T(welve)-7

On the seventh day of Beermas I went and bought for me

Seven avian vampire teasers

Six plans a-hatching

Five collaborations

Four miles of nowhere

Three tropical tree eggs

Two staring wings

And an icy raven looking needy

Half the days over and we are almost done with the birds.  This is the last one, those elegant white bastards.  There's no bird on the can really, but there is the impression of a swan neck winding its way across the front, reflecting the colors of a volcanic sunset.  Caravelle's Peachy Keen Wit also sounds artistic and sophisticated, ready for a flowing chat about things that matter in life.

This is a summery straw colored beer, very clear, especially in comparison with those hazies.  The very subtle aroma has more to do with sours and that gassiness than wheat beers and their grain and spice.  It also smells a little soapy.  The taste is light and clean, not sour or astringent.  It's a little fizzy and there's a hint of peach floating around, so it's a little more like flavored mineral water than straight beer.  Actually not too bad to finish off the night with, it's refreshing and thirst quenching, without weighing you down for the trip home.

T(welve)-6

On the sixth day of Beermas I went and bought for me

Six plans a-hatching

Five collaborations

Four miles of nowhere

Three tropical tree eggs

Two staring wings

And an icy raven looking needy

This was one of the bird suggestions, grabbing at straws a little bit.  It is a bird, for sure, not one that's in the song I think, but maybe I can make do...in fact, I'm sure I can make do.  Look at that face!  That bird has a plan.  We might even say he's hatching something.  A plan like an egg, right?  Right?  It's not that much of a stretch!  This might be the first can of Cosa Nostra I've picked up, although I remember them from the Vallecas beer fair.  Then it was a porter, and now it's a Double Hazy IPA, a little backwards some might think.  But, Brufol might have some tricks up its feathery sleeve.

Extra juicy looking, with very fine bubbled head, very much like a fresh-squeezed orange juice.  Similar aroma, maybe a little bit lighter.  The feel is also very juicy, thick and mouth-filling.  It feels like it wants to get to sweet, but can't quite make it out of bitter, although it isn't fair to call it a bitter beer either.  It's weighty and pleasant to drink, without disappearing into the ether, but there's no over-reliance on acidity or citrus, so it's really well balanced.  I'm hoping the plan was to make a perfectly drinkable hazy because that's what was achieved.

T(welve)-5

On the fifth day of Beermas I went and bought for me
Five collaborations

Four miles of nowhere

Three tropical tree eggs

Two staring wings

And an icy raven looking needy

What do I get for number five this year, another golden ale?  Can I get away with any blond beer on color alone?  Actually, Península comes to the rescue with Entre Amigos and its friendly circles on the can.  Not only is it an invitation to potential drinkers, it's a collaboration beer, with Sparkle, only deepening the ties.  It's a hazy IPA, so a style that several friends of mine would be happy to share a can of.  Later I found out there were more than one iterations of Entre Amigos, with different partners.  Makes sense, and now I'm wondering if I can track more down...

For an IPA, it has a surprisingly ruddy color, even being a hazy.  Quite opaque too.  The aroma is perky and sharp, with a very modern feel to it.  The taste is no surprise based on that: a little spice, caraway, snappy, not very citrusy but there's some light summery fruit in there.  In the mouth it makes itself unignorable, but once swallowed it disappears cleanly, so really a very nice drink.  I might prefer it on a warmer day, on a sunny street, but then again I drink inside whenever I can.

T(welve)-4

On the fourth day of Beermas I went and bought for me

Four miles of nowhere

Three tropical tree eggs

Two staring wings

And an icy raven looking needy

Ok, this one is pretty close to the song, although the birds aren't seen actually calling.  And there are only two, but the other two are just out of frame I'm sure.  And they are birds!  Probably calling their friends a long way off, in that desolate landscape.  Gekko Brew's The Other End of Nowhere looks like it should be some dark beer, for a depressing sipping session, but it's a NEIPA, so at least visually it ought to be pretty cheerful.  Some of those NEIPAs are a little abrasive though, and so strong they might leave you in a place you have to memory of going to.  This one is a pretty standard 6.5%, so I don't think we'll go that far.  If by chance we do, I guess there will be some calling involved.

