one love

One of the nice things about the move to cans is the increase in space for decoration.  Northern Monk's The Lovers Soft Centre Imperial Stout certainly looks busy, for example.  There are the lovers receiving the blessings of the heavens, a snake coiled up in the middle, a good amount of tattoos (I suppose) for good measure.  Even better, it's a stout, love of all my loves!  This one does have a few interesting additives, like cherry and strawberry, as well as the more common cacao and vanilla.  This has been quite a month for beer street promotion, although there haven't been too many innovations that I've come across, so this is one of the more exciting beers of recent times.  Ok, The One's Celta was also pretty special.  Wasn't a stout, though!

It smells rich and exotic just pulling back the tab, and pours out luxuriously.  It's not especially heady, practically no foam ends up on top.  A lingering sniff brings up vanilla, cocoa, a tantalizing hint of hard liquor.  Was this one barrel aged?  Doesn't look like it.  It has a taste that thunders out like chocolate cherry coke.  If only that existed - well, it wouldn't be here anyway.  Too sweet for peninsular tastes.  And since this is an English beer and not a Spanish one, that's believable for the beer too.  It feels rich and creamy, although it's a clean feeling too.  Nothing sticky in this one to start with.  Maltman's cherry stout has a similar flavor, but it thinner and slipperier, The Lovers is smooth and silky, but with a definite body to appreciate.

Supplier: La Buena Pinta

Price: €7

still easing into spring

Beermad seems to be back on track, with its biannual schedule.  They're also touting this as being completely COVID-unrestricted, so maybe the glasses will be back.  Assuming, of course, it was a hygiene thing that pushed them to using the plastic cups the last time.  I take a gamble that the first day in the morning won't be excessively crowded and metro it on out to Case de Campo.  Not too crowded actually, but it is only about noon.  There's plenty of time for people to decide it's time for a Saturday beer.

I seek out Dichosa, which was in Vallecas but I didn't get a chance to sample.  There they are, conveniently near the entrance, and with barrel aged stout to boot.  It's a wine barrel, which I'm not not completely sure about, but what the hell?  I'm happy to give De Tranquis Ribera del Duero a shot.  It smells like wine immediately, although it looks like a good stout.  It also has a distinctly winey taste, very red, with a little tannin skin on it.  The stout part seems to give the drink a creamy undertone, but no earth or smoke.  The flavor notes are very high, so it's more like a turned-down wine than a jacked-up stout you'd expect from barrel aging.

What else is new?  Ossegg Pivovar.  I was immediately intrigued by the Czech name, and unsurprisingly the brewmaster is Czech.  It seems it's a collaborative investment of Czech and Spanish capital, with a mix of talent as well; so traditional for Spanish brewing!  They boast of the quality of their ingredients, imported from Czechia, and the solidness of their Czech recipes.  I decide on Karlovy Vary dark lager, because I still feel like staying on the dark side a while longer.  It's not super dark, but it is super fizzy, with a cap of strong thick head, just like a Central European would want.  Not too aromatic, which isn't too surprising for its kind, and also very light flavor with just a touch of lager grain.  It feels fizzy in the mouth, almost like a tonic or mineral water, but without any weird salts or sulfurs.  It's remarkably subtle, in comparison with other crafts you might call it bland, but it has the weight of tradition behind it.  Really, as a mealtime or snack beer it would be perfect.  Still, as a standalone it's a little sad, like it's missing something, either stronger flavors or conversation, to add some spice.

The Hop Wear people are here, as they usually are, and they recommended I stop at Octavoarte.  I'm happy to take some advice on breweries I don't know yet.  They have mostly varieties of ale, and now I am in the mood for something lighter colored and brighter tasting.  I choose Cryptohop Hazy IPA.  Not actually that hazy, but a good IPA color and bright head, not overabundant but resistant.  There's a slight citrus hops scent, but it's more teasing than powerful.  Interesting caraway/cardamom flavor, but a lot of citrus or fruity hops though.  As a hazy, I was expecting it to follow the juiciness of the older NEIPA denomination, but this is more of a spicy hop-West Coast feel.  Is that surprise the "crypto"?  After a while I do start to detect some kind of hoppy citrus, like a modern IPA tends to have, but it's very light, hide-and-seeking, not the open performance that the typical NEIPA would have.

