looking back a week

I don't get down to the center of town much, partly because of the crowds and partly because even in good public transportation it takes a while I could be using to watch Youtube or drink beer.  But, when there are beer festivities, I can see my way down.  It was a week long to-do, but I only made it down a couple of days, since I have to, like, work some mornings.  On Tuesday I visited La Buena Pinta and El Pedal.

There was a birthday party or something with little kids flying around the center of the market, but La Buena Pinta was more or less out of the action.  I got a NEIPA, Mad Brewing Yellow Mood, which looked for all the world like the most typical NEIPA there should be.  Maybe that's just my approach to them, though.  It looks just like a fresh-squeezed glass of orange juice, even looking like there's some pulp floating around the top.  I suppose it must be the light carbonation giving that impression because there's certainly nothing actually in there and there isn't any head to speak of.  The aroma is also orangey and a little bit peppery.  The taste comes out with more banana, oddly, with a kick afterwards.  Like a citrus banana I guess.  The initial sharpness dies down over the drinking time, but the tropical sweetness is enduring.

Down the street, El Pedal was also quiet in the first hours of the evening.  My Aeromancia wheat IPA from Zeta was very carefully poured.  This was also quite cloudy, but more typically beery with a good head on a golden brew.  Not too much to the nose, although it's rather spicy for a wheat beer.  Starts with a little bittersweet, but leaves a robust bitter behind, heavier on the IPA than the wheat.  None of the grass of, say, Franziskaner, not ruthless like Peninsula, or tropical like a passel of IPAs I could name.There is a sweetness that comes and goes and gives a little weight to the beer, although not quite to the extent of barrel aged beers.  Aeromancia stands well on its own, carving out its flavor niche.

Just enough energy for a quick beer on Friday, unfortunately it's a common feeling.  I walked by several places that were stuffed full of loud drinkers, and a few even had the outside tables occupied in spite of the threat of rain.  I ended up at La Fuente de la Virgen, where Madrid's great ex-craft is offered, but they also have a "guest" tap, filled today by Yakka.  That's a little more promising.  It's Hoppy Pils, which I think I have come across before, and have no bad memories of.  It looks light and thirst quenching if not substantial, and boasts a rather citrusy smell for a pilsner, more like and IPA.  There's a definite sweet note right up front, bitter only trailing in at the end.  It's not unbalanced and very bright for a pilsner, although it's a little bit heavy around the middle of the tongue.  Otherwise, it's light enough to vanish in seconds.  It's a rather summery beer, and would have been more appropriate the week before, but now it can be a kind of celebration after a surprise snow/hailfall.

I seem to have forgotten to take a picture of my beer, but for some reason I do have the sign

Why does it make sense for shoes to be churchy?

Saturday evening I crammed myself into La Misa de 8:00 for Tito Blas Brewing's Pa' Bro Dry Stout.  Despite the frantic clientele I managed to find a nice corner to squeeze into for a little while.  The beer is not really black, but a nice dark brown.  There's a dirty chocolate smell, maybe a little smoke in there too.  The flavor is very woodsy, bitter, kind of a licorice aftertaste but not exactly sweet.  After the first sip, which is a bit rough, the beer is really quite smooth.  Not too heavy either, and actually a bit thin for the aroma.

I felt like hunting down a little supper and ended up at Café Viralata, where there was an offer of Mad Brewing beer and a toasted sandwich.  Well, alright.  The beer is super hoppy and super citrusy, an IPA no doubt.  It isn't bitter at all, much brighter than that stout.  It goes nicely with the sandwich, adds a little sharp flavor to the mellow cheese and meat, and even the onions and peppers are subdued in comparison.  It turns out the beer was Camarillo, and when I asked the waiter told me there was a tasting of seven (7!) Mad Brewing beers starting in minutes.  Free!  How could I resist?  My camera did not resist, so the beers in question are only pictured on Instagram.  The list was: Wheat, Pale Ale, Camarillo, Red, Granny's Cake, Holy Smoke and Galactic Nuts.  Three black beers!  Huzzah!

