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.

big little beer comes to town

Summer is upon us and the beer fests are brewing.  Beer week will be this month, for one thing, not to mention German films.  Then there will be more localized neighborhood activities, like at Vallehermoso later on.  When will I have time for a quiet bottle at home?!

This weekend Founders decided to celebrate its presence.  While that was the name on the program, a good number of other craft breweries had stands at Conde Duque, from a variety of places.  It was most the US and, to a lesser extent, Spain that were represented.  Instead of just buying the glass at this fest, you bought a ticket which came with the commemorative glass and two tokens.  Most of the beers were two tokens, but a few more powerful ones were a little more, so you had to get more tokens at booths that a friend likened to needle exchanges.  It's a sunny afternoon, a little warmer than I like, time to get some refreshment!

I wandered around to get a feel for the offerings, but at one end a man jumped out at me and said, "Would you like to try some beer?"  That...is why I came, I think.  This man was pouring for Wylie Brewery, and the two taps were an IPA and a NEIPA.  I tasted a little of both, and while the IPA was very good, strongly flavored and robust, I had to go to the NEIPA.  I was hot, dammit.  Little Ego NEIPA is light, fruity, a jewel of its type.  There's just enough bitter to make it beery.  It's an opaque beer, a little cloudy, and thoroughly thirst quenching.  There is something of an odd aftertaste, a kind of hovering bitterness at the back of the throat, but it is a remnant of the real flavor, not some mutation of it.  Good start!

As always, I seek out the dark beers, although sometimes they are few and far between.  I came across a coffee vanilla stout, product of Proof Brewing and couldn't pass it by.  The aroma is pretty light, like old fashioned vanilla toffees.  The taste, however, is strong in vanilla, moderated with some stout smoke.  It's not too syrupy, a plus in this weather, sweet but not very heavy.  It is a little sharp, though, no cream stout this.  Coffee Vanilla Royal Bloodline hits the right notes of the black beers for me.

I felt like alternating dark and light as much as I could and went looking for something on the bright side.  People Like Us was there on the end of the line of stands with a blueberry Berliner Weisse.  How about that?  The color is an eye catching dark pink and it's a fizzy looking beer..  The aroma is not exceptionally strong, not does the taste punch you in the mouth.  It's slightly sweet, but a bit dry, kind of a champagne-like flavor.  It's a very nice summer beer, with those blueberries to take the edge off the weisse, although it is a bit demanding.  The name is Wall of Bureaucracy, which, I was told, relates to the beer namer's impressions of Berlin: there was a wall and Germany is full of bureaucrats.  This young man is one of the autistic employees that they make a point of hiring to give them opportunities to thrive.  Good for them, and good for him.  Although it sounds like he's a really bit angry, the names of the beers could be understood as tongue-in-cheek, and well accepted by professional malcontents such as myself.

I was distracted by the national beers, not going for a heavy dark as I had originally planned.  Río Azul of Seville was there with a saison and I just heard a voice telling me to try it.  Flora has a very normal sort of beer appearance, and something of a musky scent.  It is much lighter than expected, with the taste living up the name, on the sweet side, sort of a clovery taste.  There's some honey too, but also a bitter undertaste.  It's a snappy beer, leaves its mark on you.  The sweeter parts of the flavor stay on a little longer than the bitter, which is something of a welcome development.  It doesn't have that perfumy sort of sweet either.  Very natural and pleasant, a beer that you can enjoy, not one you just throw back and forget about.

Now it's really time for a dark beer.  Back on the other side of the patio was Triple Crossing and their Black Dolphin with Coconut.  Well, ok.  It's a stout.  Give it a chance.  It's surprisingly light in aroma, just slightly nutty.  The taste is very smooth, with no hint of that 14% (!) alcohol.  It's really a summery kind of stout, with those deep flavors dark beer drinkers like but in a fluffy feeling mist of brew.  It's certainly creamier than the coffee-vanilla, and the taste veers into cotton candy territory.  The light kind of sweetness makes it truly a dangerous beer, one of those that will sneak up on you even if you know the content beforehand.  It doesn't get heavier or more syrupy either, remaining delicate and delectable to the bottom of the glass.  Approach with caution, but definitely approach.

