kill the thirst

It's always a good time for a stout, at least for me, so that's the first thing I look for when I decide to go looking.  Sometimes it's even worth asking for a little advice.  There's always something new on the shelves, and the people who put it there ought to know something about it.  That's how I left La Mundial with El Matador, a Russian Imperial Stout created by Juguetes Perdidos, an Argentinian brewery, but produced in Spain by San Frutos.  The reach of craft beer is greater by the day.  I've even just seen that Oso Brewing is distributing in 15 countries now.  The possibilities are endless.

It certainly looks good, appetizing, rich and smooth.  Not a whole lot of head, but it's a resistant little cap.  It's one of the less aromatic stouts, although I might just barely detect a little bit of earth.  The flavor is pleasant, not overly powerful, a dark chocolate sort of essence.  It's not exactly sweet.  There's a good amount of bitter in there, but I'd say less smoke than I was expecting.  It also doesn't have as much of a coffee kick or dark fruity bloom as I'd been lead to believe.  I'm not really disappointed, it's a good enough evening drink as it is.  At first I feel like it has a rough alcohol afterfeel, but it doesn't take long for that to smooth itself out.  Eventually that toasty grain flavor makes its way into the mix, but that leaves it as something like a dark chocolate covered cookie, so no hard feelings at all.

Supplier: La Mundial

Price: €6

spirits ethereal and liquid

The collabs are worldwide in the world of craft beer!  It makes sense, there are a lot of creative minds but not everybody has the right environment for actually producing their creation.  This is Old Timer Dastardly Oak, brewed and canned at Sahale for Timer's Beverage Center.  A photo of Timer's shows a Spanish flag among the national designations, but it might be for wine and cava rather than craft beer.  A shame for craft enthusiasts of Wisconsin, but we aren't getting much of their beers over here either.  Just means more incentive to travel, I guess.

The photo doesn't do the can justice; it's quite the deathly image

It has the sweetish appley aroma of many barleywines, and the stained kind of brown color.  There's also a touch of wood wafting out, like a fresh coffin perhaps.  It feels like a syrupy apple juice, although not quite as sweet at first, but a hit of pancake topping jumps out at the end.  Although it seems pretty light at first, the sweetness adds some weight and also a little friction to the drink.  The apple never quite goes away even if it fades in the flavor.  It's a strange contrast of the thin and zippy beer itself and the heavy layers of taste.  One of the easier barleywines I've had, I'd say, less grabby and more concerned with blended tastes than hammering with alcohol.  A good evening drink, to relax after a stressful day, or even a day of doing nothing to not disturb a vaccine taking hold.

the feels

I was gifted a small variety of Sahale beers, so we get another one today.  All you black beer lovers would be well advised to visit if you can, the stout varieties have always been impressive.  We actually had this one over Christmas, a kind of preview, and were impressed with its presence and grace.  The description is complicated - double bourbon maple syrup barrel-aged Imperial stout - but it is itself simply delightful.  I give you Maple Warm Fuzzies.

It has the rich woody bourbony smell that most barrel aged stouts possess, as well as the sleek near-black color.  Not a whole lot of head, but I'm not especially picky about that.  The maple really comes out in the flavor, giving the beer a heavy breakfast leaning, makes you suddenly crave pancakes.  Unlike some barrel aged or pastry stouts, it doesn't feel syrupy at all, despite the maple taste.  It's a rather clean drinking beer, smooth and low on aftertaste.  After the initial shock of the maple sweetness you start to notice the wood of the barrel coming out, but it's a complementary flavor more than a distraction.  In a previous tasting I thought it ended up tasting like an ice cream topping, and I don't think that's far off this time either.  

Yeah, if I had any more I'd keep them for myself

 

back to normal

Just finished Beermas, with practically no time to rest!  Fortunately, I was gifted some interesting brews to start the new year with, not exactly exclusive, but hard to come by where I am.  We start off with an amber ale, Sahale Ale Works' 1896.

Visually, there's some similarity to my normal evening Voll Damm, with an orangey light brown color, although perhaps with a slightly darker beige to the head.  It also has a similar aroma, deep and toasty, but not smoky or with the slightest hint of burning.  It feels like there's a little fruit, some fall apple, just trying to claw it's way out, but that might just be on my head.  Flavorwise, I also feel like it belongs with Voll Damm, having a little more sweet than bitter, and a little more fullness to it than a typical blond ale.  It's one of those that isn't actually heavy, but you definitely feel like you're consuming something.  It's no watery vapor that goes down your throat without you even noticing.  That said, it's not hard at all to drink.  It develops a certain complexity as time goes on, bringing out some sour notes as well.  It tickles the back of the tongue a little and gives you a champagne kind of rub, but doesn't overwhelm or overstay its welcome.

days counted!

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

Twelve days and more

Eleven pipes a-smoking

Ten horses leaping

Nine feet a-floating

Eight icicles dripping

Seven sea monsters swimming

Six owls nesting

Five malts of gold

Four avian hallucinations

Three French magicians

Two love ya dearlies

And the simplest answer there could be 

Winding down, we are, and I've been waiting for this beer a long time.  It's an aged beer too, so it's been waiting by itself even before it joined my little self-challenge.  At first I thought it would be a Saturday beer, but that name...Counting The Days.  It seemed like it should fit into the song, and in the end I stuck it in.  It's the end of the count, we count in rhythm like a drum, it works in its way. 

