pastry break

While passing through some oddly warm and sunny fall weather, some of us just cannot resist a pastry stout.  If you can have cookies and cake in the summer you can damn well have Chocolate Macaroon.  Basqueland has never disappointed, and it was in the promotion shelves, so there's a Birratorium guarantee behind it too, I think.  Will it be as heavenly as the label indicates?  We will see.

The beer pours out with a puff of chocolate cake around it, looking like it should be a mouthful.  The head is dark beige, like coffee froth.  The flavor is rich, rummy, full of dark chocolate and a hint of raisin.  It reminds me of Vanilla Black Velvet, but the sweetness is stronger, heavier, and the pastry side of the stout is much more evident.  At first I feared a build up of licorice, but after the first sip it peters out, leaving the hearty chocolate to its own.  The beer has stability, not going sticky or veering into odd territories with flavor.  This is definitely a treat, a beer that I would gladly have any day of the year.  It might be a little too sweet for some, and too dark for a summer afternoon drink, but black beer lover that I am, I would drink it anytime, anywhere.  Must be the season, I'm in something of a joyful mood.

Supplier: Labirratorium

Price: €6.65

nutty days

It's a world of signs and guides and new demands, isn't it?  Keep your distance on the metro, obligatory masks, hand sanitizer everywhere...I went to visit a beer store in a market, one of those with a good number of taps too, and the security guards were taking temperatures at the door.  It's those laser thermometers, and I would expect there to be some distortion from the heat of the damn summer sun, but I guess those things are sophisticated enough to distinguish a real fever from excessive sun.  A little wander around the shop and I came across Peanut Gorilla, a barrel aged imperial stout from Basqueland.

A lovely dark brown color, beige head that isn't particularly foamy, and a tempting sweet aroma.  It promises to be a bit heavy.  There's a similarity to a number of other nut-added beers, be it pecan, hazelnut or chestnut.  I get a feeling that is reminiscent of peanut butter cups, with the chocolate mixed with peanut butter, although it's somewhat saltier and has the expected tang of licorice.  While mouth-filling, it's not exceptionally heavy, and goes down quickly.  It's clean, but not completely smooth, with a little rumble of scratchy bitterness at the end of the swallow.  Other notes make their appearances, little by little: chocolate syrup; sour fruit.  Not much coffee in this stout, or smoke, or earth.  It's a happy little beer, just right for me, summer or winter.  Tastes are swaying in a lighter, puckerier direction, but I will not be kept from my black beers!

Supplier: La Buena Pinta
Price: €5.60

cake day coming up?

This was actually the first beer I grabbed off the shelf on my last venture to Birra y Paz, which should surprise nobody.  Four Layer Cake from Basqueland sounds like it might be one of those new-fangled pastry stouts, but no, it is just a stout with chocolate and sea salt.  Well, and it's an extra Basque stout.  So maybe it is a little new-fangled.  One might expect to avoid the darkest beers on these days with extreme heat advisories, but I'm in my own damn house.  And even if I went out, craft beer bars tend to have A/C, so it isn't too much of a problem.  I can enjoy my stouts all year!  And I do!

It does indeed look deliciously cake-y, all black and a vaguely milk chocolate-y head.  It's not too sweet in aroma, a little bit light in fact.  Mildly toasty.  Very smooth feel, not much sweetness in the flavor either.  There is that reminder of dark chocolate, just a pinch of bitterness.  The smooth body makes you think more of milk chocolate, though.  There's a tingling left behind, but not a lot of aftertaste.  It's quite a clean drink for one with added chocolate.  It takes a while for the salt to come out, it was more of the sensation than the taste of it that I noticed.  Despite its name it is no pastry stout (and didn't claim to be).  Doesn't overload in hot weather and has that cuddly, fluffy bitter that I appreciate in a black beer, it's quite a treat for a summer weekend.

Supplier: Birra y Paz
Price: €3.90

a message for the weather

Walking into La Buena Cerveza on a rainy day can cheer your heart - as long as you're hoping to see walls of bottles and cans just waiting for you.  And I certainly was.  It looks like the distributors have finally done their job.  The problem then is to pick out just a couple to take home, there are so many flavors and so many interesting labels and suggestive names.  I might be a little stuck in my ways when it comes to breweries though, since I keep coming back to the ones I know as much as possible, like Basqueland.  This time it's I Thought We Were Friends Imperial Stout.  I hope that doesn't mean I'll actually be disappointed in it...