This is one of those very juicy looking NEIPAs, with its cheery gold color and light cap of lacy foam.  It has kind of a zesty aroma, orangey but with a little something extra.  Caraway or some other spice maybe.  The juice is echoed in the taste, although the beer is a slender and healthy feeling one, not an overwhelming mouthfeel, very light in body.  It kind of evokes the hopelessness of the label, a sensation of being in complete solitude without even a beer to weigh you down.

T(welve)-3

On the third day of Beermas I went and bought for me

Three tropical tree eggs

Two staring wings

And an icy raven looking needy

Getting creative again!  Is it because I ran out of time and had to make do with what I grabbed off the shelves?  Is it a true challenge propelled from within?  Is it just the cussedness of refusing to not have a stout?  All three?  Let's say all three.  It's true, I really really wanted to fit Gran Cacao in somehow, just by virtue of it being an imperial stout with cacao nibs.  So instead of French hens imagine French Polynesia or the French Caribbean.  It's not quite the temperature up here right now, but there's an almost tropical humidity the past couple of days.  Weird, but could be worse.  I guess the people at centrally Spanish Península and Caleya also wanted to enjoy a warm weather fantasy.

It pours smooth and creamy, with almost a nitro like consistency in building the head, although with much bigger bubbles.  It looks delicious and doesn't smell like sunblock at all.  There is just a tantalizing whiff of cacao, but it's mostly a sturdy, earthy stout.  The cacao is present in the taste, but very...natural.  Meaning, it's not overly sweet or sticky, there's kind of an earthy sensation to it, like dusty nibs grabbed off the ground for the brew.  Also, it's impressive how smooth and slick the beer is for it's mouthfeel; it's a weighty one, and at almost 10% to boot.  It's a really pleasant stout, with a delightfully easy balance.  It might even be acceptable for the squeamish in the summer, with it's tropical hints, especially going along with a cold dessert.  And for me and those of my tastes, it's a beer for every day of the year.

T(welve)-2

On the second day of Beermas I went and bought for me

Two staring wings

And an icy raven looking needy

I guess I'll have to be a little creative, since there are a damn lot of birds in this song and not that many beers with birds.  Surprisingly few, actually, it seems like something people might like to use.  Symbol of freedom, knowledge, power, why wouldn't you link it to a beer?  Especially in a country where beer has not been the drink of the average citizen until quite recently.  Anyway, I went looking in some less-frequented places, and I got this tentative suggestion.  Almost immediately taken back, since that's a moth, or something, on the can, but what the hell?  Things that fly count.  Also, taking the place of turtledoves, it makes sense to have all the eyes and be a monstrosity, because if there's something you like to look at it's your lover and if there's anything that makes a monster into a masterpiece it's love.  This is Rec Brew with Naked Lunch.

It's strongly aromatic, with a whole tropical fruit basket flowing out as soon as it's opened.  While cloudy, the color isn't very bright, sort of a muted lemonade.  The flavor is less tropical, but still strong, snappy, and a little bit acidic.  It has some elements of certain NEIPAs, being a little throat-grabby, but it isn't quite as strong as the DDH IPA set.  There's a depth that keeps it from being a simple warm-weather drink, something about the hint of abrasiveness I think.  It is light in the mouth, but you can comfortably drink it surrounded by wintery figures and gray streets and not feel like it's leaving you unprotected from your current weatherscape.  After a little while I start to get some woody notes, sort of pencil shaving-like, so a reference to a possible winter fireplace?  You put wood shavings in fireplaces, right?  Probably better that than moths.

T(welve)-1

On the first day of Beermas I went and bought for me

An icy raven looking needy

It's the first day and I have to decide between bird or fruit.  In some ways it's the easiest one to find something to represent it.  There's something about a wintery old raven that makes you think of some solitary place, the loneliest number if you will.  Even the name of this IPA, Hold Me Tighter, brings up feelings of isolation.  Somehow I thought Wylie had a more jovial and social image, but I'm not complaining.