One last one for Friday, Avery's Lilikoi Kepolo.  I felt like something a little fruitier after that stout.  And it is fruity, a peachy scent, I'd say, and a very yellow, beery color.  The taste is a mild sweet and sour, with some peach cutting through.  It's a happy, bouncy taste - or maybe I'm being influenced by the band playing a cover of "I'm Just A Girl".  The beer maintains its flavor all the way through, not getting heavy, syrupy or sour.  It's much like a peach lambic, in fact.  There is an aftertaste that registers with me as caraway, which is a little bit weird.

Saturday starts much the same, bright and sunny, probably a bit more crowded.  On Friday I could usually squeeze onto the end of a bench, but there's hardly a space now.  I decide to start off strong with Leftöver Cracker.  It's a pumpkin milk stout, from Russian brewery Zagovor.  It's rich black and bubbly, takes a while to settle.  There is evident pumpkin spice in the aroma, a rather autumnal beer, but I love my stouts anytime, anywhere.  It's much less sweet than expected, very smooth, eggnog like in texture.  There's a bite that reminds me of rum infused eggnog, although it might just be psychology working; the additional spices are what you get in eggnog, and pumpkin pie, so that should explain that.  It's not too strong anyway, at 7.6%.  The aftertaste is surprisingly dry, doesn't linger or leave any stickiness behind, but cleans up after itself.

In the interest of alternating, I go for an IPA next.  Califa's Imparable Pomelo is just asking for a taste.  It's a clear straw yellow, with kind of a spicy, cilantro-y smell.  The taste is sharp and herbal, not even bitter for a few seconds.  The grapefruit takes a while to kick in too.  It is decidedly less "clean" than the stout, with the late-coming bitter taking its time clearing out, but it would be considered a much more summery choice by many, I expect.  Quite nice.

I didn't go all the way back in extremes for the next one, stopping for an amber ale from 3 Floyds.  Something about the name, Smashed Face Amber, is a challenge.  It's orangey but clear colored, the aroma mostly...beery.  It's sweet tasting and citrusy, not the bitter citrus of IPAs, but sweet dessert oranges.  Not much aftertaste with this one either, although I keep expecting some bitterness to kick in.  Things remain calm, however.  Not as much of an impression as the others, quite honestly, but a tasty beer, nice for sipping, to go with a snack, a good book, or a good conversation.

I am sometimes compelled to try something new at fairs and festivals, with the thought that I probably wouldn't buy these beers at other times.  But, I know I do get odd things just to try.  Maybe I should do some adding up of styles.  Anyway, what really caught my eye was the sign assuring passers-by that the raspberries for Mikkeller's Spontandoubleraspberry sour were collected by Danish virgins in white dresses like fairies.  Some way to get attention.  Very pagan.  Goes with the territory, I suppose.  So now that my attention has been captured, I can't just walk away from that without a glass of sour.  It's the right color to be fake blood, but really too thin in consistency.  The scent is sour, lambic-y, hints of sweet fruit though.  The taste is quite fruity and tangy, a lot like Mort Subite, but for me more palatable since the flavor is more natural and less sharp and syrupy.  Like real raspberries, instead of enhanced raspberry flavoring. 

Uh oh

It was about this time that it started raining.  We were in the open patio, although there were some umbrellas over the tables, and herds of attendees flocked to doorways for a little bit of protection.  While we were squeezed into the doorway to the library a security guard told us we had to keep the exits clear for safety reasons.  And nobody moved.  A couple of people argued that they had paid for their tickets to a beer fest, not a shower, and if there wasn't adequate protection in the patio they weren't moving from the doorway.  The guard said she was obligated to tell us the rules, and eventually just walked off, leaving us to shelter where we were.  The rain let up after a few minutes and we scattered among the stalls again.