It feels pretty thick just pouring out, although I don't get a very abundant head.  It's a nice little beige topper, hangs around for a good amount of time.  It has that sweet kind of stout smell, so I would expect a heavier feel to a lighter one.  It starts with a light fruitiness, that sort of plum some dark beers can have, but quickly descends to a syrupier coffee.  It's not quite bitter, but something close to it.  The sweetness doesn't start out at a high level.  There's almost a fluffiness to the body, like a whipped cream of a beer.  And it's not even a milk stout.  It's certainly warming and uplifting on a rainy day, a chilly day, even a sunny afternoon under some shade.  I'm just guessing at the last one, but I'm sure it'd be true for me.

Supplier: La Buena Cerveza
Price: €5.93

finally

On the first day of Beermas I went and bought for me
A bird dropping beads on the street
Two turtledoves
Three Belgian roosters
Four birds calling for blood
Five rolling blings
Six geese parading
Seven mermaids bird flipping
8 breakfasts steaming
Nine drinkers dancing
Ten boars a-drinking
Eleven pipers charming
Twelve words of parting

So in the end the best I could do was connect with the song ending instead of the actual line.  That's probably okay once in a while, though.  Some might start a Beermas thinking that it won't be much of a challenge, and end it frustrated by how much trouble it actually was.  Well, I won't do that again, they might say.  But then the season rolls around again.  Previous statements?  Famous last words.  Just like this DDH IPA!  The can is a little...offputting if you're not much of a seafood fan, but maybe that's a serving suggestion?  A flavorsome IPA can go well with understated seafood I think.

It's on the lighter side for an IPA, very clean head, just the lightest scent of citrus too.  The hop flavor, on the other hand, is powerful, rolling in and slapping the tongue around a little.  It's tangy and sharp at first, then kind of falls off with a bitter poof.  The liquid beer itself isn't very grabby, it's overshadowed by the flavors, so this is less of a simple thirst quencher and more of an experience.  The bitter ending dies off before the beer is half gone, leaving the swelled up citrusy hops to dominate the taste.  It retains a little bit of a kick, but isn't as abrasive as some NEIPAs and DDHs I might mention.

And so ends another Beermas!  See you next year!  Or are these just some famous last words?

Supplier: Labirratorium
Price: €6.35

oh summer nights

Back to my dear stouts, in spite of summer!  I think of it as a psychological trick to remind me of cooler, darker nights.  Basqueland Brewing Project is one of the good breweries, alright, with a sparkling variety and high quality black beers, at least in my experience.  Begi Haunda Oatmeal Stout isn't on my list yet, though.  Time to slap it on!

Looks thick and substantial, with that sweetish aroma you get with the right kind of dark beer.  Not sweet at first sip, just a mild toasty bitter, but a sort of licorice bubbles up after a few seconds.  The toastiness never disappears completely, hanging around after the licorice is gone.  There's some kind of chocolate hiding in the background too, milk rather than dark.  It doesn't take long for a bit of tanginess to come out too, not my favorite thing with the black beers, but it's not too sharp.  Overall, it's a creamy only slightly sweet beer that doesn't let a lot of clashing tastes in.  Although there are some oddities that pop up from time to time, the flavors are generally consistent and relaxed, a good brew for colder weather, but not so heavy that it's difficult in the summer.

(Grumble) I need to find a nicer background...

Supplier: Más Que Cervezas
Price: €2.75

mosaic ahoy

I had a good look at the stouts this week, but I thought it might be better to settle for something lighter this time.  More on that next Saturday!  I am also trying to suss out some good German brews in preparation for the film fest, coming soon.  Then, what do I see but The Captain?  I had a variation of this beer some months ago, quite nice as I recall, but this one is Dry Külsched Hop, dry-hopped with Mosaic.  Sounds like a winning combination to me.  Mosaic has been tasty in IPAs and Basqueland has had some triumphs with their products.

It may be a kölsch, but a definite IPA whisper slips out from those hops.  Clear and medium gold, it could pass for a pale ale easily.  First comes a citrus bitter, but quickly the flavor ramps up the sour and tang, hitting some kölschier notes before falling back into a sweet aftertaste.  It struggles a little to maintain the initial wow, dying back into a more subdued blend of upfront bitter and trailing sour after a few sips.  Very light in the mouth, almost airy, and a little fizzy.  Still smooth down the throat, though.  Snappy, summery kind of beer, something to keep in mind for higher temperatures down the road.

