In preparation for stout month, I get something to kind of dip my toe into. Something that won't weigh me down when I go deep and dark. Still ought to give me a little tasty treat, though. Won't you, Licher 1854 Kellerbier? A quick search shows that the kellerbier was not Licher's 1854 original, that was a steam beer, the name is just a reminder of the brewery's age.
Another holiday upon us, and I'm cheating again! It's Beer Can Appreciation Day, but I don't have a beer. It is hard cider, another drink that you don't expect to find a huge amount of quality in if it's in a can. But, if cans can be better for beer, they can be for cider too. It seems the first canned beer in the US came from New Jersey-based Krueger in 1935, but they didn't become popular packaging until after the Second World War. Steel cans were produced in Germany in the early years of the 20th century, but again, did not catch on. Cans appeared in the UK around the same time as they did in the US, and apparently did not suffer much from lack of material once the war was over. Spain saw its first cans in the '50s at the hand of Mahou. The benefits of cans are simple - cans are cheaper to produce, easier to recycle, cool faster, protect the beer from light better. It's true that you don't feel as fancy chugging from a can as sipping from a bottle, but pour a glass and take care of that problem.
Baltic Porter Day was announced as January 18, so it wasn't that big a surprise when I went to pick up something for the occasion and there was just a space on the shelves. As you can see, I missed the 18th, but I have also seen the holiday listed as the third Saturday in January, so I'll take this loophole. Unfortunately, I also need to find a loophole for the Baltic part; plenty of stouts around (for next month), but not a lot of porters. I did have a regular but spiced porter presented: BBNO 03's 10th anniversary collaboration with Amundsen. It looks quite complex, flavored with chocolate, orange and cinnamon. The Holidays might be over, but this holiday looks like it has a tasty drink to go with it.
It isn't a beerliday yet, so just a random pick today...something a little more subdued, with less excitement about it. Well, it's kind of exciting to see a historical beer on the shelf, although you always have to wonder just how close an industrial remake really is. They have sanitation and health requirements to fill, you know. At least it's my favorite industrial Spanish beer, Estrella Galicia. This is their Primera Generación, supposedly a recipe developed by the first generation of beer-making Riveras, but right on the bottle they say the most important thing is the tradition of technique, not so much ingredients. Of course technique is often a big part of recipes too. Another reason I like this brewery is their campaign of making themselves look like the underdog beer, the one you need a special sense to really appreciate. Like I said, it's my favorite industrial beer, but it seems just as silly to emphasize how smallness of your clientele as it is to sniff at drinkers of smaller beers that are just like products your own larger company produces. No, scratch that, the latter is definitely sillier. Estrella Galicia's Resistencia and Cerveza para la Inmensa Minoría seem more like gentle jokes in comparison.
The season is officially over, but there's still beer to be had. I thought I would seek out a nice stout just because, but Cierzo's Oogie Boogie Christmas Ale seemed like too much of a coincidence to ignore. Right by the door! They must want to clear some space for the spring stock.
Price: €4.95
It might be a little fanciful, but the last day seems like it ought to be warning us of our limited time. Drumbeats and all that. I might have liked a black beer, barrel aged maybe, for this last portentous day, but that label on the can just called out to me. La Calavera's (of course) No Future. It's a fruited gose, with cherry, raspberry, strawberry, blueberry and black currant added to it, so it sounds like a much brighter beer than the picture would suggest. Just the kind of thing you take advantage of a challenge to try.
I almost pushed this one into number seven, for the swimming animal on the label, but those neck-like tubes could not be denied. So, what to do with Mala Gissona's Shackeltown IPA? There's definitely a connection to the sea; they brew their beers with the fortitude and solemnity of the old Basque whalers, or something like that. Well, at least some sailors like to have a little music, a little wind instrument accompaniment. Also, whales do a bit of blowing themselves. There we go, our representation of pipes! Less literal than some other years, but that's the fun.
Oh, the things I'm willing to do for the season! Drink a Belgian beer? Well, alright, it does have somebody lordly on the label, so it goes with the song. I'm also tickled that it says "Robijnrood" on one side, which I misread repeatedly as "Robinhood". Shows where my sympathies lie, I guess. What it really is is a red ale, ruby red is the promise, from Brouwerij Haacht. Charles Quint is no stranger to Belgian beers, but he also has his place in the Spanish beer world.
Am I wasting a bird on dancing ladies? Perhaps. But damn if Night Owlers NEIPA didn't call out to me for that night out. It's La Quince and Salama Brewing, another collab from the wise owl. Can't think of one that hasn't turned out delicious.
I complain about all those birds, but the other gifts aren't all that easy to match up either. This year the maids a-milking was one of the harder ones, for some reason nothing stood out that was maidenly or milky. Finally, there's a good stout that has a good picture on it. It's a little more like a sexy maid than a milkmaid, although I don't think she's quite that either. More like somebody who's going to be doing some milking of a slightly different kind. Hopefully, in a nice warm room. It's from Estonia, a brewery called Pühaste, so I think this Dekadents ought to be formulated for warm indoor spaces, no matter what's going on outside.
