CATALAN REVOLUTIONARIES
TUESDAY OCTOBER 21, 2025
VIC
Fermentation may be the main focus of our day, but we will begin with a little sightseeing. Vic is a town of ancient origin, even for Catalonia. Well-known in Roman times, it played strategic roles in various conflicts dating at least as far back as the 8th century, and from the 1600s to the present Vic has been a hotbed of Catalan independence sentiment.
Vic’s relatively off-the-grid location in the Catalonian hinterlands north of Barcelona unfortunately keeps it off the itineraries of most casual visitors to the area, but the old town’s Sant Pere Cathedral (first erected in the 11th century) and remarkably preserved/reconstructed 2nd-century Roman temple are first-rate Iberian historical edifices. Its most famous landmark, the unpaved central square Plaça Major, completely retains the original medieval look and feel, particularly during the weekly Tuesday and Saturday outdoor markets. On the culinary front the city is renowned for its embutidos, locally-made cured sausages that are considered some of the very best in the region.
l'horta ferments
Cervesera del Montseny veteran Ferran Boix had long harbored ambitions of starting his own brewery in Catalonia, but gradually found himself tinkering more and more with fermented foods instead. During the COVID-19 lockdown he finally approached local chef and friend Jordi Coromina about the feasibility of creating a natural fermentation workshop. The idea sunk in, and very soon after, the two officially launched l’Horta Ferments at Jordi’s old family farmhouse in the remote, rustic village of Cabrerès.
Ferran and Jordi harvest their own herbs and vegetables, likening the process to that of Belgian lambic brewers as they utilize wild yeast and bacteria while also cultivating their unique in-house vinegar and kombucha cultures. The company’s kombuchas are particularly mild and accessible; guests at the tasting room frequently comment that L’Horta’s version is the first they have actually enjoyed!
L’Horta also has a Michelin Guide restaurant where award-winning chef Jordi presents his unique creations based on organic ingredients from the farm. But the tasty casual vegetarian lunch offered directly at l’Horta –with fresh ingredients harvested and prepared onsite — is an equally gratifying culinary experience.
LA CALAVERA
Originally a homebrewing project in the modern-day Catalan tradition, “punk” brewery, La Calavera was founded in 2012 in the foothills of the Pyrenees mountains as part of a work co-operative shared with a local restaurant, La Barricona. The brewery-restaurant partnership sadly did not survive but La Calavera itself remains strong, and has for several years been expanding its reach into the international market, thanks to its reputation for bold flavor concepts and a fierce dedication to a substantial and ambitious barrel-aging program.
The name Calavera — ‘skull’ — reflects the founder Marc Bautida’s anti-fascist punk leanings, and La Calavera’s branding suggests a strong aesthetic association with these movements (there is indeed a rather huge image of iconic punker Johnny Rotten imprinted on the main brewery building for all to see when they arrive on the brewery grounds). The small brewhouse, set in a remote and placid wooded area a couple of miles from the French border, produces a typical dual range of clean traditional beers for the local market and an increasing number of experimental and/or barrel-aged specialties for export. La Calavera’s brief venture into the American market was successful, leading the brewery to continue to seek a deserved international presence.
**Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of information presented on this webpage. Inner Circle Beer Tours (ICBT) is not responsible for errors in or damages resulting from use of the information contained herein. Information contained on this webpage is subject to change without notice.**