Supplier: La Birratorium
Price: €3.25

looking back a week

I don't get down to the center of town much, partly because of the crowds and partly because even in good public transportation it takes a while I could be using to watch Youtube or drink beer.  But, when there are beer festivities, I can see my way down.  It was a week long to-do, but I only made it down a couple of days, since I have to, like, work some mornings.  On Tuesday I visited La Buena Pinta and El Pedal.

There was a birthday party or something with little kids flying around the center of the market, but La Buena Pinta was more or less out of the action.  I got a NEIPA, Mad Brewing Yellow Mood, which looked for all the world like the most typical NEIPA there should be.  Maybe that's just my approach to them, though.  It looks just like a fresh-squeezed glass of orange juice, even looking like there's some pulp floating around the top.  I suppose it must be the light carbonation giving that impression because there's certainly nothing actually in there and there isn't any head to speak of.  The aroma is also orangey and a little bit peppery.  The taste comes out with more banana, oddly, with a kick afterwards.  Like a citrus banana I guess.  The initial sharpness dies down over the drinking time, but the tropical sweetness is enduring.

Down the street, El Pedal was also quiet in the first hours of the evening.  My Aeromancia wheat IPA from Zeta was very carefully poured.  This was also quite cloudy, but more typically beery with a good head on a golden brew.  Not too much to the nose, although it's rather spicy for a wheat beer.  Starts with a little bittersweet, but leaves a robust bitter behind, heavier on the IPA than the wheat.  None of the grass of, say, Franziskaner, not ruthless like Peninsula, or tropical like a passel of IPAs I could name.There is a sweetness that comes and goes and gives a little weight to the beer, although not quite to the extent of barrel aged beers.  Aeromancia stands well on its own, carving out its flavor niche.

Just enough energy for a quick beer on Friday, unfortunately it's a common feeling.  I walked by several places that were stuffed full of loud drinkers, and a few even had the outside tables occupied in spite of the threat of rain.  I ended up at La Fuente de la Virgen, where Madrid's great ex-craft is offered, but they also have a "guest" tap, filled today by Yakka.  That's a little more promising.  It's Hoppy Pils, which I think I have come across before, and have no bad memories of.  It looks light and thirst quenching if not substantial, and boasts a rather citrusy smell for a pilsner, more like and IPA.  There's a definite sweet note right up front, bitter only trailing in at the end.  It's not unbalanced and very bright for a pilsner, although it's a little bit heavy around the middle of the tongue.  Otherwise, it's light enough to vanish in seconds.  It's a rather summery beer, and would have been more appropriate the week before, but now it can be a kind of celebration after a surprise snow/hailfall.

I seem to have forgotten to take a picture of my beer, but for some reason I do have the sign

Why does it make sense for shoes to be churchy?

Saturday evening I crammed myself into La Misa de 8:00 for Tito Blas Brewing's Pa' Bro Dry Stout.  Despite the frantic clientele I managed to find a nice corner to squeeze into for a little while.  The beer is not really black, but a nice dark brown.  There's a dirty chocolate smell, maybe a little smoke in there too.  The flavor is very woodsy, bitter, kind of a licorice aftertaste but not exactly sweet.  After the first sip, which is a bit rough, the beer is really quite smooth.  Not too heavy either, and actually a bit thin for the aroma.

I felt like hunting down a little supper and ended up at Café Viralata, where there was an offer of Mad Brewing beer and a toasted sandwich.  Well, alright.  The beer is super hoppy and super citrusy, an IPA no doubt.  It isn't bitter at all, much brighter than that stout.  It goes nicely with the sandwich, adds a little sharp flavor to the mellow cheese and meat, and even the onions and peppers are subdued in comparison.  It turns out the beer was Camarillo, and when I asked the waiter told me there was a tasting of seven (7!) Mad Brewing beers starting in minutes.  Free!  How could I resist?  My camera did not resist, so the beers in question are only pictured on Instagram.  The list was: Wheat, Pale Ale, Camarillo, Red, Granny's Cake, Holy Smoke and Galactic Nuts.  Three black beers!  Huzzah!

