Beer of the Week! 10/28/24

Estrella Galicia
Hijos de Rivera
Estrella Galicia Especial

Normally $12.99 / Now on Sale for $11.96 (Six-pack botles)
Helles Style Lager

The brewery Hijos de Rivera Estrella Galicia was founded in 1906 in the city of A Coruña, in Galicia — Spain’s northwestern corner region that sits on top of Portugal while bordering the Atlantic Ocean on its western and northern coasts. After spending time in Cuba and Mexico, A Coruña native José María Rivera Corral came home and founded the company as Estrella de Galicia, “Star of Galicia,” also the name of its first beer (… not to be confused with another “Estrella” beer made by Sociedad Anónima Damm — founded in 1876, in Barcelona, on the other side of the country).

Estrella Galicia has only ever shut down once, and that was in 1941, when events of the Spanish Civil War and World War II compromised A Coruña’s water supply — an all important component to the brewery’s efforts. Back up and going since the end of the 40s, it was José’s grandsons who, in 1971, shortened the name of their brewery’s trademark beer to “Estrella Galicia” and introduced the slogan “Elaborated by the Rivera Children” (Hijos de Rivera). Today, the brewery remains independent and Rivera family-owned by its fourth generation.

Originally under the name “Especial Rivera,” Estrella Galicia Especial came one year after the brewery’s rebranding. Fashioned after the German Helles Lager, it’s a combination of Pilsner Malt and roasted malts bittered by equal parts Spanish grown Nugget hops and German grown Perle hops. Fermenting the beer with their house yeast, Hijos de Rivera Estrella Galicia then lagers this brew for one month to deliver an uno-dos punch of flavor.

First the slight, smooth sweetness of the malt hits you to immediately give way to the hops on the finish — zippy, but not as crisp as in Bohemian Pilsners nor as bitter as with American ales. The whole thing floats in a sea of fresh, clean taste from that A Coruña water. Have this beer cool but not cold to keep it refreshing and yet still enjoy what’s going on with the malt.