swimmers, surfers, an' stuff!

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

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 

Again, we have to be a little bit creative.  There's a reference to water, so I feel like that's enough for swimming.  And while there are no birds, certain cities in Germany have a famous population of swans, and What Went Down is that famous German style, the kolsch.  Deya and Mikeller are the producers of this wild wet one.  It's a pretty light beer on the alcohol so probably safe enough if you feel like going swimming yourself afterwards.  I don't recommend messing with swans ever, though, stone cold sober or not. 

So very light-colored, and a fluffy cloud of head plopped on top like frosting.  I don't get much of an aroma from it at all.  It's a nice easy sort of IPA, a little bitter and a little bit of caraway, not much of the modern citrus.  It doesn't leave much behind, to be honest, it is one of the cleaner drinking beers that I've had recently.  It lives up to the kolsch name in that it's very light and refreshing, although I might go so far as to say it's not an especially good beer for cold weather.  On a summer day it would fit right in, with the light color, feel, and flavor, but now it doesn't do much to insulate the drinker.  That doesn't negate its niceness, but it is something to consider.  I personally would recommend waiting until, like, June for this beer.  It'll be a prize then, no doubt.

fresh squeezed

Although there's nothing like a good stout at any time or ambient temperature, it's nice to have something a little perkier on a 95˚ day.  It's been a while since I've had a kölsch, although fruity beers have come up here and there, so that sounds like a nice bit of variety.  Even better, it's from Península, so we're supporting local business and assured of a damn fine beer.  Pomelo Squeezer, bottoms up!

I'm a little disappointed by the normal beer color; I was expecting Cherry 7-Up pink for some reason.  It does perfume the air with wafts of grapefruit, though, so that's definitely a point in its favor.  It really tastes like fresh grapefruit juice at first, with that little bit of carbonation to make it a fancy drink, but towards the end of the sip the beer grain comes rolling out.  It's an interesting see-saw balancing act of bitter and sweet, so well done it's like having two drinks at once.  Or is that really poorly done?  It should be well done, since the beer is little drink oasis on a summer weekend afternoon.  The beer profile becomes more distinct over time, leaving behind some of the initial crispness, but it's still light and refreshing.

Supplier: Labirratorium

Price: €2.50

Heimkino sieben

Another documentary I probably wouldn't have chosen to see if I had been limited by tickets and time.  Also quite interesting, though, it's about an art workshop for intellectually disabled people.  Some of them have even become quite well-known as outsider artists, bringing more attention and, one hopes, funding to the center and its mission.  Kunst kommt aus dem Schnabel wie er gewachsen ist shows several of the beneficiaries of the program working on their projects, on one hand for their personal therapy, but also with an eye to sales.  At one point the head of the center tells some visitors that, while the art is more helpful than the repetitive work of assembling ballpoint pens, it's the factory style work that ends up paying the bills.  You never know what kind of art is going to sell the best.  Two of the participants are preparing shows and pieces to lend out during the filming.  One is a woman who often paints copies of classical works with rooster heads instead of human ones, although she also makes models of famous buildings and creates other, more personal works.  Another is an elderly man whose past is mostly a mystery, since records are not very detailed he doesn't like to speak very much.  He creates highly abstract drawings of precise and repetitive lines that so often go off the paper he's using that his easel and table are also sometimes displayed as parts of his work.  Their names are Suzy van Zehlendorf and Adolf Beutler, if you're curious.  The patients seem to enjoy creating pictures as part of their therapies, and fit in a regular schedule of activities.  Some of them get nervous when their patterns are changed, even though they're preparing for an important art show.  The show appears to be successful, with an appreciative public, and the catalog impresses the patients, who are delighted to see their works in a shiny, important looking book.

As luck would have it, I get a kölsch to go with today's film.  It's not what I would have chosen if it were up to me, I would have thought something heavier would go better.  This time, though, the Früh Kölsch has more weight to it than I remember.  It's also a deeper bitter and more typically beery, not as light and effervescent.  Still, very much a summer beer, it's just too bad I'm not at a street table just off of Gran Vía after seeing the documentary in Palacio de la Prensa.  Surely, there would be someplace with German beers down there.  No Casa de la Cerveza, Kloster, or Oldenburg, but something would do.

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

ha-HAH!

On a drippy morning you don't always think about shopping fondly, even beer shopping.  It's a good excuse to get out of the house, though.  And I don't have to go very far to Cerevisia, anyway.  The rain let up on my jaunt down, although I did have to protect my bag on the way back.  Inside, it seemed like a good idea to find something bright and shiny to contrast with the weather.  Clown Shoes Beer Mangö looks like the thing.  It also seems like I see more and more cans of beer in the beer stores, at least from the US.  Save those shipping costs!

Phew, doesn't look at all like Pennywise!

It's bright and promising in the pour, bubbly and heady, and with a little tingle of fruit aroma.  It's not as sharp as IPAs can be, less citrusy and stronger on the mango, naturally.  It looks a lot like a typical kölsch, with a light yellow color.  The taste is heavily fruit punchy for me.  The mango is strong even in the beginning and puts a lot of weight on the tropical flavor side of things.  There isn't even a hint of bitterness or sourness, and I would go so far as to say that this beer reminds me of fruit juice with a splash of beer in it.  It's not terribly strong, 5.5%, but the normal beeriness is absent to my tastebuds.  It's a fun experiment, and would be splendid on a summer afternoon or evening, preferably under the shade of some umbrella or tree.  Even those of us who aren't beer drinkers would enjoy it, as long as they don't mind a little buzz afterwards.

Supplier: Cerevisia
Price: €3.60