I headed out early on the last day and found Emói Cocktail Bar to be in quite a civilized state.  Not too many people, music not too loud, quite nice to sit and relax in.  They had Nómada Beermuth, which I was not quite sure about but willing to try as something different.  It certainly looks like a spirit with that watery tan.  Maybe the wateriness is just the ice.  It also smells definitely orangey, which is definitely the garnish.  It has an extremely bitter orange flavor, I'd say mediciny, with a touch of tangy sweet at the end.  The bitter kind of fades out after a while, leaving an alcohol crisp with a mild orange coat.

There was also an unfiltered wheat? from Nómada on tap.  A golden, cloudy beer with a mild flavor and a dusty feel.  It's slightly grainy and definitely bitter, refreshing and certainly for summer drinking.  It develops a sweetness and oranginess after a couple of sips and gets more interesting and nuanced with a little time on the table.

Around the corner was Casa Zoilo with Basqueland for the public.  First, the IPA.  It's very aromatic, easily whiffed just from the glass sitting on the table.  With good head and color, it's a Euro IPA, lacking in tropical fruit.  While there is a hint of sweet, bitter is the most evident flavor, with a touch of pepper in the background.

There was also Jumper Kitten barrel aged porter.  Gotta have at least one dark beer a day, right?  So there it is, heavy, sneaky, sweet and desert ready, chocolate and fruit in a glass.  Kind of syrupy, but a nice beer to finish a meal with, or enjoy by itself.  It would have been nice to have some cake with it, but we were still a bit early in the day for cake...or just in the wrong establishment for cake.  Half a leg of ham was carved up and devoured while we were sitting there.

Those bottles aren't for my beer, good Bacchus

Como Vaca Sin Cencerro wasn't too crowded when I walked past, and I determined to have the very last one of the celebration.  After that porter, an IPA seemed like the best idea, something strong flavored but shiny.  Eterna IPA was there to fit the bill.  It's fruity and tropical, the typical craft IPA, with weight and presence.  It's not overly bitter and the flavor stays balanced.  While it's not exceptional or unique in the IPA crowd, it is very pleasant.

A poster of wishful thinking perhaps

 And now we wait for May...

cozy outings

After all that holiday excitement it's back to weekly beers, at least for a while.  I felt like a little jaunt into town, since my last beers had me cooped up at home, and it was about time to hit up La Buena Pinta again.  They do have that bar, you know.  If there was stout on tap, I'd have my drink there, if not, I'd buy a bottle, of which there would undoubtedly be many choices.  They did have a couple of black beers on tap, a porter and a stout, and I decided to spring for the Jumping Kitten Barrel Aged Imperial Stout.  There was a pretty big crowd out for the weekend afternoon, including a loud birthday party, so the extra alcohol felt like a little bit of self-medication.

Oh, looks good, doesn't it?  One heavy, oozy stout, coming up.  Not a lot of aroma, but slightly sweet. Not super sweet tasting either, rather more bitter.  Hint of raisin? It's pretty heavy, reasonably thick in texture but not quite syrupy. Doesn't have the excessive sweetness so many barrel aged beers have. There is a certain amount of woodiness, fairly strong flavor of barrel.  It gets a little sour towards the end, but nothing over the top.  It's a hard-hitting (at 10.5%), but calm and presentable return to my beloved black beers.

reminiscing

Let's take a trip back a month or so, a time of beer promotion everywhere.  One thing that's been regular is Beermad, the craft beer fair in a tennis facility.  This time there were four-day passes for a reasonable price, so I determined to make the most of one.  The first day I only planned to be there an hour or so in the evening.

Being fall, I was hoping to find a good selection of stouts and porters, but alas.  We're in a trend of blond beers.  I did find a few, though, like Panda Doop Imperial Stout.  It's a dark, dark brown rather than true black, with a chocolatey aroma.  It has kind of a milk chocolate taste with a little twist of sour.  While substantial in texture it feels light down the throat, creamy and smooth.  The sour builds up a little bit over time but the chocolatey-ness remains.