Minor explosion on opening, the beer is eager to escape and better existence outside its can.  It's a very pale IPA, sort of lemony,  It's very heady, with a bright white and fluffy cloud perched on a sea of dirty lemonade.  Even the aroma evokes summery lemonade more than beer, with a lemon candy scent that just tickles the nose.  The taste comes as a bit of a shock, wielding a much more bitter punch than you expect.  It isn't actually that bitter, but from the aroma you don't quite prepare for it.  It's also pretty clean and even a little dry, leaning towards a wine sensation rather than juicy, sticky modern IPA.  Left standing a while, more spicy notes start to come out in the smell, but the flavor doesn't pick up much in the way of spice.  It's the sort of beer you wouldn't mind having with you on a break from doing work in your orchard.  Of pear trees, of course.  Where a crow or even a partridge could find a place.

wrapping up

With anticipation, the door opens on slot 24...and it's a strong dark Belgian.  Well, at least it's dark.  This collaboration between Guineu and Juguetes Perdidos might be fitting, in fact, for the holiday, since some Belgian beers do have a certain level of winter-appropriate spice.  I'm cautiously hopeful about Pajaro Viudo.  If it turns out to be a disappointment, I can say that I did have a chocolate stout earlier today (Thank you, Ossegg).

There's a strong whiff of banana, and the beer looks thick and almost oily coming out.  The head is tightly bubbled and deflates slowly.  The flavor starts with bitter and Belgian level of sour, but not quite in the aftertaste you get an odd almost fishy sort of taste.  Well, not fishy exactly, more like seaweed.  It's like a miso was added to the beer at some point.  Going with the look, there's a very full sensation that goes along with the liquid; it is smooth, but there's a good amount of weight in it.  The taste seems to contain itself, not expanding or deepening, leaving the drinker in a mood to sip and sip some more.  It's not that it's lacking in taste, but it doesn't have the extravagant explosion that I've come to expect from craft beers.  Still, it's probably good to back off from the excesses a little bit from time to time, and with Beermas starting tomorrow I don't need to dull my sense of taste just yet!

newbs beware

Second to last and not as dark as my desires, but expecting to guide the tastes of others can be a mistake.  It might even be a ... Rookie Mistake.  I'm not sure if Guineu is quietly admitting they meant to make something else, or warning off people who don't quite know what to make of a Special Bitter.

It has the dark caramel color of stronger, toastier beers.  There's a certain Christmas spice in the aroma, a little ginger maybe and something like clove.  But will it be spicy or bitter?  Turns out neither, really.  It's unsweet apple mostly, but not quite enough to be astonishingly bitter.  The potential spices are a bust in the taste.  Too bad, could have been sort of an apple pie beer.  It has some roughness, a little throat-grabby, and I get a mild aftertaste that is more bitter than the beer itself.  So, although surprisingly subdued, it does make you pay some attention when you drink.

wildly

There's no white Christmas around here, but maybe no wet one either.  Good temperatures for walking and window shopping and pretending we have enough room in our houses and lives for the shiny things they make us want.  And after a good tour of the neighborhood, a little beer seems to be called for.  The can is colorful, wild, vibrant, so not what you expect for a black beer, and indeed it is another IPA.  It's a new brewery for me, though, so that's exciting.  Valkiria IPA is also trying to be an exciting name.  Blot Craft Beer seems to be playing up a northern connection, and they are north of Madrid, but Vikings they aren't quite.  It appears they have a restaurant in Andorra, although the beer was brewed in Barcelona.  I guess it has to count as a Spanish beer, then.

Once again, a typical IPA color and aroma, golden and fruity.  This one does have a lot of tropical sensation to it, and very little pine or bitter.  The flavor is smooth and sweet, very much a modern IPA.  It's a bright and happy beer, very well-made, very pleasant to drink.  Not very heavy or sticky, barely any aftertaste, so it's one of the cleaner IPAs.  It stays very constant and light in taste and consistency, the kind of beer that you would hope to have with a meal.  Maybe Andorra should go on the list of places to see.

wake up

Oh yes, there had to be at least one more!  Guineu and Mala Gissona give us a porter now, Txoko.  I'm hoping that that's a hint of chocolate or cacao, but a regular, rich porter would hit the spot really well right now.  The November rain has been delayed until winter's door, so it feels like a good time to sit with good dark beer and unwind.