I've only had one stout today?  Unacceptable!  So there's Finback's Nave Nave Mahana to make things right.  It looks right, smells right, tastes...sweet.  It's not overly sweet, however, and now that it's kind of damp out, a little extra sugar picks you right up.  I don't identify the source of the sweetness, it just seems like a lot of milk stouts, but apparently pineapple is involved.  I think I might have hesitated if I'd seen that first, but as I said, the fruit doesn't make itself plainly known.  Despite being a black beer, it's a chipper, bright drink, balancing out a rainy early evening.  It keeps well as it warms up too, maintaining a pleasant sweetness without getting too heavy or sour.

I thought I would end the day with that stout, but by this time other people had come to poke around and there were extra beer tokens to be had.  I feel bad about not using them, I mean, really.  So I had a mystery IPA.  It was fetched for me, that's why it's a mystery, and I did not ask the provenance.  It is a fairly standard ale, good color and head.  Not exceptionally bitter, and no "special" flavorings that I can detect.  Of course, it was raining again by that time, so I was a little distracted with drippings from the edges of patio umbrellas.

OK, seriously, the last tokens!  I only have two left, so no more stouts.  It's coming down pretty good, so I think something sunny might be the right send-off.  Revolution Brewing had two tempting treats, but Deth's Tar was a four token stout, so out of my range now.  I don't feel like waiting around in the rain for two more tokens.  But, there is also Freedom of Speach, a session sour.  With peach, as you might guess.  That's sunny enough for me.  It's a very pale color, clear, slightly fizzy.  Not nearly as tangy as Spontan or Imparable, but just sour enough to balance the identifiable peach.  It's a little bit silly to be drinking such a happy, bubbly beer under an umbrella in a downpour, but that's just one of life's weirdnesses.  Here's to rain and unfrozen peaches!

Another day for you...

jus' some little fishies

So the place I wanted to go to on Monday was open on Tuesday.  Better late than never, so they say.  I was surprised by the indoor seating at La Piraña, expecting it to be much smaller than it is.  It is a little bit noisy, though, with a lot of hard, flat surfaces.  The six taps tend towards northern exotic, although Nómada is there, and I ended up with Mikkeller Crooked Moon Tattoo, an IPA.  With that name I almost wish it wasn't on tap.

For some reason I was expecting more blue.

It's cloudy orange with a strong citrus smell and creamy head.  The taste is sour/bitter and orangey right away, a good pick-me-up flavor at the end of an excessively sunny pre-summer day.  It reminds me of a thin Orange Julius, but more to my liking.  It's lighter than other beers I've recently had, with less stickiness after swallowing, it just washes down cleanly.  I do find that it gets sweeter after some time, with the bitterness fading to a slight aftertaste.

Supplier: La Piraña
Price: €6.50/pint

developing a sweet tooth?

I like beer.  I like bock beer.  I like raspberries.  I have not much liked fruit in my beer until recently.  Feeling inspired to try things out of my ordinary with the closing of the beer store, I picked up a raspberry bock.  It's Mikkeller, a brand I know and have come to enjoy, so trust is there.  It was a bit pricey, but sometimes we have to splurge if we're going to have new experiences.

The air fills with raspberry tanginess as soon as the cap comes off, sort of a raspberry chocolate smell in fact.  That's probably just wishful thinking on my part, though.  It pours a little transparently for a bock, but in the glass it has a solid chestnut color, with a fluffy beige head.  Raspberry flavor definitely hangs around in that head, overpowering the beeriness at first.  Bock isn't a very bitter beer anyway, so it doesn't make itself known too strongly.  There's a certain balance of beer and fruit, like it should be, although in the past I might have argued against the adulteration of beer at all.  I must be getting tolerant in my age.