As I hoped and dreamed, it's not crowded on a weekday night, so I have plenty of time for one more.  Another stout appears, Ziva 5.0 Russian Imperial Stout.  They had a regular and a bourbon barrel fermented version, and since I was going to leave after this I let myself be convinced that the barrel aged was worth it.  It looks awfully thick in the glass, with a thin head and a lot of poofiness underneath it.  It's also more dark brown than black, influence of the bourbon perhaps?  There is a strong, sweet bourbon smell, candy corn-like, but the taste is almost watery at first.  It does pick up on sweetness before bringing out the alcohol sting.  Despite the appearance, it's much thinner in body than Doop, with some grain or woodiness in the aftertaste.  After warming up a little it's salt-and-chocolate in flavor, which is an interesting shift.

Day Two begins with a lighter touch, 90 Varas Segovilla amber ale.  Cloudy orange, off-white and somewhat thin head, mildly beery smell.  It's bitter at first, then a hint of citrus.  Sweetness starts building little by little in this smooth and light textured beer, and it tickles the tongue from start to finish.

Then there was Enigma Tostada Roja.  It looks very similar to Segovilla, a little stronger in smell, maybe.  The taste is much sweeter, though, with really no bitter at all, but a good mouthful of grain.  That calms down over time and the beer loses a bit of power, but a happy and summery flavor remains.  It's a little cloudy, but ends up clearer than Segovilla, and might be a better beer for snacking than my first choice of the day.

Gotta get that flag up before Brexit!

Domus was in attendance with the cream drink that I've seen around for some time in the stores.  Might as well have a shot of it while I'm here.  It looks like milk, or medicine, but is very smooth and surprisingly sweet, leaving traces of licorice and vanilla behind it.

Peninsula Autumn Smash brought me back to regular beers, a lighter, happier drink after the sweetish shot.  Again, very similar to the previous beers in color, but the head is lighter and slightly more abundant.  It has a strong hoppy bitter, although not as citrusy as most IPAs.  Something keen and sharp develops in the background, not quite grassy, but along those lines.

I'm not quite sure why I didn't get a picture of the beer...

There was a whiskey stand among the beer this time and curiosity got the better of me.  They also have a pilsner, which I thought to try out.  It has a fairly typical appearance, very light straw color and fizzy white head.  It's a little cloudy, although that might actually be condensation on the glass.  It has barely any aroma and just a slightly beerish flavor, not as grainy as other pilsners.  Bitterness is barely perceptible, but present.  It's a good clean beer, ready to accompany food or talk, not being especially attention-grabbing by itself.  I took the opportunity to take a shot of the whiskey as well, first the Moonshine, which is only aged a couple of months (or was it weeks?).  Rather harsh to my palate.  There is also a whiskey distilled from stout that has a more expected color, and I find much smoother, woodier, and more flavorful.  If I was the kind of person that had whiskey at home, that would be my whiskey.

There's still plenty of time, so I stopped for an Arriaca.  Lots of light beers, including Centeno.  A lighter and whiter head than the other beers of the day, and a much citrusier aroma.  It has an attention-grabbing taste, citrus and bitter with hardly any sweet at all.  It's a light IPA kind of flavor.  A really refreshing choice when spicy food (such as papas al mohón) is involved.

Second half begins!  I can't resist trying a märzen on offer, Brew and Roll Camille II.  It's much lighter than what I'm familiar with as märzen, very much like Imperial IPA, but the aroma is heavy and malty and the taste grassy/grainy with a hint of bitter underneath.  While malty it doesn't get syrupy or terribly sweet, stays rather light actually, as befitting the color.

Now, The One IPA.  I got the spiel from the guy at the taps, and I actually wondered about the wee heavy, but went for the IPA in the end.  It's similar to the märzen in color, but much hoppier in aroma and clearly an IPA in taste.  It's not too bitter in fact, but sharp and fruity with those tropical flavors they like to bring out.  Let it warm up for a bit of sour (although that could also be some wee heavy that didn't get washed out completely).

I guess I could go for that new craze of NEIPA while I'm here, in a beer market, and with such good prospects.  I passed by Jakobsland several times, admiring the selection, but now it's time to see what's up.  Pixel Dust DDH NEIPA is.  What is.  Up.  Right.  It's a cloudy lemon yellow, not much head to it, and a lemony smell.  Not too strong to the nose.  The flavor starts with a bitter hops kick and quickly moves off into a smoother, creamier sensation.  The bitter remains at the edges, but the central feeling is one of sweetness, almost vanilla.  At first I thought I could detect some licorice in there too, but further sipping didn't bring it out again.

