*pop* top

Still looking for my porter/stouts, although with summer coming I might have to let my strategy evolve a little bit.  In any case, Porterhouse's Plain Porter is there for me today.  I have to admit it was the little pull-tab cap that was the final decision maker, but at the same time you can't say no to an Irish porter.

The cap pops off super smooth, with a satisfying little *tok*.  While dark, the beer is not quite black or opaque, letting a little milk chocolate light be seen at the bottom.  Portery, slightly sweet aroma, mildly lactose.  The taste is a bit startling, not sweet at all despite the smell.  It's on the sour side at first, in fact, and eventually winds down into bitter.  No chocolate here, no way.  It's not one of those smoky black beers either, it's earthy if anything.  It's not an especially smooth drink, a tad on the rough side, but enjoyable.  A nice choice for a colder evening, but light enough for year-round savoring, at least as far as I'm concerned.

Supplier: Espuma
Price: €3.20

can't resist this

There's something delicious about having this beer before a smothering holiday of a seriously patriarchal ideology.  Fuck The Patriarchy, indeed.  This IPA comes from Cervecera Libre, a brewery set up by women looking for the freedom that comes with creation.  Also, reclaiming what is traditionally the domain of women, brewing up the beverages that get you set down with a smile on your face.  Actually that's not on their website, but we can extrapolate.

There's a little spritz of citrus when the bottle is opened, but nothing too overpowering.  It's a fairly dark and rusty orange IPA with a nicely fluffy head and a certain amount of clarity.  Not completely transparent, but I wouldn't call it cloudy.  A pretty typical bitter IPA at first, a mellower sweetness develops towards the end of the sip.  It's a dark and kind of heavy sweet, not sugary.  I hesitate to call it fruity, but that's probably where it's leaning.  It's not obviously tropical at first, although perhaps there is a hint of mango in there.  A bigger swallow reveals some sharpness, right up on top of the tongue, a jab to send us off to the culture wars.  The warmer beer picks up a little bit of dust and grabbiness, tamps down on the sweet and enhances the bitter slightly.  The fruit doesn't come out any more than in the beginning and that stabby citrus note gets somewhat dulled.  I can just imagine it's a dull blade after stabbing a million SQWs in the eye.  Yep, that's some patriarchy fuckin' right there.

Supplier: Espuma
Price: €3.25

looking back a week

I don't get down to the center of town much, partly because of the crowds and partly because even in good public transportation it takes a while I could be using to watch Youtube or drink beer.  But, when there are beer festivities, I can see my way down.  It was a week long to-do, but I only made it down a couple of days, since I have to, like, work some mornings.  On Tuesday I visited La Buena Pinta and El Pedal.

There was a birthday party or something with little kids flying around the center of the market, but La Buena Pinta was more or less out of the action.  I got a NEIPA, Mad Brewing Yellow Mood, which looked for all the world like the most typical NEIPA there should be.  Maybe that's just my approach to them, though.  It looks just like a fresh-squeezed glass of orange juice, even looking like there's some pulp floating around the top.  I suppose it must be the light carbonation giving that impression because there's certainly nothing actually in there and there isn't any head to speak of.  The aroma is also orangey and a little bit peppery.  The taste comes out with more banana, oddly, with a kick afterwards.  Like a citrus banana I guess.  The initial sharpness dies down over the drinking time, but the tropical sweetness is enduring.

Down the street, El Pedal was also quiet in the first hours of the evening.  My Aeromancia wheat IPA from Zeta was very carefully poured.  This was also quite cloudy, but more typically beery with a good head on a golden brew.  Not too much to the nose, although it's rather spicy for a wheat beer.  Starts with a little bittersweet, but leaves a robust bitter behind, heavier on the IPA than the wheat.  None of the grass of, say, Franziskaner, not ruthless like Peninsula, or tropical like a passel of IPAs I could name.There is a sweetness that comes and goes and gives a little weight to the beer, although not quite to the extent of barrel aged beers.  Aeromancia stands well on its own, carving out its flavor niche.

Just enough energy for a quick beer on Friday, unfortunately it's a common feeling.  I walked by several places that were stuffed full of loud drinkers, and a few even had the outside tables occupied in spite of the threat of rain.  I ended up at La Fuente de la Virgen, where Madrid's great ex-craft is offered, but they also have a "guest" tap, filled today by Yakka.  That's a little more promising.  It's Hoppy Pils, which I think I have come across before, and have no bad memories of.  It looks light and thirst quenching if not substantial, and boasts a rather citrusy smell for a pilsner, more like and IPA.  There's a definite sweet note right up front, bitter only trailing in at the end.  It's not unbalanced and very bright for a pilsner, although it's a little bit heavy around the middle of the tongue.  Otherwise, it's light enough to vanish in seconds.  It's a rather summery beer, and would have been more appropriate the week before, but now it can be a kind of celebration after a surprise snow/hailfall.

I seem to have forgotten to take a picture of my beer, but for some reason I do have the sign

Why does it make sense for shoes to be churchy?

