self service

On the venerable street of Malasaña is a bar I have not yet visited.  As if that's special in a city this big.  Anyway, I had seen Los Grifos a couple of times as I hurried to some other place, and a little bit of checking told me they had taps that you can serve yourself with.  Wha?  How does that kind of thing work?  Seems dangerous!  It's something that brings you in to check out, in any case.  As I got there early, it wasn't hard to get a nice window seat.  I think it wouldn't be as nice in the evening, though, when the street is full of smoking drunks.

There are in fact taps to serve yourself with, as well as three at the bar, and a fridge full of bottles.  Being what I am, I started with a bottle because that's what the stout was.  Espiga's Blackcelona barrel aged stout is slightly odiferous on the pour with just a touch of that whiskey sweet.  It's an opaque dark brown, typical stout appearance.  The aroma is much fuller from the glass, slightly smokey but strongly alcoholic.  It's a little salty at first, then powerful liquor bitter, with a hint of licorice and subtle sweetness in the last few seconds.  There is a noticeable aftertaste, not unpleasant, although it alternates oddly between bitter and sweet.  The tastes are harder to separate towards the end.  It's not too sticky in spite of being barrel aged, but has definite weight.

As long as I'm here, I can have a draft beer too.  I remember La Virgen's Jamonera, but let's see if it lives up to my memories.  Cloudy amber color, light head, dusty honey scent - but disappointing taste.  The flavor is on the weak side, but a little bitter bubbles up at the end, not at all what the aroma would suggest.  A couple of sips bring out the honey, although just on the tip of the tongue, the rest gets a very mild bitter.  There's a kind of cheesy smell that starts to come off the beer as it warms up, which is odd, but doesn't get strong enough to really be distracting.  Like most of La Virgen's stuff these days, the beer seems thin and soulless, not the wild unpredictable thing it once was.  It has been tamed.

You need to get a card to work the taps, and the novelty is just irresistible.  There's a nice IPA from Península to end with, too.  A bit cloudy but good golden color, and that high citrus scent.  Nor surprise in the taste, a strong citrus bitter, very craft IPA, although none of the tropical nuances of American IPAs.  This is really more spicy.  A tad bit of cardamon or something similar.  Even pepperiness comes across in the flavor.  I am not quite sure, but I wouldn't be surprised if I've come across this beer at some beer fair in the past, since I'm finding that spiciness familiar.  It's not as light as some IPAs or pale ales, mildly sticky, but the spice makes it a refreshing and interesting beer.