Beermas Day 9

On the ninth day of Beermas I poured out for me
Nine ladies sighing
Eight cream ales fizzing
Seven spicy mockswans
Six stones a-hanging
Five golden caps
Four calling birds
Three speckled hens
Two flightless non-doves
And a pear cider fresh from the tree

Cibeles has a long and distinguished career as a craft brewery, more than half a decade I believe.  That's long and distinguished around here.  I was prompted to pick up this particular product since the name seems to be connected to the season, but it actually refers to the dark brown, "chestnut", color and nothing else.  If you want nutty beer for the holidays, you have to go to La Virgen.  Cibeles Castaña should be a solid choice year-round.  Oh, the ladies dancing?  Divinities can be ladies, right?  Even if I didn't find any dancing, that's a face that looks like it has some unfulfilled wishes behind it.

But why can't I go to the ball?

It's a little lighter than the last chestnut beer I had, and the head on this one also fizzled out quickly.  I get more of an apple smell from it than I expected.  Like the cream ale from yesterday, it is definitely a beery taste, although light and snappy.  It's a little sweet in flavor, although not as much as the aroma might suggest, but there's also a bitter base to it.  Again, it's something I might prefer on a summer evening to early January.  It does leave a little bit of something behind on the tongue, maybe something that escaped the bottle of unfiltered liquid.  It's not unpleasant exactly, but a little strange to have a spot of bitter in the middle of your mouth like the Ghost of Beers Past.

Supplier: Simply
Price: €2.25

new beer in the old town

Think global, act local, isn't that the saying?  Buying local is part of that, I guess.  Fortunately, when it comes to beer, the choices are numerous.  One of those choices is Cibeles, not only quality, but also quantity beers, having produced a number of varieties over the past few years.  Viejo Madrid is one I had not seen before, so I couldn't resist.  I notice the label is also in English, and not really a translation.  They have been exporting to the US for a couple of years, so they're either prepared or have gotten used to a bilingual theme.  And the English part is much more...commercial.

"Madrid excellent water", as opposed to, say, London excellent water?

For some reason I expected a darker beer than I got in my glass, maybe because of the brownish label, or because of the slightly sweet smell.  It reminds me a little of a bock in aroma.  The color is golden and standard beer, though.  The taste is apple-y and just a little tart, although I feel like it could become syrupy if left to warm up too much.  This "traditionally" crafted beer is a fine drink, flavorful, bright and happy, and a pick-me-up on a rainy evening.  Much better than certain other beers that claim seniority around here.

Supplier: La Buena Cerveza
Price: €2.66

give me strength

Cibeles is one of the first craft beers of the area, and one of the companies with the greatest variety of products.  Sadly, they only come out a few at a time, so unless your favorite is one of the basics you might find yourself out of luck.  A lot of special beers and limited editions come out, one of which would be the Strong Ale, in an aggressive looking bottle.

Lemme out!

Toasty brown and tasty looking, although somewhat lacking in head.  There's an apple kind of smell, making the comparison to cider inevitable.  There's even a little tartness in the taste that could be from apples, although it's definitely bitter and beery.  It is a strong beer at 10%, and the flavor has the buzzy note of alcohol underlying it.  Although refreshing, it's a little bit sticky, probably in need of a balance of flavors from some savory snack.  A nice bowl of pretzels does sound good about now.

Supplier: Prost Chamberí!
Price: ~€3.30

can't let go of the darkness

Although Cibeles has become relatively widespread, you know, for a craft beer, I don't often find the stout.  It's almost summer, not the best stout drinking weather around here, but it's early enough that we still get some cold wind.  The stout's about!

Everything about the color and odor is standard and pleasing, from the dark brown-almost black to the barely perceptible chocolate.  The head is fluffy and beige, not overly abundant.  The taste is porter-sour at first, but quickly a little chocolate sweetness wells up, and the sip finishes with a nice smokiness.  There's a tendency for the beer to get sweeter as you drink, which may please some and displease others, who prefer a smokier, more bitter stout.  I can go either way, so I'm perfectly satisfied with it.  It has the comfort of Halloween season and nights with a good movie, or in a good bar.  While the more easily found Cibeles' have not always been at the top of the game, this bottle gave 100%.

Supplier: La Buena Cerveza
Price: €2.66

continuing cibeles

It's time for another round with Cervezas La Cibeles.  This time I have their Madroño, another light beer, with a little madroño fruit flavoring.  I have no idea what madroño is.  It's part of the symbol of Madrid, the bear is trying to climb or shake fruit from a madroño, which is usually translated in English as a "strawberry tree".  Whatever madroños are, they are not strawberries.

Bear (supposed to be a she-bear, actually) going after "strawberries"

Like other Cibeles beers, it isn't filtered.  You can see a layer of sediment in the bottom of the bottle, much of which will come out when poured.  It doesn't have that strong, sour flavor that I associate with unfiltered Belgian beers, however, in fact I don't think the sediment draws any attention to itself at all.  There's no appreciable change in the flavor or texture of the beer from start to finish, except that the slight fruity smell increases as the beer warms.

The beer is light, with a fizzy head that doesn't hang around long, and the fruitiness is just barely there.  It's pleasant, a little bit tart, not in the least overpowering.  This is another beer for drinking by itself, perhaps with some mildly flavored snack, on a nice spring day when the temperatures are just starting to hint at summer.  Hot Madrid summer.  Baking, eye-blindingly sunny summer.  Better go get some more to keep around.

Yeah, yeah, I should be drinking Irish beer for St. Patrick's.  I hate crowds, what do you want?

a bit of refreshment

So I bought a local beer from the beer delicatessen that I noticed not so long ago.  It's across the street from the pub we got thrown out of as a philosophy group for not consuming enough, but that's a whole other can of worms right there.  This special beer shop has more variety of the brew than I've ever seen in Madrid, which is reason enough to visit.  Last time I saw Madrid beers featured on the shelf right in front of the door, so I thought I should try one.

It's named after one of the city's famous landmarks - the fountain of Cibeles that sits in one of the big intersections on Paseo del Prado.  There are several types, but I grabbed up a blond beer that day.  I took it home, stuck it in the fridge, and let it cool until I came home after a tough evening of test prep classes.

So, tonight I thought it was time.  It says it's unfiltered, and it does look a little cloudy when you examine it in the bottle.  I had a pang of worry about it being like those really sour Belgian beers.  But, I opened it up and took a sip.  Bubbly, smooth, with just a hint of tanginess.  There isn't much head to speak of and the bubbles dissipate pretty quickly in the glass, but the taste seems to be uniform throughout.  I'm not a fan of those beers that get sourer and sourer as you drink them. 

I'd say La Cibeles Rubia is a nice beer for drinking casually, maybe with a bowl of pretzels.  It has a light taste that would be overwhelmed if you were having it with a meal, I think, unless that meal was made up of really tasteless food.  I'll have to see what they do with their dark beers.

It's made from Madrid water.  Proud of their origins, they are.