Another newcomer for me is Dos Dingos, another example of craft beer pulling the world together.  Argentinians, learning beermaking in Australia, deciding to serve the world their take?  Can't say no to that.  I decide on another shot at a juicy ale and select their Brekkie NEIPA.  This one looks a little more classic with an opaque color and a good fluffy head almost like whipped cream.  It does fizz away, though.  There's a hoppy, piney aroma, sharp like a good specialized IPA.  The beer isn't really bitter, just putting forth a tinge of citrus taste, but it is smooth and soft.  It has a lot of modern IPA feel, the taste is pretty much NEIPA on the nose, citrus and barely any bitter, but it has so little body that it's almost a light lager.  Still, a very refreshing and tasty beer on its own, something you could have on a beach, on a porch, in a beer garden.

There are a few people wandering around who seem to have bought hats from Chouffe, like this is Belgian Oktoberfest.  They are also selling the Beermad glasses, along with shirts and bags, so I guess they think we've had enough of a chance to get souvenirs in the last few years.

It's almost time for me to leave, but I have time for one more and I want to find something special.  I think I can go back to the dark side since I found my good NEIPA, and I see Raíz Cuadrada's Cenascura Oatmeal Stout (with milk balls!) jut waiting for me.  This one isn't on tap, but I get a fine serve from the bottle.  It has a good color, not too much head, recognizably stouty aroma - earth, basement, growth.  It's slightly sour and milky, not really sweet or malty.  It's not bad, but I think it feels a little bit papery, actually kind of an "organic" feel; that is, something sour and natural, or at least naturally fermented.  I would wish for something hardier, but it has a good backbone and isn't too bitter or salty.  To be honest, it's rather nice as a stout on its own, although it wouldn't be bad with some little snack too.

Not payment, just bartering, very traditional

And that was my spring Beermad...and now I hear there's another fair before the month is out?  I guess I should enjoy them while I can, you never know what the future will bring.  Like monkey pox.

a colorful life

As temperatures rise and things get less comfortable, I feel like I should stock up a bit in my beer pantry.  I also feel like I should be on the lookout for some more summery styles, pale ales, sours and the like.  You know, just in case of the unlikely event I don't feel like a stout.  If it's not a stout, there better be something interesting about it, and Little Rain has an eye catching can.  Very classic in design, artistic reference.  La Vie En Rose hints at something sophisticated, or excessively sugar-glazed.  I hope it's not a waste of raspberries.

It is absolutely pink, like Mort Subité pink, with Pink Panther pink head.  The head sadly dissipates shortly, leaving the beer itself in the glass like carbonated Kool-Aid.  It also has an aroma much like those red fruit beers, with a little sour and tang and a tiny bit of grain lurking in the background.  It tastes tart and fruity upfront, with a good fizzy kick, although there's a sneaking lager-type sweetness and trails along right behind.  It has a better balance than some cherry beers, with that mellow beeriness holding the tart-sour back from exploding into the sky.  It's a very light feeling beer, very clean with little to no aftertaste.  The raspberry has a gentle and natural sweetness, which only a few fruit beers have been able to pull off in my experience, and I guess there was supposed to be lime too?  I can't quite detect it, but maybe it has something to do with the overall snappiness.  Although not on my top shelf, it's recommendable, quite a treat for a fan of fruit sours.

Oh hey, new glass!

Supplier: La Buena Pinta

Price: €6.90

new sights

Usually I see posts about beer fairs that are in places I would need to drive to or spend a long time on a bus for, and I am just not that dedicated.  But then, every once in a while I'm surprised by one sneaking up on me in an accessible spot, like just down south on a nice metro ride.  I don't have many reasons to go that far down anymore, no classes to speak of, so why not put a little variety into my city experience?  Bulevar de Vallecas, here I come!

Being who I am, I go down early, on a weekday, to avoid the crowds.  It works out pretty well, there aren't many people wandering around, although there are a few.  A small collection of stands with a good variety of beers and easy to get to without a crush of people?  Off to a good start.