A little thin looking, coffee smelling.  Nice head at first, but it fizzles away quickly.  The taste is much bigger than expected based on the color and aroma:  it's an extra chocolate and vanilla syrup shot in the morning brew.  While slick, it does have a bit of a sticky feel.  It's a little strange for a mid-week beer for some reason, it feels like something you should be having on Friday night before going out for some real fun, or Saturday afternoon to wake up completely.

mysterious

Alright then, let's have another pale ale, or more precisely, RIPA.  I guess that isn't a real repeat for this calendar.  The label looks so familiar, I have the sensation that I have done Jack the RIPA before, but it doesn't come up.  Maybe I only thought about it in the store and then grabbed a stout instead.  Anyway, it is Guineu, so trustworthy brewers, and it's a dark idea even if the beer is on the lighter side.  I could have chosen it for a Hallowe'en special.

It's darker orange than plenty of normal IPAs, a little more along the lines of an imperial.  There's a very bouncy citrus aroma from this one.  As for taste, it's extra bitter rather than extra orangey, but it's that pleasant IPA style.  It's a deep, rounded bottom kind of flavor, making me think of grapefruit without the actual taste of it.  After it settles down a little there is more citrus on the tongue, but the overall effect is still very bitter-hoppy.  

in the light of evening

Oh dear, more pale beers!  This Hoppy Pilsner is from a new discovery, thanks to the calendar, Hoppit.  Their last contribution was quite pleasing, although no stout.  Now that the rain has stopped it's starting to head towards more wintery temperatures around here, so a darker beer would be appreciated, but the extra light of La Llum might just be the thing to brighten my evening.

Pale, yellowy gold, pure white foam on top, it's definitely a pilsner.  It's a little bit sharper and citrusier in smell than what I expect from regular pilsners.  It is also very sharp in taste.  It reminds me of a lemon candy, sour and puckery and first, but smoothed over with a sweet tail-end.  It has a modern touch, not nearly the level of bitterness that more traditional pilsners have, a sting that pushes it towards IPA territory.  

the mascot

Still with Guineu and its fox, now an amber ale.  Again, it looks like a very solid offering, although nothing special or extra creative.  Simple Birita, casual, unfussy.

It seems extra heady, and it has a rich dark orange color.  Interesting aroma, a little honeyed and not very fruity.  There's a little bit of orange in the taste, but it's more watered down than I expected.  The first seconds of the sip give a bubbly heads-up but then it does down and practically disappears.  It's a good beer for sitting and relaxing but not thinking too much about.  A little snack to go with it would mix well.  Something kind of woody starts to come out after a few minutes, giving the beer more body and a little more interest, although it's not the kind of taste that I particularly favor.

howl

I look askance at Rauxa at first; I just had a stunning imperial stout and now I just get a regular IPA?  OK, it's Guineu and it's been specially picked, but not even imperial, DDH, some other sparkly attraction?  The label, while subdued, gives a hint of wildness and some secret that it will be worth your while to find out.

Slightly cloudy, but sunny color, and a stunning puffy head.  Another whipped cream topping, almost like a float.  It's not very aromatic, but the taste comes out like a jack-in-the-box, surprising in its sharp bitterness and power of lasting flavor.  There's a tingle of mandarin, but it's almost a doubly bitter IPA compared to a lot of modern American style examples.  A little something starts to develop over time that seems like window cleaner to me.  It might be a nod to the pine essence of certain hops.  The beer has an oddly smooth feel, but with a scratchy coating, kind of like a crumbly hard candy filled with liquidy gel.  And all of it a big bad IPA wolf.  No, wait, it's a fox.  Big bad IPA fox.

just one more

Just what I was hoping for, another stout!  And it is an imperial, and a pretty good alcohol content too.  Oso Brewing has put on an almost sinister label, warning the weak off it I guess.  Called La Penúltima, it plays on Spanish drinking culture, where every drink the next to last.  At 15% I wonder if this one wouldn't send you home right after, though. 