Saturday evening I crammed myself into La Misa de 8:00 for Tito Blas Brewing's Pa' Bro Dry Stout.  Despite the frantic clientele I managed to find a nice corner to squeeze into for a little while.  The beer is not really black, but a nice dark brown.  There's a dirty chocolate smell, maybe a little smoke in there too.  The flavor is very woodsy, bitter, kind of a licorice aftertaste but not exactly sweet.  After the first sip, which is a bit rough, the beer is really quite smooth.  Not too heavy either, and actually a bit thin for the aroma.

I felt like hunting down a little supper and ended up at Café Viralata, where there was an offer of Mad Brewing beer and a toasted sandwich.  Well, alright.  The beer is super hoppy and super citrusy, an IPA no doubt.  It isn't bitter at all, much brighter than that stout.  It goes nicely with the sandwich, adds a little sharp flavor to the mellow cheese and meat, and even the onions and peppers are subdued in comparison.  It turns out the beer was Camarillo, and when I asked the waiter told me there was a tasting of seven (7!) Mad Brewing beers starting in minutes.  Free!  How could I resist?  My camera did not resist, so the beers in question are only pictured on Instagram.  The list was: Wheat, Pale Ale, Camarillo, Red, Granny's Cake, Holy Smoke and Galactic Nuts.  Three black beers!  Huzzah!

I headed out early on the last day and found Emói Cocktail Bar to be in quite a civilized state.  Not too many people, music not too loud, quite nice to sit and relax in.  They had Nómada Beermuth, which I was not quite sure about but willing to try as something different.  It certainly looks like a spirit with that watery tan.  Maybe the wateriness is just the ice.  It also smells definitely orangey, which is definitely the garnish.  It has an extremely bitter orange flavor, I'd say mediciny, with a touch of tangy sweet at the end.  The bitter kind of fades out after a while, leaving an alcohol crisp with a mild orange coat.

There was also an unfiltered wheat? from Nómada on tap.  A golden, cloudy beer with a mild flavor and a dusty feel.  It's slightly grainy and definitely bitter, refreshing and certainly for summer drinking.  It develops a sweetness and oranginess after a couple of sips and gets more interesting and nuanced with a little time on the table.

Around the corner was Casa Zoilo with Basqueland for the public.  First, the IPA.  It's very aromatic, easily whiffed just from the glass sitting on the table.  With good head and color, it's a Euro IPA, lacking in tropical fruit.  While there is a hint of sweet, bitter is the most evident flavor, with a touch of pepper in the background.

There was also Jumper Kitten barrel aged porter.  Gotta have at least one dark beer a day, right?  So there it is, heavy, sneaky, sweet and desert ready, chocolate and fruit in a glass.  Kind of syrupy, but a nice beer to finish a meal with, or enjoy by itself.  It would have been nice to have some cake with it, but we were still a bit early in the day for cake...or just in the wrong establishment for cake.  Half a leg of ham was carved up and devoured while we were sitting there.

Those bottles aren't for my beer, good Bacchus

Como Vaca Sin Cencerro wasn't too crowded when I walked past, and I determined to have the very last one of the celebration.  After that porter, an IPA seemed like the best idea, something strong flavored but shiny.  Eterna IPA was there to fit the bill.  It's fruity and tropical, the typical craft IPA, with weight and presence.  It's not overly bitter and the flavor stays balanced.  While it's not exceptional or unique in the IPA crowd, it is very pleasant.

A poster of wishful thinking perhaps

 And now we wait for May...

dance of spring

For a while it seemed like we were just going to skip springish weather altogether.  Right from a mild winter to a warm, sunny, dangerously dry sort of season.  But, as soon as we got rid of March, it got chilly and damp.  Hell, it even sort of snowed yesterday!  I still wouldn't call this a lion of a weather experience though.  Anyway, I have another nice black beer to go with those new black clouds, Gora Watusi.  It's a rye porter, with coffee, so I'm anticipating a bitter flavor overall, but maybe some of those candy/fruit notes will also be in evidence.

Extremely foamy, takes quite a while for the head to die down.  In the meantime, a nice chocolate brown brew forms from the bottom.  Not terribly aromatic, but a hint of portery bitter-sour.  The taste is kind of hard to identify, but most like bitter at first.  It quickly evolves into a sweeter, more baking chocolate sort of flavor, and kind of evaporates.  It's not one of those that hangs around, leaving a noticeable aftertaste.  It's clean and pleasantly thin, but not weak or unsubstantial.  While the coffee isn't readily identifiable, the beer does have the roundedness of other coffee porters and stouts, with that touch of sweetness that makes you think of Starbucks before shoving the though aside in shame.  It's nicely balanced and doesn't give in to the candy sort of overflavor that a number of this type do.  While light enough for a warm late spring/early summer evening, there's also a strength and a solidness that work on a cold and rainy winter day as well.

Supplier: Be Hoppy
Price: €3.10