right side of the tracks

There is nothing like outdoor beerfests.  Last time people had to pay to get in, and it was covered, but the most recent Beermad was free to enter and open to all elements.  Fortunately, the elements were favorable.

It's a little difficult to decide sometimes, with so many beers from so many places, so I thought I'd rely a little on fate.  The first beer I came across was Vulturis, and there was a Saison con Lavandra, which is something different.  First time I've seen that, it's a good start for me!  At 6% it's heavy for a saison.  Cloudy orange, fizzy head, not very perfumey, which I would have expected from a lavender beer.  There is a touch of perfume in the flavor, a sort of clover honey, but it's really more bitter than anything.  Kind of tough on the throat after a while, but I guess the roughness could be pointed out as "natural" or "herbal".

Doing a little beer roulette, my glass was empty near Peninsula.  It's a good brewery, so no regrets there.  I ended up with Hop On Pale Ale, a little darker orange and with more citrus aroma than the last beer.  Not so much citrus in the flavor, though.  It's a definite ale but with a deeper bitter, and cardamon or something.  A little sticky, but summery and refreshing flavor without being too light for a rainy day.

There's a definite lack of dark beers, although that's not a new thing.  There are a few though, like La Morena Stout.  It's a little light in color, more of a dark brown, slightly sour smell, bitter-sour taste.  It's earthy without any chocolate or heavy malt, a tickly and summery sort of stout.  It's like some German darks in feel, but with the bitter flavor of a good black beer.

Walking roulette left me in front of Ebora, where they had Suomi Baltic Porter.  I hesitated at first, since it is barrel aged, but it is really quite a subtle sort.  Light in color again, weirdly toasty for a bourbon beer in aroma, and just a touch of bourbon in background flavor.  If you didn't know it was there you might never guess.  This beer does have some whispers of chocolate or vanilla, and is less bitter by far than the last one.

Ziva 5.0# is in the same line as a barrel aged stout from the last edition, but this is a "normal" beer.  It's Russian Imperial Stout, again not quite black, but with a beigier head than the others.  There's a more typical stout aroma, dark, a little smokey and a little sour, the taste is definitely sweet though.  I would guess this is a bourbon porter before Suomi, but there's a weird grassy grainy aftertaste that i could actually do without.

I was thinking of heading out, so I though a lighter beer might be good to end on.  I found Oso Brewing Cerveza de Mesa and hoped that it would fit the bill.  It's very light, like a kölsch or radler, with kind of a weird sweety citrus smell.  It's vaguely bitter and vaguely citrus, a real palate cleanser, but not a real mark of ending.  So...

The real last drink was La Verbena 2nd Hand Ale, an amber.  The appearance is typical of amber and red ales, but this is one of the more balanced ones.  It's a little touch of light, but with a fairly substantial body, slightly citrus but more ale.  It's a smooth drink, easy down the throat, with a good level of bitter.  Not a sweet beer in fact, a strong ale sort, just enough sour to give it something interesting.  Now this is a good one to end on.

mosaic ahoy

I had a good look at the stouts this week, but I thought it might be better to settle for something lighter this time.  More on that next Saturday!  I am also trying to suss out some good German brews in preparation for the film fest, coming soon.  Then, what do I see but The Captain?  I had a variation of this beer some months ago, quite nice as I recall, but this one is Dry Külsched Hop, dry-hopped with Mosaic.  Sounds like a winning combination to me.  Mosaic has been tasty in IPAs and Basqueland has had some triumphs with their products.

It may be a kölsch, but a definite IPA whisper slips out from those hops.  Clear and medium gold, it could pass for a pale ale easily.  First comes a citrus bitter, but quickly the flavor ramps up the sour and tang, hitting some kölschier notes before falling back into a sweet aftertaste.  It struggles a little to maintain the initial wow, dying back into a more subdued blend of upfront bitter and trailing sour after a few sips.  Very light in the mouth, almost airy, and a little fizzy.  Still smooth down the throat, though.  Snappy, summery kind of beer, something to keep in mind for higher temperatures down the road.

Supplier: La Birratorium
Price: €3.25

beer deco

As summer inexorably slides in, most people would look forward to their light and tingly beers.  I still want my dark, heavy, slug-in-the-mouth beers, dammit.  Well, maybe a brown ale is a good compromise.  Some of them do have a certain weight to them.  Also, La Maldita's Originale has a label after my own heart.

While it's more cartoony than a Mucha, I'd say the influence is there.  Also, there is a recommended pouring angle, along with the temperature suggestion and admonishment against horizontal storage.

While bubbly, there's not a lot of head building up.  Must have gotten the angle wrong.  It has a mildly citrus scent, although sweeter than IPAs.  Maybe a little brown sugar?  The color is pretty good, orangey brown, a warm and inviting shade.  There's something Belgian in the flavor, slightly sweet but deep-bottomed.  I'm glad not to encounter the sour sting that so many Belgian beers have, though.  There's also some graininess, something akin to German light beers.  Despite the initial sweetness, I can also detect some earthiness in there too, not nearly as much as a black beer might have, but present.  It's a little bit sticky, hanging around at the back of the throat, but not a lot of strange aftertaste.  It's more of a touch than a taste sensation in that area.

Supplier: Cerevisia
Price: €2.70

may the fourth...

Although I didn't find anything worthy of Star Wars Day, or Cinco de Mayo to be honest, something about this bottle made it appropriate for May Day.  I think it was the phrase at the bottom:

"Coworkers, let's join forces and create craft."  Kinda reminds me of this.  Also, Yankee Punch is just daring you to not think of riotous strikes.  Now, this is not an American beer, but Dutch, and Jopen seems to take pride in a rather unique bottle style.  I will feel a little bad when I recycle it. 

This is not just a New England IPA, but a double NEIPA, so I'm guessing it might be heavy on the juice.

Immediate scent sensation, a heavy and sweet kind of citrus.  On the perfumey side, actually.  Color is very light for the aroma, kind of a straw gold.  Head looks pretty good, fluffy and resistant.  The taste is heavily citrus, leaning strongly on the sour rather than the bitter.  It's one of those mandarin orange flavors, fooling you into thinking it will turn sweet, but it just stays tangy and sour, in a pleasant way I hasten to add.  A touch of bitterness does start to develop in the aftertaste, but that stays pretty light.  Honestly, I don't find it particularly tropical, as the label hints, but it's definitely fruity and in line with other NEIPAs, although maybe a little headier and on the clear side in color.  The doubling adds a bit of weight to it; a lot of NEIPAs are kind of heavy in spite of the juice, but this one is a formidable drink.

Supplier: Cerevisia
Price: €5