It pours out like chocolate syrup, and even has a little bit of that smell around it.  It isn't an overly sugary kind of chocolate, a little bit sharp, something you wouldn't actually drink on its own, but use as a flavoring.  The beige head deflates a little but stays firm looking if a little thinner.  The chocolate carries over into the taste, giving the beer a rich chocolate shake feeling.  It's dark chocolate of course, so not cloyingly sweet, but there's hardly any bitter to be noticed.  It doesn't leave much aftertaste behind, but there is a kind of feeling of weight that does stay.  Oddly, the beer itself feels very smooth and light.  It is a lot like a gourmet milkshake, with the high quality dark chocolate and natural, fatty milk.  It's a treat for sure, maybe so much that it has to be...the ultimate.

a call-back

There are plenty of breweries on the box and I think they all make plenty of beers.  But, it isn't too surprising to find a couple that I already know in there, if they were quality products.  La Quince does pretty reliable when it comes to that, and I have in fact had their Llipa! IPA before.  It was even in last year's beer calendar!  Worse performances have had encores, I would guess.

Looking just like I remember, bright and shiny golden color and perfect head, at least for a little while.  The sharp pine aroma is immediate and summery.  A whole medley of flavors rolls out on the tongue, from melon to peach to minty pine.  The hops are quite strong and forestal, not so much on the tropical side.  The beer is not overly bitter, however, balancing its components well.  Although it has a very noticeable presence in the mouth it is more of a summer beer, in my opinion.  It goes with warm sidewalks and strolling people, not so much scarves and jackets.  There is a lightness to it that just shouts sunlight.  I guess a lot of people do look for an extra point of brightness while they grump about winter evenings, though, even if they enjoy the Christmas season.

wandering now

Kind of a '60s reminiscent style on the label, but it sounds like a more traditional leaning beer - kellerpils.  I guess it's a reminder of the goal of any brewer, to make a product that people long to have in their glasses, but there are lots of ways to get there.  Normally similar, only a few have significant differences of make-up or difficulty.  Everyone heading the same way to the same place of happiness, not with Santiago, but with Sanfrutos.  Time to mark out some Caminos Paralelos.

Very light in color and not a hint of cloudiness, also very classic head.  The aroma is pure German lager, lots of grain, a little grass, practically honey sweetness.  Flavor is surprisingly light as well.  I was expecting either a striking bitter or a rounded breadiness, but the beer is almost difficult to even feel in the mouth and the taste is really subdued.  It is more bitter than anything else, but there's a tad bit of corn and cucumber sneaking around too.

vroom, vroom

It's not a black beer, but it is pretty dark, and strong besides.  Attik Brewing offers Hot Rod American Strong Ale for another rainy December day, with a label that ought to warm the table.  It looks exciting, and vaguely dark and dangerous.

It has the dark color of a strong beer, with a light beige and resistant head.  There's a little bit of apple floating around in the air, again hitting the notes of strong beers in memory.  For some reason I expected a thicker and sweeter entrance, something like a barleywine, but it is not like that at all.  It's strongly bitter, playing up the ale part of its build, with a bit appley sweetness wandering in only when most of the sip is already down your throat.  The bitter never goes away either.  Although it's not a heavy or sticky beer, echoes of sharp bitterness remain much longer than you expect.  Good to keep you from chugging it down too fast, I would imagine.

answering somebody's prayers

In this holy season it only makes sense to have some kind of blessed beverage.  Of course, if I were demanding something of a deity I would have other things in mind.  For most people, though, I suppose La Quince's God Save The Session IPA would be a gift from heaven.

It looks somewhat watered down, very light, clear straw color, but abundant and snowy head.  The aroma is also quite pleasant and nicely noticeable.  Typical IPA, very bright and citrusy, with only the barest hint of dark fuzz underneath.  The flavor is a little flat at first, kind of metallic.  But, then notes of bitter hops start to poke out and a little chaser of orange follows.  Like other session IPAs, it feels very light and leaves little trace once it's gone down.  It isn't a surprising beer or an exceptionally creative one, but it is solid and does the job beautifully.

beaufrutal

Ah, I remember this one!  It's still not a black beer, but it's something special - Oso Brewing's Frutal III, a Berliner Weisse with strawberry and blackcurrant.  You'd expect something on the sweet side, but the sour of the weisse really dominates.  I got my first taste this summer at Gaztambirra, impressing, although not quite inspiring, my drinking/debating buddies.

