and an orange on top

I'm wary of orange-flavored things; I'm not a fan of orange candy or ice cream, and that weird orange milk blended drink they sell makes me wrinkle my nose in disgust.  And chocolate covered orange?  Repulsive!  Still, oranges themselves are great, and orange juice, and orange soda strangely enough.  I also feel I should try new things, so I decided to risk this:

I assumed it would be something like Belgian fruit beers, which are nice to have every once in a while. However, at the beer fair I spoke to somebody from the brewery and he explained that this beer is made with orange zest instead of hops.  Now that I was not expecting.  Makes it more appetizing, in fact.

So, it's not particularly orangey in smell.  It pours out foamy and fizzy, maybe a slight orange tinge to the color?  It definitely has a different taste, although I might not identify it as orange right away since it's not sickly sweet like orange flavoring.  The beer has come out bitter, but sweet undertones, like eating a pithy orange, or even something like a more liquidy Orange Julius.  It isn't completely filtered so there are some shreds of something in the bottom, and the beer is cloudy.  In fact, in inside light it could almost pass for orange juice, except for the head.

Yeah, just some juice here...

Thus ends my beer weeks.  I have a few waiting for the weekend reviews, but this every day posting stuff won't be happening for a while...

go for gold

As the Beer Weeks draw to a close, I feel I should end on lighter notes.  Yria Golden Ale seems light enough.  They do some more creative beers, like the coffee stout at the fair, but this one looks pretty standard.  Which, of course, doesn't mean it's not interesting.  It has a dark honey color and a mild tang in its scent.  The taste has just a little bite, so it seems like the sweeter ingredients keep any bitterness well under control. It's a good all year ale: served cool it would be good for winter with some little hot snack, and at a slightly colder temperature very refreshing on a hot summer evening.  With a few missteps, we're lurching towards the latter now.

The beer looks darker with the flash, but the label in invisible without it.
The beer is still pretty enough

the color of summer

Domus, based in Toledo, has been getting ever easier to find.  They have a good variety of products, and I've hardly tried any.  Let's start with a light IPA.  This variety is Aurea, and the name would appear to be fitting.  You get hit with the citrusy sweet scent right after opening the bottle.  I found the beer very foamy when poured, even after some time sitting on the table while the first glass was consumed.  It has a light lemonade yellow color and a bitter taste, as befitting an ale.  I'd say it's pithy; reminiscent of the white of citrus fruit rather than the fruit itself. The squeamish should be warned that there is some sediment in the bottle, which might drip onto the head at the end if you're not careful.  The less-than-careful will end up with little brown drips on the white foam.  The artistic might try to make pictures with it.

It's on a napkin because I thought the foam would spill out to explore, octopus-like.
Didn't, but still.

looking back

Last year there was a local food and craft beer fair about this time, and one of the breweries in attendance was La Virgen.  They've made appearances here before.  At the fair I had Jamonera, which I quite enjoyed as I recall.  I picked up a bottle to do an "official" review, and also wandered into a tasting in a local restaurant/bar hosted by the brewery.  They only had the lager and Jamonera on tap, but several other beers were available in bottles, including a new brew called Veraniega.  I was assured it was only the first run, in case it wasn't to my taste, but I thought it was great.  A refreshing, summery taste, kind of grassy, like a breeze over a field.  If they modify the recipe, I hope it doesn't end up too different.  But on to the star of the show.

I remember the Jamonera being a definite red color, although after a year one shouldn't rely too much on those memories.  I had it draft in the afternoon, thinking I might compare with my bottle.  Interestingly, the bottled version somewhat lighter in color than the tapped, but they both have a relaxed, mellow smell, and a laid-back only mildly bitter taste.  The draft version was a little harsher at first, but a small snack calmed down the taste; the bottle beer is mild from the beginning, but it has some underlying strength of character that assures you it isn't a beer to overlook.  Although it doesn't go down as easily as the lager and doesn't have the complexity of the Veraniega, it's a fine representative of  its makers.  A bit of Spanish ham makes a nice companion in taste.

to the fair

Although the last week and the next are Craft Beer Weeks in Madrid, the Craft Beer Fair was yesterday and today at L'Europe, a fine bar in the center of Madrid.  Last year there was a blended fair of food and beer at Casa de Campo, but there's some kind of snag in the negotiations this year, and the beer producers decided a smaller, but central, fair was better than waiting around.

