a message for the weather

Walking into La Buena Cerveza on a rainy day can cheer your heart - as long as you're hoping to see walls of bottles and cans just waiting for you.  And I certainly was.  It looks like the distributors have finally done their job.  The problem then is to pick out just a couple to take home, there are so many flavors and so many interesting labels and suggestive names.  I might be a little stuck in my ways when it comes to breweries though, since I keep coming back to the ones I know as much as possible, like Basqueland.  This time it's I Thought We Were Friends Imperial Stout.  I hope that doesn't mean I'll actually be disappointed in it...

It feels pretty thick just pouring out, although I don't get a very abundant head.  It's a nice little beige topper, hangs around for a good amount of time.  It has that sweet kind of stout smell, so I would expect a heavier feel to a lighter one.  It starts with a light fruitiness, that sort of plum some dark beers can have, but quickly descends to a syrupier coffee.  It's not quite bitter, but something close to it.  The sweetness doesn't start out at a high level.  There's almost a fluffiness to the body, like a whipped cream of a beer.  And it's not even a milk stout.  It's certainly warming and uplifting on a rainy day, a chilly day, even a sunny afternoon under some shade.  I'm just guessing at the last one, but I'm sure it'd be true for me.

Supplier: La Buena Cerveza
Price: €5.93

i've had weirder

I've said it many times, dark beers and dark nights go together like nothing else.  Of course, I also say dark beers go with bright afternoons.  And twinkling early mornings.  My tastes are no secret, or surprise by now.  I'm pretty sure I have actually had Flying Dog's Gonzo Imperial Porter before, but not at home.  Maybe not even from a bottle, since the label isn't that familiar.  It's a good bet for me, though, that it will quench my thirst and make my evening worthwhile.  Porters don't often disappoint, and Flying Dog has a good reputation.  I guess it says something about the local mistrust of black beers that it was one of the few left!

There's a slightly piercing aroma when opening the bottle, but nothing unusual among porters.  It pours very dark and smooth looking, with one of the darker shades of beige in the head.  The scent gains in sweetness in the glass.  While the head kind of folds in on itself, it maintains a certain solidness.  I am reminded of the kind of foam you get with floats, when everything is starting to blend together.  No beer floats around here recently though (sigh).  The flavor is sharp, kicking around a number of elements at once.  First is a good mouthful of coffee, which rounds itself out into licorice.  I could have stayed with coffee myself.  There's more fruitiness in the aftertaste, something plummy.  It's scratchier than I expected from the aroma, but it's a strong porter, good for cold winter evenings. 

Shoulda tried a raspberry peppermint sour maybe

Supplier: Cerevisia
Price: €3.70

munchies

It's the post-holiday doldrums alright.  I walked into a beer store to be greeted with practically empty shelves.  The owner said, a little sheepishly, that the supplier hadn't been able to deliver before the last big day off, so things were down to the bare bones.  Fortunately, a beer store has good beer, in practically every case.  I'm not exactly the biggest fan of black IPAs, although some can be just wonderful, but that never stops me from trying things out.  Mascarat Black Rye IPA seems to promise that it will make people reveal their secrets to you.  I am not sure who is supposed to drink the beer for that to happen.  Maybe you have to share?

There's a sharp smell of IPA, although not one of the very citrusy ones.  Even the aroma has a base of bitter.  It's a little foamier than normal, and an extra cloudy brown.  Settles down pretty nice in the glass, though.  There's a creamy feel to it, along with the sourness of the rye, which makes it feel like a very traditional sort of beer - and I mean the traditions of millennia ago, with beer juice being made from the grain that didn't go in the bread.  I would go so far as to say it is what I would have expected more from the kvass in Bhatamari, that very fermented bready sour flavor.  But, the kvass was quite light and Mascarat has a full body to throw around.  I guess you can't be shy to get those secrets.

Supplier: Cerevisia
Price: €4.20

finally

On the first day of Beermas I went and bought for me
A bird dropping beads on the street
Two turtledoves
Three Belgian roosters
Four birds calling for blood
Five rolling blings
Six geese parading
Seven mermaids bird flipping
8 breakfasts steaming
Nine drinkers dancing
Ten boars a-drinking
Eleven pipers charming
Twelve words of parting

So in the end the best I could do was connect with the song ending instead of the actual line.  That's probably okay once in a while, though.  Some might start a Beermas thinking that it won't be much of a challenge, and end it frustrated by how much trouble it actually was.  Well, I won't do that again, they might say.  But then the season rolls around again.  Previous statements?  Famous last words.  Just like this DDH IPA!  The can is a little...offputting if you're not much of a seafood fan, but maybe that's a serving suggestion?  A flavorsome IPA can go well with understated seafood I think.

