poking into something different

Fábrica Maravillas has branched out into retail!  Sort of!  One of the cool stores of Malasaña is vending some of their bottles for them, and I thought I'd check it out just to see something new.  It's a home decoration store, so not much that I would pick up for myself, lazy decorator that I am, but the bottles of Malasaña Ale were on the shelf, and for the same price as in the brew pub.  Well, who can resist that?

Hey, that bottle looks familiar...

It smells just like memories of the Fábrica, a little appley and barely citrusy.  It also has the most perfect of beer looks, with the dark yellow color and the bright fluffy head.  The flavor is very mild, like I remember, although maybe a little more bitter than what I thought I should expect.  It's not at all unpleasant; I remembered a bit more fruitiness, but maybe that was just the batch I had.  This bottle is pure ale bitter, but nicely balanced with an unidentifiable sweet that makes for an extremely smooth drink.  If there was a beer to define modern beers, Malasaña would probably be it.  Nothing about the taste or smell is pushy, and everything is gently pleasing.  In spite of my fascination with black beers, I have to admit, it's a damn fine beer, and not one to be missed.

Supplier: El Moderno
Price: €4.50