I get started with Go!, called over check out the wares.  They have a stout, but I get convinced to start with Madroñera, a brown ale.  It's a nice fuzzy brown, not a lot of head or aroma.  There's a slightly toasty, clean beery flavor at first, later a pop of caramel.  It's clean drinking, only a low level of sweetness, a nice stand-alone beer.  A good start indeed.

I must have a real black beer for my second round, and I stop over at Cosa Nostra where two black beers are on the board.  I wonder if the porter or stout would be better, but the chocolate in the porter is what clinches it in the end.  Porter Choco it is.  It's a very good color, again little head - this one is from a bottle, not the tap - and a good amount of chocolate in the aroma.  The taste surprises with the chocolate sneaking up on you; it starts out as kind of a flat porter bitter, but suddenly a ball of chocolate breaks through.  And it is very good chocolate, no cheap-o milk-chocolate-Hershey crap, it's dark smooth flavored of the earth, not of sugar and factory.

Yeah, not sitting in the carrier, dad

A little nostalgia with your beer?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now time for The One to wash down the last of the Käsekrainer.  It's pretty much all ales and lagers over there, so I ask for a recommendation and come away with another brown beer, Celta.  It's supposed to be an old style beer, with some barrel aging to give it more character, and it's definitely interesting visually.  It's exceptionally thick looking, really opaque, with a huge amount of tiny bubbles, much like Guinness boasts of itself.  Not very aromatic and only a vaguely sour taste at first, but light and swiftly disappearing down the gullet leaving no distraction behind.  Given a minute, more flavors emerge - woodiness, herbalness, a little bit of mint.  It doesn't quite get to sweet, but it hints at it a little.  It does start to develop an alarming amount of licorice, which I hope my last few fries will soak up.  As I near the end it gets fruitier and figgier, probably what you might have found in traditional beers without a modern load of hops.

I think I have the head for one more, and I see a couple of breweries that I do not yet know.  Both are local, but finally it's the logo that gets me to Bacterio.  And their English porter Black-terio.  It sounds like a pretty standard brew and it does start out with a standardly malty and grainy aroma, and a standard little cap of foam on a handsome black beer.  There's lots of grain and bread in the flavor, not sweet but substantial.  It has a very smooth body, not sticky or prickly at all.  Although it's easy to drink, it has a certain weight behind it that leaves the feeling of having a good frenemy sitting across from you.

So, only a short visit, but well worth the trip.  Well done Vallecas!  See you again some time!

Tripping over

It might be a holiday, but there are plenty or workers dedicated to our leisure and comfort still toiling away.  Beer slingers among them, and high on my list obviously.  I head down to one of my go-to’s, Taproom, with its many, many choices.  First I take what’s recommended to me by the manager (yay, people know what I like!), an American Stout from the English Duration Brewing.  I don’t know if Ebb & Flow means it’s going to surprise me in the middle and the end, but I also don’t think that has to be bad. 

It looks plenty stouty, as you would expect being from the cradle of stouts.  It’s not an exceptionally strong beer, only 6.5%, so I’m not expecting a punch in the jaw here, but you never know.  There’s only a faint tickle of slight fruitiness in the aroma, which is a little surprising.  It continues into the flavor too, feeling very light and delivering more fruit than smoke or earth, not a lot of citrus, just a tad.  It’s not nearly as heavy as some orange stouts, and in fact not like a good many of my preferred stouts at all.  It takes a while for a touch of woody smoke to come through, just a mild teasing flavor before the takes over again.  It’s one of those that many who hesitate to try a summer stout would appreciate.  I’m not saying I don’t appreciate it either, but I am looking forward to something heavier a little later on.

Later, there’s Seven Island Gimme Smores; no picture, because it actually looks very much the same, but the tasting experience is definitely something else.  There’s a tickle of sweetness in the aroma, but the flavor is so, so there in the summer camp evening.  It’s sweet for sure, with the blend of both chocolate and marshmallow sugar, but there’s a base of something more solid and more substantial that gives the beer a feeling of both fun and steadiness.  It’s not given as a pastry stout, but the level of sweet makes you think it might be in that category.  No smoke comes out of this one, but at some point a certain amount of earth seems to be detectable, giving the beer a balance and grounded feeling that makes you feel like it’s ready to support you in any circumstance.

The beers were flowing freely and the bar was full of calm but happy drinkers; what more do you want from a Labor Day?