It's a little lighter than I remember, but I might be remembering a late-night beer a little unreliably.  It does have the bitter-fruity aroma and the slightly pink head.  The beer appears to be full of bubbles and somewhat cloudy.  It is a bit wine-y again, with a sharp and bitter tanginess, like cheap wine and grapefruit juice mixed together.  It also has a feeling of unsweetened cranberry juice.  I don't really detect any strawberry, but the blackcurrant might be there in the tang.  The color is right for the season, but it's a light and tickly beer, not what I look for an a dark near-winter night.  I find my weisses are better suited to a summer evening.  Well, looking forward I guess.

the shining

Oh well, back to pale ales I guess.  It's not a familiar beer, Hoppit, but given the quality so far I don't think I have anything to worry about.  I feel like Ben Plantada American Pale Ale has some double meanings it might or might not want to share.

It is the very picture of it's style - clear golden color, almost whipped cream head, maybe slightly more citrus than necessary in the aroma, but it's fitting for an APA.  The flavor is surprisingly heavy, with a big load of mandarin.  It's not sugary sweet, but there is a good amount of fruit.  It's a pretty big feeling beer, a lot of sun and a lot of brightness emanating from it.  Despite the weight it isn't heavy-handed, just firm, a real pick-me-up kind of beer.  It's not demanding but good back-up.  On a rainy December night, it really lights up a room or conversation.  Well done, or should I say well planted?

lit up

Well, back to lagers, but this is a smoked lager, so at least that's something different.  This is Althaia's Mediterranean Lager Ahumada.  I guess after Spain got smoked out of the World Cup it's a fitting choice for the collection.  I also like how the label shows the grill but the smoke is coming out of the bottles nearby.

I'm used to my smoked beers looking, well, smokey, but this one pours out almost like water.  It does take on color in the glass and builds up a nice fluffy head, as well as having that distinct rauchbier aroma.  It definitely tastes like a rauchbier, perhaps a little sweeter than some of the classics.  It's more of a maple syrup sausage than a bacon or schnitzel flavor.  There's some hint of breading, or maybe pancake crumbs.  It also has an oddly slick feel to it, like the outside of a fatty sausage, sliding over your plate instead of politely sitting for your fork.  It's perfectly pleasant, though, not icky-slippery like you might expect.  While other rauchbiers seem to have their place at the barbecue, this lager feels like it just wants to sit down to breakfast.

around the block

Finally!  I've been hoping to have a black beer pop up, you just can't have a selection of wintery beers without stouts and porters!  Now, most people like to bring out their ales and pilsners and sours for a little brightness, but good Bacchus, alcohol should be fitting with the season.  I have had this particular beer before, La Pirata's Vanilla Black Block, and I know I won't be disappointed.

Very fluffy dark beige head, and the color, while dark, doesn't quite seem perfectly black.  A little more like dark roasted vanilla.  The aroma also hits on the toasty side, with hints of leafy vegetation.  The vanilla does come out in the flavor, along with warm smoke and fresh bread, giving a feeling of a powerful stout.  It starts out a bit light, but develops more heft over time, adding both sweet and bitter notes.  There's even a kind of fiery smoke trail in the aftertaste, and some kind of sour fruit preserve that bites as it goes down.  It's a fine and fitting part of an Advent calendar, not excessively spiced and pastried, but in tune with the atmosphere of ever darker days and with just enough of a surprise to be gift-worthy.

central span

It isn't a real holiday today, but it is the middle of the week and bookended by holidays.  It's almost a holiday by default, but some people take Monday and/or Friday to have long weekends and kind of begrudgingly go to work a single day of the week.  Not everybody has the luxury of an "aqueduct", as the Spanish refer to this extra-long weekend (a normal long weekend being a "bridge").  For a working day, we seem to have a normal working beer, Guineu's Latitud 41 lager.

Activity begins as soon as the cap is unsealed, but there's no foam overflow.  The beer pours out with a sour-grain scent and a very fluffy head, settling into the glass with a very clear, slightly ruddy light lager color.  The glass gives off a little metallic aroma too, making me wonder if the beer has gone off in the bottle.  The flavor is at first strongly bitter and tinged with bread, a stronger flavor than I expect from a lager, but the aftertaste also has that metal and green bean bite.  The beer tries to override that bit of weirdness, and it seems like it really is a fine lager, but the aftertaste is a little distracting.