waiting on a train to beerville

So, there's a new beer festival in town, Beergote.  I have to admit it took me a couple of times hearing the name before I got the joke.  Like the old beer fairs at l'Europe, this was over a weekend, although with much expanded hours being in an event space rather than a bar.  They had taken over the event space at Chamartín station, which has an indoor area for the beer stands to be and a large patio area for some tables and the food stand.  Also, the DJ.  On cooler days, I imagine more people would have been drunkenly dancing instead of mostly lounging in what shade they could find.  At least the patio ended up completely shaded by about 7pm.

Food stand!

German sausages to be distributed

I wandered around to check out my options and started with the first stand that went out of its way to get my attention.  If they go to that trouble it only seems right.  The brewery was Patanel (of Carabanchel), a local brewery not on my radar as of yet.  They were offering a pale ale, good for beating the heat, and at this point that's the best thing to be drinking.  As much as I love my stouts and porters, there are moments when something lighter has more pull. It's wheaty, citrusy, a good summer drink, only slightly bitter.  Really, a very good mild beer to relax with, more flavorful than the industrial beers, but also not excessively demanding.

The second time around I stopped at Villa de Madrid with their collection of Chula.  The rep proudly told me that their premium pilsner had just won the best beer award in Belgium a month or so ago, which is quite tempting.  Still leery of Spanish pilsners, I asked to try a little first; it's the best thing about craft beer people, they want you to be sure before you get the whole glass.  They understand matters of taste.  It was better than a lot of Spanish pilsners I remember, but still a little strange for my palate, a little too fruity.  I also tried their special #Zita, which was toasted and tasty, but still too heavy.  It was triple digits Fahrenheit, what do you want from me?  So, I went with the pale ale, also fruity, but more to my liking than the pilsner.  It was more identifiably mandarin flavored, which I liked for some reason.  Certainty, I suppose. It had a strong color for a pale ale, like Centennial or Cibeles Imperial IPA.  It makes me think of a sweet cider mixed with beer, actually, with the undercurrent of beer-bitter and bright fruitiness on top.  Towards the end, the beer feels a little foamier, maybe just from getting so warmed up.

Again, there's sort of an amber ale and a pale ale to choose from; again the pale ale feels like the better choice.  Not that Palecat tostada is bad, but it's a little heavy on the banana for me.  The pale ale, on the other hand, is more Spanish cider-like, with a bitterness that settles and stays.  It's a rather cloudy beer, too, American cider-like in that way.  The rep at Palecat has an interest in country music, but the classical kind, from the '30s, '40s, and '50s.  Darling.

Oh no!  My camera ran out of battery before taking a picture of my last beer with the fries!  I got an amber ale from La Bicha and then I went to get fries to have a little something in my stomach now.  The dude was not especially friendly.  The other reps were very happy to talk about what they had at the fair and other things they were doing, but this guy gave the impression that I was a disturbance.  Maybe he's always like that, but when you're a socially anxious person, those things stick with you.  Even the pin doesn't take it away.

So the amber ale, is bitter-sweet, bracing, typical amber ale in the best way.  The combination with the potatoes does it no favors, unfortunately, it leaves the beer with a sort of musky or skunky smells after you've been consuming typical condiments.  La Bicha Parda is nice and dignified on its own, but I guess it needs to stay on its own.