LES CLANDESTINES
The Clandestines of Montferri are craft beer producers who make their beer in a small microbrewery situated in the Catalan village of Montferri (Tarragona). Since the company was founded in 2007, thanks to the care taken during production, the constant quality control and selection of high quality ingredients we use, we make a wide variety of quality beers: 4 Malt Pale Ale, Stout Beer, Blonde Ale, Thyme Ale, Spelt Wheat Beer, Atheus Belgian Beer and the Gaianada American IPA.
One of our main objectives is to find a relationship between the place we live in and the beer we make by using local ingredients: the water, thyme, honey and hops from the Alt Camp area, on the banks of the River Gaià. This gives a special flavour and character to our beers. By doing this we are promoting, increasing the value of and saving local products from disappearing.
The Clandestines also like to establish close relationships with our customers. We have direct contact with our consumers by participating in festivals and through the tastings and open days we organise on the first Saturday of every month. This gives us the perfect opportunity to provide information about the product and the ingredients we use. We are members of GECAN - the Brewers Association of Organic & Craft Beer Producers (Gremi d’Elaboradors de Cervesa Artesanal i Natural), a Catalan professional association created in 2011 with the sole aim of recognising, protecting and promoting craft beers.
OUR HISTORY
In 2005, in a small house called “Cal Maginet”, three friends decided to get together (Arturo, Miquel Angel & Xavi), and start to develop our passion for the world of beer. What we felt really passionate about was producing our own artisan beer which could be made from local produce.
We began by teaching ourselves, drawing on our experience gained from organic farming and beekeeping, through changes that were happening in the food and alcohol industry and the advice beer-producing friends gave us who were already involved in the industry, together with what little information there was available at the time we started.
Here it was, in the entrance to “Cal Maginet”, situated on the High Street of Montferri, among garden tools, wood logs for the fire, honey, home-made soap, wine barrels, beer vats and a strong smell of beer fermenting merrily away, that our adventure to become beer producers started. Little by little, the beer, which first we started producing just for ourselves to drink, became very popular with our friends and people from the village. We were known as “The Clandestines” (Les Clandestines).
Due to expansion, “Cal Maginet” became too small for us and we moved to “Cal Gori”, also situated on the High Street. We renovated and adapted the new place with the intention of creating a brewery. Two years later, in 2007, we decided to go one step further and become professionally recognised by creating a Limited Company called “Cervesa Els Maginets” (Els Maginets Beer).
Due to the fact the equipment we needed to buy was not available in Spain, we had to go to the UK in a van to buy a traditional 2.5 BBL beer vat in the outskirts of London. We did this after visiting several craft beer producers in the UK and Italy.
The opening ceremony for the new brewery was held in 2008, and ever since then three cartoon-style mice painted onto the front of the new installations have been with us and given us the name for our beer: “Les Clandestines de Montferri” (The Clandestines of Montferri).