The festivities began at 1pm, but yesterday I went in at about 4:30.  In a little more than an hour and a half, the crowd fluctuated several times, from almost impossible to squeeze through to somewhat sparse.  The attendees were always well-behaved, with no obnoxiously loud commentary or laughter.  Although a bit tight at times, the crowd was gracious and polite, allowing others to pass or get a better look at the taps.

I began with a wheat beer from Almogávar, a brewery in Valladolid.  It has a nice golden color and a typical wheat taste, although less sour than the industrial beers like Paulaner.  Very smooth and drinkable.

Next was a coffee stout from Yria.  The coffee taste was on the bitter side and stout had a smokey quality.  It was much like a coffee candy, to my taste.  The coffee flavor seems to settle in the glass, being more pronounced towards the bottom than at the top.

I continue with Milana Amber Ale.  Milana is based in Castilla y León.  I noticed that all the breweries represented in the fair were from Madrid or north, except for Domus and Sagra from Toledo.  Milana's Amber has a fantastic color, a jewel-like reddish brown.  The taste is refreshing, although sharp, herbal I would say.  There's supposed to be some mitigating caramel sweetness, but the hops were unescapable for me.  A lovely beer for those who enjoy ales.

Wandering into the back, I found Medina with several varieties of IPA.  Also, an APA, which I don't see often and was intrigued by.  It's called Gringaza 30, and was surprisingly bitter at first, but mellowed out pretty quickly.  After about 1/4 pint it was very smooth.  This was the beeriest looking of the bunch yesterday, if one focuses only on the color.

Finally, near the door La Real del Duero was waiting.  They had two ales, a blond and their Special Bitter.  The latter was described as being sweeter, with more fruit tones, so I thought that would be good to end the afternoon on.  It's another reddish beer, and the taste is definitely fruity, although I can't quite tell which kind.  Peach maybe, or apricot.  It's a summery flavor and served cold is very refreshing, just delicious.

Today I arrived just after 5pm, as it started to rain far more than necessary for Madrid in May.  There were remarkably few people in attendance, but I suppose a lot of people had to work on a Monday, in spite of the unemployment rate being what it is.  This time I remembered my camera, so there is some illustration.

I had it in mind that I wanted to start with a lighter beer, so I went looking for a lager, IPA or something of the sort.  Naparbier had brought a Pilsner and that fit the bill.

It's very light, effervescent and only mildly bitter.  I found myself hungrier as I was drinking, but maybe that's just because I didn't have much of a lunch today.

As I was sitting at the bar taking my beer notes, a gentleman came up to me with his own notebookand we compared notes on the beers.  Turns out he has a bar in Vallecas (a southern district of Madrid) with a number of imported beers.  I'll have to go visit this El Boliche at some point.

Sagra was sitting next to the bar, looking as respectable as possible, with their six-packs of bottles for sale.  L'Europe has Sagra on tap, but only one type at a time, and it's been the "normal" beer for a while now.  Now they had a red also.  It's appetizing from the start, with a fluffy beige head, although not too much foam.  The taste is slightly sweet and it goes down very easy; it's a smooth and creamy beer, with a mouth-filling taste that doesn't overwhelm you.

Yeah, I've had a few sips already

With the smaller crowd, the brewers were more able to answer kind of random or basic questions rather than focusing on the bar reps and colleagues from other breweries.  The man from La Cibeles gave me a pretty complete review of their beer catalogue, only about half of which was available at the fair, and most of that only in bottles.  I prefer to have draft beer when I'm out, so I decided on the Imperial IPA, a nice caramel colored brew.

It's like cake frosting on top

Going well with the head, the beer is also dense, bitter, and a mouthful of flavor, but something to wrestle more with than the Sagra Roja.

As he explained the varieties they had, the rep mentioned that La Cibeles is about to start importing to Texas and New York, although it will only be two of their fifteen products.  Interestingly, they are the strongest and the weakest in terms of alcohol content.  Then I got the lowdown on Naranja, David's Ale, Oktoberfest, and Barley Wine.  It's a shame they were only in bottles, since I was sticking with the draft, and they all sounded quite appealing.  I had already purchased a bottle of Naranja for tasting this week, so we'll see how that goes.

On my way to other tables, the man from El Boliche invited me to try a little Young's Double Chocolate Stout.  It's a heavy beer, with a baking chocolate kind of taste, something that would go best with a sweet dessert.