It has a thick-looking consistency, although not a lot of head.  It looks like there's a little mixing of something in the brew, leaving the color only dark brown and not black.  Other examples of this have been quite pleasant, so good start.  It's heavily aromatic, with a sweet alcohol scent.  The taste is muddled, changeable, a patchwork of shifting flavors: first comes the bitter stout, then a wash of bourbon; coffee and licorice prance in behind and lead the way for the barrel-aged woodiness.  I expected a much heavier beer after a while; these types do tend to get syrupy.  But really, although the alcohol makes it seem like it should be a mouthfiller, this is an exceptionally light feeling stout.  The strong flavor doesn't hang around too much, even if there's a tiny bit of burn in its wake.  This is definitely a celebratory beer, one to end a countdown with, or to toast a new beginning.

smoking pipes!

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

Eleven pipes a-smoking

Ten horses leaping

Nine feet a-floating

Eight icicles dripping

Seven sea monsters swimming

Six owls nesting

Five malts of gold

Four avian hallucinations

Three French magicians

Two love ya dearlies

And the simplest answer there could be

I was looking for some help on this one, since it was coming down to the wire to have all the beers ready to go.  If you ask for a Christmasy beer, people have a lot of suggestions for you, but when you try to associate a song the ideas kind of dry up.  I get it, it's not the way most people relate to their beers most of the time.  I was guided to several Belgian beers, a couple of spicy IPAs, and then this gem appeared before my eyes: Garage Beer's Balanced On The C, a Barcelona weisse.  It was the pipes, of course.  That's the connection.  Perfect!

It's one of those peachy looking fruit-flavored beers, with a little dry/sour aroma.  It tastes something like a cranberry wine, well, really more cranberry champagne.  It has a tartness of flavor and dryness of feel, and practically disappears without a trace after you swallow.  The ginger takes a little while to come out, but eventually a nice snap comes through.  It's a party punch kind of beer, much less reliant on the sour aspect than more traditional style Berliner weisses, with a slight heat of spice that warms it up for a holiday evening.

a-leaping!

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

Ten horses leaping

Nine feet a-floating

Eight icicles dripping

Seven sea monsters swimming

Six owls nesting

Five malts of gold

Four avian hallucinations

Three French magicians

Two love ya dearlies

And the simplest answer there could be 

It could have been more imaginative, but it certainly could have been less.  Although to be honest, I have not actually seen a perfect match for lords a-leaping on a beer bottle.  The horses are lordly by themselves, but I guess we can imagine some lords having a hunt.  It's an English beer too, Adnams, so definitely the sort you would imagine hunting and launching their fine steeds over walls and fences.  Tally-ho indeed.

Like a good barleywine, it's a rich dark brown with a sweet yet earthy scent.  There's some head, light colored, not awfully abundant.  It's not as syrupy as more local barleywines, although there's a hint of the barrel in it, with more of an apple juice/cider taste.  Fairly clean taste, not a lot of aftertaste, although there is just a hint of buildup.  There's even a little bit of banana lurking behind the apple in the aroma, and after a while there's some in the taste as well.  It starts out light, but as befitting a barleywine it seems to grow and gain in volume and weight.  It's a good balance of light and heavy, fruit, alcohol and wood playing together nicely.

loose feet!

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

Nine feet a-floating

Eight icicles dripping

Seven sea monsters swimming

Six owls nesting

Five malts of gold

Four avian hallucinations

Three French magicians

Two love ya dearlies

And the simplest answer there could be 

I guess disembodied feet aren't specific to ladies dancing, but who knows what bodies they came from?  Could be anybody!  At least I know Lacura will be a quality IPA; Garage Beer has been making its mark for a while now, and plenty of beer sellers are happy to recommend it. 

The can was well filled, almost overflowing a little when I open it.  It's always nice to see a beer eager to be drunk, like it knows you're going to enjoy it.  It has a little piney, spicy aroma, which makes sense with those West Coast hops.  The flavor is surprisingly fruity, though.  It fools you a little with some bitter to start, but a sweet orange quickly takes over, and the sip finishes with a tangy mandarin.  It settles down into a pleasing if typical IPA, happy and party-friendly.  

icicles dripping!

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

Eight icicles dripping

Seven sea monsters swimming

Six owls nesting

Five malts of gold

Four avian hallucinations

Three French magicians

Two love ya dearlies

And the simplest answer there could be 

I feel confident that I have been imaginative for day 8.  Yes, there's a probable maid on the label, but it's not a milk stout and the milking isn't obvious...but don't those icicles look a little like teats?  Just what you wanted to think about with your beer, I'm sure.

Eis Zäpfle comes from Rothaus-Bräu, and I am surprised to see it is made as a Märzen.  Most of the beers of that style that I've seen have been quite a bit darker in color, but the rules were made to be broken.  

Light, straw colored beer, very fluffy head, it's very German in its appearance.  It has a little bit grass and grain in the smell, but its not especially strong.  At first the flavor is very much a German lager, a little sweet and a hint of bitter, but then a wave of bitterness breaks over the tongue, followed quickly by a sort of appley sweetness.  It actually seems right for a wintery beer, having some stimulating, perhaps even medicinal bitterness and a little energy giving sweet.  It's supposed to be enjoyed "ice cold", and letting it warm up does give it a tangier flavor.  It's not an unpleasant change, though, perhaps a little less refreshing, but perky and energetic.