I headed out early on the last day and found Emói Cocktail Bar to be in quite a civilized state.  Not too many people, music not too loud, quite nice to sit and relax in.  They had Nómada Beermuth, which I was not quite sure about but willing to try as something different.  It certainly looks like a spirit with that watery tan.  Maybe the wateriness is just the ice.  It also smells definitely orangey, which is definitely the garnish.  It has an extremely bitter orange flavor, I'd say mediciny, with a touch of tangy sweet at the end.  The bitter kind of fades out after a while, leaving an alcohol crisp with a mild orange coat.

There was also an unfiltered wheat? from Nómada on tap.  A golden, cloudy beer with a mild flavor and a dusty feel.  It's slightly grainy and definitely bitter, refreshing and certainly for summer drinking.  It develops a sweetness and oranginess after a couple of sips and gets more interesting and nuanced with a little time on the table.

Around the corner was Casa Zoilo with Basqueland for the public.  First, the IPA.  It's very aromatic, easily whiffed just from the glass sitting on the table.  With good head and color, it's a Euro IPA, lacking in tropical fruit.  While there is a hint of sweet, bitter is the most evident flavor, with a touch of pepper in the background.

There was also Jumper Kitten barrel aged porter.  Gotta have at least one dark beer a day, right?  So there it is, heavy, sneaky, sweet and desert ready, chocolate and fruit in a glass.  Kind of syrupy, but a nice beer to finish a meal with, or enjoy by itself.  It would have been nice to have some cake with it, but we were still a bit early in the day for cake...or just in the wrong establishment for cake.  Half a leg of ham was carved up and devoured while we were sitting there.

Those bottles aren't for my beer, good Bacchus

Como Vaca Sin Cencerro wasn't too crowded when I walked past, and I determined to have the very last one of the celebration.  After that porter, an IPA seemed like the best idea, something strong flavored but shiny.  Eterna IPA was there to fit the bill.  It's fruity and tropical, the typical craft IPA, with weight and presence.  It's not overly bitter and the flavor stays balanced.  While it's not exceptional or unique in the IPA crowd, it is very pleasant.

A poster of wishful thinking perhaps

 And now we wait for May...

time to bee happy

"There's a new bar in my neighborhood!" my friend said.  She had the business cards and everything.  I wasn't in a big hurry to go somewhere new, but it's always nice to have something different to explore.  I thought Bee Beer was just a gastro-bar, but when we went down there, it turned out to be one of those beer stores with taps.  Very small, very intimate.  They have more taps than most stores, hell more than a lot of bars, and for €8.50 you can get a flight of five beers.  I was disappointed that it didn't include number 7 actually, but you have to save something for another time, I guess.

1-5, right in a row

La Trappe was a very Belgian type beer despite being Dutch, typical scent, typical taste, a bit on the sweet side.  Oddly, I though there was a little bit of marshmallow in the flavor.  As expected from a Low Countries brew, something sour had to be in there somewhere, and it's in the aftertaste.  It's not a bad beer if you're a fan of the Belgian style, but I have different tastes, personally.

I had high hopes for the red ale, but it wasn't actually much better.  It was about the same scent, with a cloying sweetness, but the taste had a heavier sour fruitiness.  More in line with a lambic, although not quite so punchy.  It's sweet and sour, tangy, but a cleaner taste than La Trappe, going down with less aftertaste.  This is one time I prefer a lambic-like beer to...any other really.

The weiss bier is extremely pale and also nearly scentless.  Maybe there's a little grass in there.  It does have a nice wheaty taste, clean and sharp, not clingy, certainly refreshing for summer.  I was surprised to find something like lemonade lurking the background.  Makes it a contender for Spanish patronage.

Lefèbvre Barbãr pops up in bars here and there, but I haven't taken the opportunity to taste it.  Here it is without my even asking for it explicitly, so let's see what it's like...it's not bad at all, although not beery.  It's just sweet and smooth, without even a hint of bitterness.  It even smells like pure honey.  Not even a hint of bitterness.  Must be all that sugar that makes it so powerful.

Finally, an IPA to finish off.  It's another one of those collaborations, 7 breweries this time.  The smell is just what you'd expect from a craft IPA, citrusy and a little fruity.  It's a little astringent in flavor, not much fruit there, citrus or otherwise.  But it's a nice cleanser after the line of sweet beers in the flight.

There's nothing like finding a little corner of good beer, even though this city isn't lacking for it at the moment.  Hopefully, neighborhood interest will keep these experiments going.