I was feeling the need for something lighter and went for Casasola La Prima Vera.  It's a lager, but with an interesting blend of herbs.  The brewer mentioned cilantro, and there is a shade of that, but I catch more citrus.  It's most definitely a beer for a warm summer evening, drunk cold on a porch or in a back yard, very snappy and refreshing.  The Corte Inglés has decided to carry it, but they want it all year 'round, whereas the brewery had been making it only in spring and summer.  Ah, the downsides of popularity.  A couple of English import store reps were tasting at the same time and I eavesdropped a little on their conversation.  One said that the best modern craft beers come from areas with a history of winemaking, since they have the tradition of creating drink through fermentation and playing with levels of sweetness and other additives.  I'm not sure if the statement could be universally applied, but there just might be something to it in Spain.

I almost forgot the picture...

To wrap up the beer fair, I wanted a nice dark beer.  El Oso y el Cuervo was providing an Imperial Stout, which seemed like just the thing.  It's powerful from the first sip, with a rich, filling chocolaty flavor, sweeter than Young's Double Chocolate.  Like any stout, it's black as Pat Robertson's shriveled little heart, and was served frosty, so even being such a flavorful beer it was refreshing and easy to drink.  Quite enjoyable, and well worth ending my visit to the beer fair with.

It's like a black hole, absorbing all the color from the bar

czar among beers?

Now begins the week of Spanish beers to go with Madrid's festivities.

When I saw the bottle of Pumpkin Tzar, I knew it had to come with me.  It's just bizarre enough an experiment to be sharply enticing.

The guy at the store even warned me about the chili when I took it to the counter, which I found amusing, although I guess it's not the most striking thing on the label.  I wasn't quite sure what to expect, so I kept the bottle around for awhile, to enjoy imagining the spiciness of it.  Just popping the cap releases an appley odor.  The taste is not sweet, it's more earthy, stouty, with just a touch of chili at the end.  I was hoping for a little more kick, honestly, but that might make it less of a widely enjoyable beverage and more of a specialized challenge.  It is a Spanish-made beer, albeit from the north, and Spanish cuisine tends not to be spicy, although it can be quite flavorful.  Interestingly, the beer becomes a little salty after sitting for some minutes.  So, I imagined more chili, and yet also more sweetness, being used to pumpkin in pies.  The beer was not what I expected, but still well worth the taste test, and if I come across it in a bar somewhere I would happily order it.  Although, I might ask for some outrageously spicy patatas bravas to go with it.

So, this is now a black Russian, yes?

Dude, did you come from Chernobyl or the Battle of Mukden?

a short interlude

"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."
                                 -Benjamin Franklin

Certainly many people have expressed similar sentiments about drink in general and beer in particular over the many centuries of human existence.  In some cases, one would assume it is purely for the intoxicating affects of the alcohol, but other beverages have been stronger than beer historically, at least in the US.  That makes me conclude there is something in the beer itself - its flavors, its aesthetic, its environment - that attracts people to it with some devotion.

"Beer's intellectual.  What a shame so many idiots drink it."
                                 -Ray Bradbury, The October Country

I came to beer late.  I was already in my last year of college when I began to appreciate it, studying in Vienna.  In the bars I frequented with friends and fellow students, the go-to drinks were beer and wine, not the sweetened mixed drinks I had relied on in previous years.  I never warmed up to wine, but beer started to reveal itself to me.  There was a brew pub/restaurant right across the street from my dorm, with a small variety of beers on tap for the curious, and a specialty every month.  We probably tried all that were available over the course of an academic year.  Since then, when having "grown-up" drinks I've preferred beer.

“In an age when mass pleasures like television are becoming more feeble and homogeneous, the very act of discrimination becomes a form of protest. At a time when mass marketing of food produces a product so disgusting that it has to be wrapped in distracting gimmicks to be sold, the mere fact of paying attention to what you eat and drink and telling the truth about taste is a revolutionary act.”

                                 -Lynn Hoffman

Some years ago I moved to Madrid, supposing I would find something interesting to do in my life.  I have met interesting people, some I wish were around more and some I'm always happy to see the back end of, and have absorbed perspectives I would never have been in contact with if I'd stayed in the US. But when I came, there really wasn't any beer culture.  Spain has been more of a wine country, and those who know what they're talking about insist there is some fine production, but as I mentioned above, wine was just never my thing.

Then things changed.

