it's becoming a habit

Keeping my ears open for the next Craft Beer Fair, I heard the rumors that it would be the first days of June.  And it was!

So much fun on Monday the poster's still up on Tuesday

Sunday afternoon was well-trafficked, but near the door was something new: Gruit.  The specialty of this brewery is the lack of hops; there is a small amount used in the brewing, but they rely on a combination of other herbs for flavoring their beers.  The result is a product distinctly lacking in bitterness and hoppy punch, but with complex and interesting taste.  I tried the Blond, which comes out with a dirty yellow color, like many an unfiltered beer, and a barely perceptible odor.  It's disarmingly sweet, honeyed, with just a touch of floweriness.  The brewer mentioned it was a good "starter beer", and I can imagine my 20-year-old self drinking it exclusively.  The sweetness builds on the tongue after a while, but the beer remains very smooth and easy to drink.

Before serious note taking begins

Looking for something snappier to continue with, I found Akelarre from Brux around the corner.  It's a strong bitter from the brewery in Valladolid, but made with Cibeles' equipment, so it's kind of local.  As a bitter, the color is darker and the taste stronger.  The bitterness is apparent immediately, but it has a clean flavor with hardly any aftertaste.  I enjoyed the shift from sweet to bitter in my two first beers, but Akelarre does in fact have a mellow sweetness that pauses on the back of the tongue as it goes down.  It was a nice progression between the two beers.

After that, I was given a taste of the stout - Corvus.  It's an enticing chocolate brown color and the taste is strict stout with the mouth-filling bitter and a touch of smoke.  Perfectly classic, and a fine beer to have with some sausage, very pub-like drinking.

In the quieter back room, I found Keltius with several light beers on tap.  I decided on their 2.0, an APA, for some contrast after the stout.  It was indeed a contrast, a bit surprising in fact, but quite pleasant.  2.0 is lemonade colored and even the taste has traces of fizzy lemonade.  It's a very light and fresh flavor with that citrusy combination of bittersweet-sour to make a fine summertime drink.  The bitter part overwhelms the other more delicate flavors after a bit, but never becomes too much to take.

While I was there, I decided to check out Medina's stock this time around.  They're fair regulars, usually with ales.  This year they had a witbier, called Blanca, naturally.  It has a little more watery color than the 2.0, and the taste is even sweeter and fruitier in spite of having both orange peel and wheat.  Something in it also made me think of vanilla.  The aftertaste comes out with a hint of banana, much like other wits I've had.  I tend to hesitate before choosing witbiers, maybe because of their Belgian associations, but every time I've tried them I've been pleased.

Also, snacks

Moving back towards the door, I caught sight of La Quince, which had given a tasting in one of the beer stores about a week before.  Circumstances prevented my going, but their stout had sounded mouth-watering so I went to have a taste here.  Unfortunately, the stout was not yet on tap.  They had IPA and Imperial IPA for the moment; Llipa I had tried before from the bottle, so Kince Imperial IPA it was.  Very hoppy, with that sharp bitter taste, just what anyone would expect in an IPA.  Both their ales are delicious, but I can't say there's anything extraordinary about them.

Dark beers were a little hard to come by in this fair.  I wandered back towards the turn and was prompted to try Sevebrau's lager.  The rep described it as a helles, and it is as much like a German beer as you can expect, something I haven't come across much with Spanish brews.  It has a balanced taste and good color, clear and enticing.  The rep was quite happy with my comparison of his product to German beers, but also shared his opinion that the best beers aren't the beers themselves, but the ones you share in good times with good friends.  Very philosophical, Seve.

I finished the first day with a Black Bock from La Pirata.  The color might fool you into thinking it a bitter stout, but the first sip will disabuse you of that idea immediately.  Although tasty, it has nothing to do with the bitter smokiness of a stout; instead, you get a tangy sourness, fruity, I kept thinking of plums and tart apples.  There is a little sweet mixed in, but it's just a hint.  Rather than some mere thirst-quencher, this is a beer that keeps your attention while you're drinking.

Accidental selfie!

I went back for day 2 intent on getting that stout from La Quince, so I pounced on the stand as soon as I walked in the door.  As promised, Vanilla Black Velvet Stout was there, ready to be tried.  Perfect black, strong stout at first, but after swallowing, the sweet vanilla comes out.  Also apparent is the velvet.  The rep says it's thanks to the foam, dark beige and slightly bitter.  The bottle has an interesting animal pair on the front: an owl and slightly military looking fox.  The owl shows up on all the bottles but the fox is only on the stout.  The details keep coming out with this beer, it even has a little spiciness, but all the way down it's pudding smooth.  I would avoid strong flavored foods with this one since it deserves all the attention of the drinker, but it does seem like a nice dessert beer.  Excellent beginning to part 2.

Don't forget that bottle, you'll want some later...

Attending in the afternoon on Monday gives you a chance to see the beers on the tables better, what with a much smaller crowd than on the weekend.  I saw a very pretty beer on my way to the back, a warm ruby red color, and had to stop and ask about it.  It's actually a brown ale, Lluna's Bruna.  A good all-year sort, not as heavy as some browns, refreshing and balanced flavor without any intrusive bitter or sourness.  Lluna, based in Valencia, is a small brewery producing ecologically conscious beers, and are just now starting to sell through the beer stores besides organic groceries.  They have some nice photos of happy and energetic drinkers on their website, promoting a young and energetic product.

Only slightly jewel-like in sunlight

Next was Bier Cerveza Artesana with a wheat based red ale.  The rep pointed out the use of German hops for this brew, and said that a small amount of whole wheat was part of the process.  The flavor is sharply wheaty, although not overwhelming.  On the sour side, but it's a good, natural sort of taste.  The sharpness that comes through the hops is invigorating, a nice pick-me-up.

I was in the right place to be treated to a Belgian lambic with some beer professionals, but I didn't catch the name of the brewery.  It's a very dark red color but with a white head.  The smell is sour and vinegary, reminding us of ketchup, but the flavor was more of a tart, unsweetened cherry.  Before succumbing to the tide of IPA and hoppy craft beers, I definitely leaned towards the sweet and malty.  But malty is by no means a description here.  While certainly interesting, the lambics aren't quite my style.

My finale was with Zeta Brewing Company and their lager.  It's a pretty yellow and very bubbly, with good white foam.  Something of a relief after the lambic, the taste is very clean and subtle.  In the mouth it's a respectable beer, but once swallowed it's gone, leaving very little behind.  It's a conversation companion, keeping talk fluid but not interrupting or otherwise distracting.

The rep lends a hand

While Medina and Cibeles were present, I noticed Domus, Sagra and La Real del Duero did not make an appearance at this fair.  This time there was an importer in one corner too, representing Anchor Steam, Big Bad Dog and Better Beer Company with the tagline "Las mejores cervezas del mundo (The best beers in the world)".  I wonder if Carlsberg would have the nerve to complain.  Also new for me was the amount of young children.  I'm not a big fan of kids, but I think it says something about the atmosphere at these fairs: while there's a large amount of beer and drinking around, people don't show up just to drink.  We go to discover new breweries and styles, meet other beer fans, and learn a little about this beverage we enjoy.  I hope this thing goes on forever.

And breweries start making deliveries with beer-bikes