holding steady

Still no freedom of movement around here, but at least we can get beer brought to our doors!  It's been a while since I visited Fábrica Maravillas.  They are a brew pub, not a store, but recently they've gone into canning so people can take their beloved beers home with them.  Now the bar part is closed, of course, but they can still make beer, and they can deliver boxes of cans.  24 cans.  It's a substantial order.  It actually only took a couple of days to ship across half of Madrid, but I was told I could send a taxi or Glovo to pick the box up for me at the place, and have my beer within half an hour of it being boxed.  I wasn't that hard up for beer, I don't mind waiting a while.  They had four kinds at the time, and I'll start with Raknal Imperial Milk Stout, because of course I would.

It's one of those not quite black stouts, thin light beige head, a good amount of coffee in the aroma.  It's not as heavy as I remember other stouts of theirs being, but it's a nice medley of flavors.  While slightly sticky, it's not too sweet, and warm notes of toast and earth move it along.  There's a tad bit of sour at the back of the palate, something like the kvass in Asheville.  It takes a while to notice coffee in the taste, which seems to come out with a milky roundness, not an abrasive bitter or licorice.  Despite being close to 10% it's easy drinking.  I mean, it's no Cabrona, but what is?

no explosion

There isn't much to be said that overstates my anticipation for this beer.  It's a stout, so that's already a plus, but it's also been a couple of weeks since I've had good chocolate in my house.  I could probably find some if I wanted to take the time, but I don't like spending minutes and hours in the supermarket in the best of times, much less now.  People don't get up each others' asses like before, but you still have to have patience to navigate aisles without breaking social distancing.  So anyway, Beavertown Bomb And Cherry, a milk stout with black cherry to boot.  I haven't had any Cherry Coke for a while either...

The look is pleasing, good dark color, thick and resistant head, kind of underwhelming aroma.  It has just a hint of cherry in it, but it's more of a standard stout scent.  The flavor closely matches the aroma, with just a little more sweetness, but there's a lot of earth to cushion it.  Unlike some sweet stouts, this one does not start out sticky in the slightest.  While there is a slight tanginess to the touch of cherry, it's not a candied sweet, more like natural cherries.  A little cake-appropriate spice starts to make an appearance, reminiscent of cinnamon but mixed with applesauce, like.  Some hints of chocolate also make some cameos, giving the beer a real party feeling, a beverage for a celebration.  I guess we could celebrate the plateau, assuming it's going to go down.  Bomb And Cherry isn't even 6% alcohol though, so I don't think it qualifies as medicinal, should we need some in the future.

Supplier: Más Que Cervezas
Price: €3.76

not even in costume

Yet another Saturday waiting to be let loose...I say as if I ever ran around kicking up a fuss when there were no restrictions on movement and gatherings.  The only thing that worries me much is getting my hands on good beer.  Fortunately, there are a couple of places stepping up as "essential services", and historically hasn't that been a role played by beer?  To brighten things up I have a Hazed New England Ale from Bad Co.  A repeat Boston Tea Party is an idea that would please quite a few knuckleheads right now, and probably more than a few viruses.

It's about as bright and sunny as you can get, capped with a clean, white cloud of head.  It says "hazed" but the beer is surprisingly clear.  There's the twinkling citrus in the aroma, very light and chipper, just what you expect from the style.  It packs quite a punch of of fruit, keeping to the citrus, but more bitter orange and grapefruit than sweet varieties.  The scent might fool you into thinking it's a sweeter example, but there's a good floor of bitter in the taste, very traditionally beerish, a flavor that unassumingly delivers refreshment.  After a bit a tingle of sour develops in the aftertaste, but doesn't go overboard.  Now, my tiny tasting glass usually gets a refill or two, and this time the second fill was ... well

That's where all the haze went!  The flavor is the same, I think, no extra hops or other things sticking out.  It's also still a smooth drink, in spite of the cloudiness.  No roughage in the feel at all.  Maybe, just maybe, there is a slight dustiness, but it's hardly noticeable and I don't think I would even remark on it if the appearance of the beer hadn't changed so much.  Still tasty and well worth a drink, would be even nicer in a beer garden, but we'll just have to wait a little longer for that.

Supplier: Más Que Cervezas
Price: €2.99

may be seeing things later

Days drag on when you're locked up at home, but a good beer can make everything more tolerable.  Arriaca tends to make good beers, but it was really the label that won me over when stocking up for isolation.  Pokey and devilish as that coronavirus!  Cornezuelo del Diablo is a roggenbier, so I'm guessing it might be on the sour side, but something spicy and refreshing is a good choice for spring.  Even if you don't have so much as a balcony to enjoy it on.

It's actually a little darker than I expected, but it has a ruddiness that goes with the name.  It has quite a lagery aroma, sort of a toasted grain.  At first it's a pretty close match to lager in taste, but a swirl of sweetness wastes no time in popping out.  The malt adds a little body and texture, but there's a good balance with some bitter too.  It's quite smooth and a good mouthful.  A mild sourness starts to come out with time, making the flavor even more interesting.

Supplier: Más Que Cervezas
Price: €2.05