"Across the troubled maelstrom of time, people always need a beer."
                                  -Ellen Kushner, The Fall of Kings

There were a couple of bars with a wide selection of beers, both in bottles and on tap, but they were mostly "industrial".  Good for something that wasn't the icy, yellow Spanish beer, but nothing you couldn't find pretty much anywhere.  But a couple of years ago, enough heads came together in their interest in microbrewing.  Suddenly, there were local beers all over.  Interviewed on TV.  In the papers.  Their beers sold at produce markets and supermarkets.  More bars popped up with a focus on international and exotic beers, and specialty beer stores!  A couple of years ago, you went to the biggest supermarket around, hoping to be lucky, and now five different stores offer beer in any style you could ask for.  They are still small and few, but they've appeared in the middle of a depressed economy to offer optimism to the public and hopefully some profit to their owners.  Also in the past couple of years, celebrations of local beer have been organized, allowing fans to get together and enjoy their favorites and also providing a convenient place for others to be introduced to the joy that is beer in all its guises.


"Good people drink good beer."
                                 -Hunter S. Thompson


I don't pretend to be an expert, I take this more as a hobby.  I would like to be a good person, so I try to find good beer.  I share my impressions because that's what a good person would do: help others find something good.

gimme that old time heathen

Isn't that how the song goes?  No?  It was worth a shot...

I've mentioned more than once how much I enjoy a good stout, and to end the American week I have an imperial stout.  The label makes it seem like a mysterious and powerful brew, so it piques interest right away.  Opening the bottle releases a dark chocolate smell and the beer almost pours like syrup.  So far so good!  It has a tan head, reminds me of Cabrona.  Tasting it reveals a great mellow flavor, rounded, somewhat chocolaty but not too sweet.  Like David's Triple from yesterday, it maintains over some time, without getting too sweet or developing any odd smell.  Although it might go well with a chocolaty dessert, Old Heathen deserves to be tasted by itself, without any interference of food.  It's a good, loungey beer to relax with, and have a serious, but friendly, discussion.

Yep, day's getting sunnier, beer getting darker...

for a moment of repose

I hadn't realized before that there really weren't that many American breweries selling in Spain.  In spite of the surge of craft beers, there are only about four that can be found readily.  I'm not really complaining, since they all offer a number of different beers, and they've all been quite tasty.  I suppose next week I'll have an easier time of it.

Anderson Valley has pleased me before, and Abbey Style Ale is a variety that hasn't made an appearance yet this week.  It looks like foamy apple juice, and smells like something similar.  As the temperatures are going up, it's promising, refreshing in appearance.  There's a billowy, foamy head, a nice thick white color to it.  The taste is fruity, maybe apple or maybe some other kind of generic fruit taste, but something that deserves its own place on the tongue.  The beer has a stable taste and smell over time, not getting sweeter or stickier as it sits and gets a little warmer, so it's certainly a beer to count on for a quiet evening drink, without strong-tasting snacks or food to interfere with it.  Exceedingly pleasant.

Wait, didn't I see that guy on a wanted poster somewhere?

and speaking of desserts

I couldn't resist when I saw the name - CHOCOLATE stout.  Plus, the label looks like a party.

So many lights...

It's Brooklyn Brewery, makers of the lager from some time past.  I was expecting a real explosion of sweetness.  And it does have a sweeter smell than other stouts just after opening the bottle.  The beer is properly dark brown as it flows into the glass and the head has a nice beige color.  It also dies down quickly, leaving a glassful of dark, dark stout.  The drink feels smooth at first, but taste goes sour and bitter after a couple of seconds.  At first I was disappointed, but I quickly learned to measure my intake.  A little sip and quick gulp leaves a more chocolaty taste.  This is not a beer to gulp, not by any means, it's something to enjoy over a nice book or a meandering conversation in the evening.  The label itself reveals the elegance it takes to handle it right.

no moon, no jumping

Continuing my sampling to make up for last week, I picked up Left Hand Brewing's Milk Stout.  It had been recommended to me in the past but I hadn't yet had the chance to follow up on it.  Just uncapping the bottle released a sweet chocolate milky smell, and the beer looks to be a promising dark brown while flowing into the glass.  The aroma from the beer itself is darker, earthier than what wafted out of the bottle.  The taste is chocolaty, similar to St. Peter's Cream Stout, which I love.  It has that smooth, familiar chocolate shake feeling in the mouth, and the sweet milk part rounds off all the possible bitter corners from the flavor.  While Old Foghorn was recommended as an end-of-day treat, this milk stout is dessert, dessert, dessert.  Some other dark chocolate would compliment it nicely.

I notice oats are also among the ingredients - dare I start a day with this?

for the foggy evening

Here's my opener for the craft beer week: Anchor Brewing Old Foghorn.  It seems to work with the gray weather we're having at the moment.

The beer is a barleywine ale, with a sweet, malty smell.  The color strikes me as a jewel-like reddish brown.

