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.