It's on the lighter side for an IPA, very clean head, just the lightest scent of citrus too.  The hop flavor, on the other hand, is powerful, rolling in and slapping the tongue around a little.  It's tangy and sharp at first, then kind of falls off with a bitter poof.  The liquid beer itself isn't very grabby, it's overshadowed by the flavors, so this is less of a simple thirst quencher and more of an experience.  The bitter ending dies off before the beer is half gone, leaving the swelled up citrusy hops to dominate the taste.  It retains a little bit of a kick, but isn't as abrasive as some NEIPAs and DDHs I might mention.

And so ends another Beermas!  See you next year!  Or are these just some famous last words?

Supplier: Labirratorium
Price: €6.35

eleventhly

On the first day of Beermas I went and bought for me
A bird dropping beads on the street
Two turtledoves
Three Belgian roosters
Four birds calling for blood
Five rolling blings
Six geese parading
Seven mermaids bird flipping
8 breakfasts steaming
Nine drinkers dancing
Ten boars a-drinking
Eleven pipers charming

After many frustrated searches the snake popped up like magic.  While some might not call the instrument a pipe, it's close enough for me, especially considering what medieval pipes tended to be like.  White Mamba from Two Chefs Brewing looks like a light note to close out my Beermas, even with one day left.  It's a witbier, something shiny and bright for the new year.

Light straw yellow color, bright white head, and tangy citrus aroma.  The taste matches quite closely, with a hint of bitter under an orange fuzz.  At first it feels pretty light, but grows in body with time.  Doesn't get to an explosive point, though, staying smooth and easy drinking.  It's supposed to be strong on the flavor, but I think I've had stronger ones.  Still, it's cuddly and a little thrashy, like the happy snake on the front.

Supplier: Espuma
Price: €2.89

tenthly

On the first day of Beermas I went and bought for me
A bird dropping beads on the street
Two turtledoves
Three Belgian roosters
Four birds calling for blood
Five rolling blings
Six geese parading
Seven mermaids bird flipping
8 breakfasts steaming
Nine drinkers dancing
Ten boars a-drinking

The bowler hat makes that boar rather dapper.  Lordly, dare I say?  Laugar's Basurde amber ale looks like it might make you jump for joy.  I don't know what the boar is smoking, so I don't know if he's in a good mood after a good pipe or a good drink.

The color is right for an amber ale, golden red brown with a clean but collapsing head.  The tingly ale aroma is there, not very strong but noticeable.  While mildly hoppy, there's not a lot of body there, it's a very slender beer.  The flavor is nice and the beer is easy going.  The lightness makes it a good pairing for any number of things - dancing, hiking, debating, feasting - and the bright flavor without too much self-promotion promises not to overshadow pretty much any accompanying snack.

Supplier: Cervecissimus
Price: €3

ninethly

On the first day of Beermas I went and bought for me
A bird dropping beads on the street
Two turtledoves
Three Belgian roosters
Four birds calling for blood
Five rolling blings
Six geese parading
Seven mermaids bird flipping
8 breakfasts steaming
Nine drinkers dancing

Serendipitous, that's what this is!  Looking for something related to dancing and up comes Twist & Stout.  It's even a black beer, hooray!  This comes from Cerveja Musa, and although the label doesn't have a very energetic appearance, it does make you think of music of a certain time.  Music plenty of ladies liked to dance to.

It's one of those dark chocolate brown rather than black stouts, but those can have a lot of complexity.  There's something spicy or peppery in the aroma.  I almost think it's going to be a sweeter stout, but the flavor quickly turns into bitter, baking chocolate.  It's earthy, even a little dusty.  Really not very thick or heavy, though, a very light feeling beer.  For a stout it's remarkably thin.  The flavor is strong, and after a few sips something spicy does start to pop up.  After it settles it thickens up a little, feeling more like a normal stout than it did at first.

Supplier: Espuma
Price: €3.06

eighthly

On the first day of Beermas I went and bought for me
A bird dropping beads on the street
Two turtledoves
Three Belgian roosters
Four birds calling for blood
Five rolling blings
Six geese parading
Seven mermaids bird flipping
8 breakfasts steaming

It's a little cheating to just go for milk stout for the milking part, but I think breakfast stout works out as a variation.  Also, there's a maidenly enough face on the can.  Siren Broken Dream looks a little historical and artistic with those black and white and sepia tones, like a scene from a lost 1920s movie.

You can see at the bottom of the glass that it's not quite black, just chocolatey brown.  The beige head is properly stouty, but quick to diminish.  The aroma is somewhat sweet, with a tweak of coffee.  While sweet at first sip, the coffee comes sliding out quickly, with a mocha smoothness that does, indeed, say good morning.  There's something of a Starbuck's Frappuccino in there.  The chocolate builds up a little, making it more of a mocha beer than a coffee beer, but then we do like our breakfasts to be sweet.  As we're in the middle of the Christmas season, it's fitting that I also feel like I'm getting a whiff of cinnamon.  There's no spice in the flavor, however, which doesn't mean it's a boring beer; I don't know what dreams were broken for this stout, but I am perfectly happy to wake up to something like this.

Supplier: La Buena Cerveza
Price: €3.99