Yeah, gray clouds really bring out the color

The flavor is almost syrupy sweet, but with a noticeable bitter fringe.  The bottle itself recommends this as an afterdinner drink, to sip while relaxing.  It does have a pleasant taste for enjoyment on its own, and the sweetness makes it feel like a dessert.  Quite nice on a sprinkly evening.

And the bottle fits right in your hand

the under dog wanders in

So I just found out about the Craft Beer Week in time for it to be over.  But, Madrid is having its own celebration of craft beers starting on Monday, so I'm going to pretend they overlap.

First, I visited a store I only just heard about to stock up for the festival I only just heard about.  It's in the "zone", with several good bars and another store just a few minutes away.  On their shelves, I saw a can of lager, something I haven't seen for quite some time.  The brand was familiar, though.

It has a pleasant, grassy smell and a lemony yellow color.  The head is abundant and fluffy white, but not too long-lasting, leaving just a thin caps of suds.  Under Dog isn't as sweet as other lagers I've tried recently, maybe victim of hop-happy craft beeriness.  The taste is sharp, bitter, not unenjoyable.  For me, it's perfectly fine to drink on its own, but maybe those sensitive to hops would want something like peanuts or a little egg/pasta salad to balance.

something for what ales you

Standing proud

Hop Head Red looks as appetizing as can be, with its colorful label and embossed bottle.  It comes out soda bubbly with a bittersweet smell, typically ale.

The taste is entirely bitter at first, but there is a mildly sweet aftertaste.  It's clean, palate-cleansing, a nice beer to relax with after a warm day doing things.  As it gets warmer it gets stickier and a little heavier on the tongue, maybe a good fit for something vinagery.

Here's to IPA!

the campfire tale

The campfire glowed with red, red light as we sat around in our circle.  Sophy was there with the lantern at her head, telling scary stories of the lost and the dead.

"And when she leaned over, she fell into the well.  Now where her soul wanders no tongue can tell."

"I know where she is," little Tanya piped up, "She haunts the old mansion on the hill.  The man who built it years ago went belly up, but his son is living there still.  The maid's ghost haunts their halls and water drips down the walls and her spirit never gets its fill."

"Fill of what?"

"Their fear, of course, since they'll never, ever feel remorse for her unfortunate end."

"But someday the son will die.  What will she do then?"

"Find someone else to haunt, I guess," and Tanya shrugged and sighed.

"Oh, come on," scoffed Henry, "You girls are taking us all for a ride.  Everyone knows there are no ghosts, no aliens, none at all.  No Bigfoot, no unicorns, no witches or mediums gazing at crystal balls."

"Well then, Henry," Sophy growled, "Maybe you'd like to go up to the mansion and look around.  Then you can let us know if the walls are dry and the lights are on and all is as it should be."

"I don't want to bother the old man's son, but don't think your ghost stories scare me."

"Just go and look in a couple of windows, you don't have to knock on the door."

So Henry agreed and off he went and was gone for an hour or more.  We stayed at the fire and laughed and joked and made our sticky s'mores.  Henry returned after some time, hair all sweaty and face all gray.  We started when he came into our view, and then we waited for what he would say.  He stared at Sophy for minutes it seemed and not a word he said.  And then he muttered, "I just hope I don't dream," and shuffled off to bed.  Confusion fell upon us all and nobody knew what to do.  Then footsteps were heard to echo in the woods and we all jumped up as quick as we could, and we saw a white lady in a black hood, who chilled us through and through.  The hood was black and her dress was white and her eyes were red as flame, and her hair was long and dripping wet, and Sophy asked her name.

"My name don't matter!" she snapped at us and showed her greenish teeth, "I jes' came to say, you all stay away from the big house, or I'll give ya's grief!  Don't nobody need to be pokin' around, not no priest, no po-lice, no thief!  Them haunts is my home and I sez you stay out!"  We all backed away when she started to shout, but Sophy just couldn't help asking about the curse and the wealth that was there.  "Ain't none o' yer business!" the white lady roared, and she vanished like smoke in the air.

All we could do was put out the fire and go to sleep for the night.  But nobody slept; we couldn't help letting our minds wander till it got light.  When the sun rose, we pounced on Henry, but our efforts were all in vain.  He refused to give any clue about what he saw, just swearing he'd never go again.  Not even Sophy could work up the guts to go to the mansion and see what was there, for Henry's fright was contagious, though the ghost that we met, all clad in white and soaking wet, with eyes that burned like twin sunsets, wasn't so scary, just the rudest thing anywhere.