More pale ale?  Lupo Lord at your service!  I was "recruited" off the track by the rep, and as I was paying the head died down a little so he topped it up generously.  It's a good golden color, pretty fruity aroma, although not as tropical as IPAs.  Something more appley.  There is also apple in the taste, which is something like a dry cider.  There's no bitterness to speak of, and it loses some of the apple flavor over time.  It stays on the light side of sweet, not syrupy, but refreshing and summery.  Might fit right in at a Hallowe'en party instead of a darker and heavier apple cider.

To finish the next to last day I found something I thought wouldn't weigh me down on the metro: Basqueland Brewing The Captain Kölsch.  It looks darker than I expect in a kölsch, although in the sun it is close to straw colored.  Nothing of particular note in the aroma, smooth and only slightly bitter flavor.  It's a little heavy for a kölsch, clean flavored but with a hint of sweet trailing behind it, the slight grassiness of German lagers, no ginger spice although the description promised ginger.  It does have a very German flavor, but more lager than kölsch to me.

Pinocchio's a big boy now, apparently

Finally, the last day had to come.  I was on a mission to find the most interesting beers.  I started with La Verbena Heavy Kilt Scottish Heavy.  Not too strong to start out at 3.8%, but a nice tasty beer for a Scottish kind of day.  Good dark cider color and off-white head, smells bready.  The flavor isn't too strong, a little grainy with just a touch of caramel.  Not nearly as sweet as other "Scottish" labeled beers out there, rather a sipping beer for light conversation or for sitting down to some heavy reading.

Since it is around Hallowe'en, it seems right to partake of a pumpkin ale.  Sagra had its offer, but if I can find something new I prefer to go for that.  Tyris Pimpan Pumpkin fit the bill.  It's a good dark orange color with a nice fluffy head, and a tiny hint of pumpkin spice aroma.  The flavor has a sweet tingle in the beginning but burrows down into cinnamon pretty quickly.  It's not exactly sweet, more of a pumpkin pie taste, not even as sweet as a Starbuck's latte.  It's also not a heavy textured beer, very light in feel in spite of the strength of the spice.  A little more interesting than Sagra, which is a nice, safe sort of pumpkin ale bet.

Another odd one, at least on the signage, was Yakka's Lunatica grape ale.  It has a slightly pinkish brown color, a sort of dark champagne.  The scent is winey/grapey, just a little bit sour, but then the taste is very  sour, hits you right in the palate.  The aftertaste is a little salty, something like a red wine in fact.  Served cold, the sourness fades over time, but the similarity to sparking wine remains, sharp and pretty clean tasting.  Really, it might be more like sparkling grape juice, although that 8% does start to make itself felt after a short time.

Nothing like a magician to get people drinking

There's not a lot of extra special stuff at the moment, but the normal stuff can still be damn good.  There's Gabarrera Brown Ale/Tostada.  It's not too dark in color, but identifiably brown ale.  Nothing special in the aroma, the taste starts on the sweet side, then moves into a sort of mellow non-bitter.  There's a good texture, neither syrupy nor watery, and a flavor that enhances rather than distracts lacking all bitterness.  It seems like a brown sugar ale, a good wintery sort of beer with the power of the sweet to fuel warmth and the weight to be a good companion for a breezy evening, even on a day of a hurricane.

What else?  Got to have one last stout.  La Pirata Black Block Stout for example.  It smells of licorice, has a slightly sweet flavor, but ends up more bitter overall.  Licorice lurks in the flavor throughout, gets a little sticky after a time, but generally it feels like a good beer to relax with, curled up on a couch.  Although heavy, the texture of the Black Block is also very pleasant and fulfilling in consumption.

I guess I'm just looking for excuses not to leave now.  Sevebrau is no slouch with the beer, though, and I haven't tried anything from them for a while.  There's a nice IPA to finish, XIPA.  It's a very dark color, but light aroma, bright and happy.  The taste is nicely bitter, slightly citrus and only a touch of sweet.  While somewhat hoppy it's not overwhelming, just about the quintessential craft beer for the masses.

Sackman also did whiskey cocktails, for the more refined taste.  Or you know, for everybody.

And now what, with no more fairs on the horizon?  Maybe a song will give me some ideas...