It's the last Saturday, so it's time for drinking out! There was a "black beer party" on Thursday, which is something I just can
not pass up, but I went off for a quieter beer on Saturday as well. The black beer was all at Roll at c/Amaniel 23, a restaurant rather than just a bar. I'm told the burritos are amazing. But! Just beer for me this time.
Yakka Beyakka Black IPA, not what I expect to start with, but under the recommendation of the bartender I’ll take it. They all kind of look the same today, black and opaque with dark beige head; well, the IPA head isn’t quite so dark. I’m intrigued by the kind of stouty aroma, a little chocolatey in fact, not much citrus behind it at all. It’s much heavier than other black IPAs I’ve tried, creamy and not too bitter at first. It’s rather stouty in feel as well, smokey, earthy, no citrus flavor at all. It’s really quite a surprising beer and extremely pleasant. After a few sips there is a mild sourness that starts to raise its head, perhaps a nod to its IPA roots. It also gets a little sticky as the glass winds down, nothing too bad, but it might require a palate cleansing if there’s variety of flavors to be had. At the bottom of the glass there’s kind of a weird smell, I can’t quite put my finger on what it is, it’s a little bit grassy. Still, all in all, a nice finish to a well balanced beer.
Founders Canadian Breakfast Stout, the cousin to KBS, I guess. Mapley instead of bourbony ought to be the style. The look is the same between the two of them, nice, dark black/brown with the thick beige head. It has quite a strong scent, very sweet and really quite alcoholic. This is kind of bourbony, in fact. The taste is definitely sweet but not cloying, kind of like a lightly mixed cocktail. Smooth with no sharp edges going down, although with a healthy burning, like you might expect from a strong liquor. The aftertaste is really sweet, in that warning kind of way. It’s a much punchier sweet than wheat beers, for example, which have kind of a light floaty sweetness to them in many cases. CBS has an “I will fuck you up” kind of sweet. At least with a bitter beer, you don’t find yourself constantly wanting to sip. CBS is very drinkable at first, but the alcohol starts piling on almost immediately and remorselessly. It also actually increases in sweetness as time goes on, getting almsot a cotton candy aspect to the flavor. When it’s down to the last sips, it also gets a bit syrupy for my taste, and starts weighing down the enjoyment of drinking.
(imagine a picture of a small glass here - it looks like I forgot!)
I’m told the batch of KBS this year is less balanced than the one before, having a much stronger alcohol push and less blended flavors. I only ask for a taste and find it to have a strangely footy smell and, while surely alcoholic, a little sour and a little bitter but without a clear note of chocolate or coffee that I remember. Disappointing! But them’s the breaks.
For a real taste of black beer, I go to The Flying Inn Local Roast Export Porter. I feel kind of shooed away from the KBS so I’ll fall back into bottles. This sounded good at first, but there’s a sort of ashy aroma from the brew...coffee and cigarettes maybe? It’s a rather sour porter, thin compared to the Beyakka, maybe it’s a sort of green coffee flavoring. It’s pretty sharp whatever it is. Waiting a while allows a light fruitiness to develop, some plumb perhaps. The background is still sour more than creamy, earthy or anything else. I started out strong with the first two, only to stumble in the end!
To try to find a good note to end on, I pick up another bottle, Vic Ale Choc Infested Porter. It looks good, nice dark brown, a little light on the head. It has a spicy smell actually, maybe a little bit of pepper even. The flavor is slightly sweet but mixed with bitter, enticing, but also kind of thin. At least the taste is strong and pleasant, fairly typical porter with a hint of sour, but a base of thick dark beer. I can’t say I notice a smokey flavor, but there is something black and weighty, making itself known but not oppressive. It’s not the greatest, but it’s certainly a better note to end on than the last one.
My outing for the weekend was to Birra y Paz, a beer store, but one of those with taps. There's only one, and today it's pouring out La Pirata's Panoptic NEIPA. Well, it's a change from the black beers. Contrast is good.
It's cloudy and evenly opaque, strongly citrus scented. Good NEIPA, very juicy and fruity, hardly bitter at all. There is a slightly bitter aftertaste that floats up, with a touch of sour too. It's very summery, tropical and light feeling, really a refreshing beer for the days ahead. While it doesn't let you get complacent drinking it, the beer is a bubbly complement and not demanding of your full attention; you could give it if you wanted, though. The flavor is very even and calm, no big changes from top to bottom or from fresh and cold from the tap to instilled with room temperature enhancement. The fruit essence doesn't get out of hand and no sourness overwhelms the balancing touch of bitter. A fine goodbye to May drinking!
Birra y Paz is on c/Menorca 9, quite near Retiro, so I'm always a little surprised that there aren't more thirsty people roaming around. I mean, I'm not upset for me, I can't stand a crowd, but you hope the place stays afloat. There is often one other person or small group when I go, though, so that's something. There was a family with a young girl today, sipping some NEIPA. There girl wasn't, of course. And she was pretty patient for having nothing to do but wait for her parents. They did walk out with quite a bundle, so at least for them a few minutes to sit and sip were worth it, I'd guess.