Supplier: Cervezorama (RIP)
Price: €8.40

not before the studio

Cervezorama, one of the first beer stores in the city, has left us.  It closed up last week and I took the opportunity to splurge a little bit as the last bits of stock were leaving the shelves.  Mikkeller has filled my glass before, but this is one big, bad looking bottle.  750ml of Black Ink and Blood Imperial Raspberry Stout.  Brandy is also on the label.

Who needs a handprint tattooed?

Gooey, chocolaty in appearance when filling the glass, with a thick dark beige head.  It's a little sweeter smelling than a typical stout, but given the raspberry and brandy that's not surprising or ominous.  There's definitely a fruitiness in the scent, although I probably wouldn't identify raspberry without a little hint.  The taste is heavy on the smokiness, with a little dark chocolate bitter that hangs around in the back of the mouth.  The raspberries figure strongly in the first few seconds of the sip.  A woodiness builds after a time, perhaps an influence of liquor.  There's also a certain heaviness that sets in after a full glass down, which can probably be put down to the rather high alcohol content (17%).  Not a beer to chug down on an empty stomach, although it's a taste worth sampling.

Supplier: Cervezorama (RIP)
Price: €13.80

smell it in the air

The first bottle I saw of Mikkeller's American Dream lager was gluten free.  The somewhat more economical regular brew was found and purchased, but it's a shame the label is less interesting than the gluten free version.  That one had flags, and bacon, and stuff, and the regular lager has some guy.  It's not even Washington, fercrissake.

Seriously, who is that?

The scent is subdues until the glass gets filled, then the typical citrus sharpness comes out.  It has a clear golden color and a white, fluffy head, pretty much par for the course in terms of pale ales.  Oddly enough, this is supposed to be a lager.  The taste is a mix of hoppy IPAs and bitter lagers I've had, being bitter enough but also smooth and rounded in flavor.  It doesn't leave much aftertaste, disappearing cleanly after swallowing, probably more like lagers in that sense.  It's definitely a summer beer, one that would be at home in the ball park or the backyard barbecue.  I would say it could work as well as an appetizer as an after-dinner stomach settler.  Versatility and beauty...I guess that's somebody's dream.  We're a big country.

Supplier: La Buena Cerveza
Price: €4.05

succumbing to a meme

It's widely known by users of the internet that bacon is the best food ever.  While we might consider that something of an exaggeration or joke, it is true that it's a good combo food - with eggs, in a BLT, etc. - so why not with a beer?  An oatmeal stout makes intellectual sense, since it's a blend of two breakfast foods, and a dark beer does have more psychological connection with meatiness.

There is a hint of bacon in the smell, much like other rauchbiers.  The taste is also along the same lines, not surprisingly.  It is smoky, slightly bitter, coffeed as well.  After some time sitting, the taste gets a little sweeter and smoother, channeling the oatmeal maybe.  Something puts me in the mood for breakfast foods while I'm drinking it; it would go well with some toast and jelly, maybe an omelet.  Even more interesting perhaps, waffles.

Most important meal, right?

take a shot

Something I've noticed about craft beers and their brewers is that they show a great willingness to collaborate.  It's nice to see such a thirst (ha!) for experimentation and blending different perspectives and traditions, or maybe just creating new traditions.  The label on this bottle is in Danish, but the other brewery on it is Italian.  Something interesting.  After so many recent dark beers, it seemed like time to seek out something light for a change.  Could Cream Ale be the alcoholic equivalent of cream soda?  That would be different.  The label is a little threatening, though...

Wheat in one gun and hops in the other (but the bottle isn't wide enough to show both)

It's a very pale color with as beery a head as anyone could ask for.  The ale smell is faint, but promising.  The bitter comes first, spreading over the tongue, with a very smooth and mild base, that brings sort of an afterthought of sweetness.  There is something rather like a cream soda in it, bubbly and smooth with a vaguely dairy feeling background, but pleasantly unsweetened.