to try something that may not yet be available in shops or bars.

More than a beer festival

Brew! is designed as a social and cultural event rather than a specialist trade fair.

The 2026 edition includes 12 food concepts, including food trucks and independent culinary projects. Music will run throughout the weekend, with most of the performers and DJs having links to Coimbra.

The programme includes DJ Draft Punk, Folhas de Pêssego Brass Band, Hangover Band, DJ Rui Tomé, DJ Meia Delight, My Chemical Brewmance, DJ Felipe Sanches, DJ Pêra-Roxa and Fabior.

Families have not been forgotten. A free children’s area will be available on Saturday and Sunday, accompanied this year by baby-changing and breastfeeding facilities.

Alcohol-free and gluten-free beers will also be available, together with other non-alcoholic drinks.

Running along the Mondego

Another new feature is the first Corrida Munda on Saturday, 12 September.

Participants can choose between five- and ten-kilometre runs or a five-kilometre walk. The routes follow both banks of the Mondego, beginning and ending at Verd’O Parque.

Combining running with a beer festival may sound unusual, but the organisers want to introduce an element of health, physical activity and engagement with the city.

The first 300 free registrations were filled within 24 hours. Subsequent entries cost five euros.

Anyone combining the two activities may find it sensible to complete the run before beginning the beer tasting.

Free entrance and an official festival glass

Entrance to the festival area is free.

Visitors who want to taste the beers can purchase the official festival glass for €5. The glass is not compulsory for those who only wish to enjoy the food, music and atmosphere.

Beer prices are expected to range mainly from €2.50 to €4.50, with €5 indicated as the likely maximum.

Águas de Coimbra will provide its AquaVan and free tap-water stations during the festival. Water will also be available to participants in Corrida Munda. Águas de Coimbra

An easy weekend from the Silver Coast

For residents of Caldas da Rainha, São Martinho do Porto, Nazaré, Óbidos and other parts of the Oeste and Silver Coast, Coimbra works well as either a long day trip or an overnight stay.

The festival site lies beside the Mondego and within walking distance of Coimbra’s historic centre. Visitors can combine the event with the university, the old cathedral, the botanical garden or the narrow streets of the upper city.

Staying overnight is the more comfortable option for anyone planning to sample several beers. It also avoids the obvious issue of driving after drinking alcohol.

September is still a popular month for visiting Coimbra, so booking accommodation in advance is advisable.

Practical information

Event: Brew! Coimbra – Craft Beer Festival
Dates: 11–13 September 2026
Location: Verd’O Parque, beside Exploratório, Parque Verde do Mondego
Entrance: Free
Official festival glass: €5
Beer prices: Mainly €2.50–€4.50
Programme: Craft beer, street food, live music and family activities
New for 2026: Mondeguipa rice beer, Beer Wall and Corrida Munda

The participating breweries, full programme and any last-minute changes can be found on the official Brew! Coimbra website.

Discovering another side of Portuguese drinks culture

Brew! Coimbra shows a side of Portugal that international residents do not always encounter.

The country’s wine traditions remain central to its identity, but a younger and more experimental drinks culture is developing alongside them. Independent brewers are working with international styles while increasingly drawing inspiration from Portuguese ingredients and regions.

Mondeguipa is a particularly good expression of this development: a modern craft beer built around rice from the Mondego.

Combined with international breweries, local food, music and a riverside setting, it gives Silver Coast residents a good reason to look beyond the usual weekend destinations.

For craft-beer enthusiasts, the attraction is obvious. For everyone else, Brew! offers an informal and sociable way to spend a September weekend in Coimbra.