Heimkino Ende

Well, I didn't get around to getting a real German beer to finish up with the German films, but you'll see it is a German style.  So that's something.  The last film was billed as a young adult film, since the protagonist is a teenage girl, but it is about depression and suicide.  A pretty dark story, even if it seems to have a happy ending on the surface.

SPOILERS

Nothing More Perfect begins with teen Maya in a CPR class with her friends.  Like typical teens, they aren't paying much attention to the class, but planning their own activities.  They are in a running club, competing for the fastest, longest runs, and losing the most weight.  Maya is also part of an internet group focused on suicide ideation, which her friends probably don't know about.  She shares live videos talking about how she's preparing to end her life and how hopeless she feels about everything, and her followers send her encouraging messages, weirdly encouraging about her as a person and at the same time about her suicide plans.  Her mother at first seems to be just a little flaky and artistic, and her father a typical divorced dad in another city with another partner, but they decide to take a trip to Prague all together.  On the road her mother covers her father's eyes and he drives blind while she tells him to move right or left on the road.  Maya ends up throwing up, maybe from the swerving car or maybe from the stress of the situation, but this is the first indication that her parents are just douches.  Maya and her mother check into a very nice hotel room, and her father into another in the same hotel.  Maya has already decided to kill herself, romantically, in a park in Prague.  The family goes to a disco and she goes to the bathroom to talk about her plans to her followers and a local drug dealer follows her in.  He agrees to sell her sleeping pills and tells her to meet him the next day.  They drink vodka in a park, Maya passes out, and he takes her to an apartment where a friend of his lives.  Maya recovers and leaves with the pills.  When she gets back to the hotel, her parents are drinking wine and discussing their day at the art galleries.  They ask her what she did and she tells them: she met a boy in a park, they drank vodka together and went to his place.  Her parents stare at her and then start laughing.  "Great joke!" they say.  Maya starts to develop of crush on the drug dealer, but when she sees him in another disco he refuses to talk to her, and she starts to go downhill.  Her mother is focused on purchasing art, or pretending to want to purchase art, her father gets drunk and says he hates them all, and Maya swallows all the pills she has along with several tiny hotel fridge bottles of alcohol in the bathtub.  She passes out...and then wakes up.  She realizes the pills haven't worked so she runs out of the hotel to the apartment where she was with the drug dealer, running into a lamp post on the way.  At the apartment the friend insists the dealer doesn't live there and that Maya should see a doctor about her nose.  Back home, Maya's friends think she got a nose job, and Maya buys herself a plane ticket back to Prague, to find the dealer who admitted that he sold her vitamins because he thought she couldn't be serious about the suicide.  It seems her obsession with suicide is turning into an obsession with this guy.  I guess it's supposed to be a happy ending, since Maya has found a "reason to live", but it still leaves her dependent on outside factors for her happiness, and unable to find value in herself and her own life.  It's not a badly done film, but I did not particularly enjoy it.

Berliner weisse is a weirdly light style to have with such a heavy topic, but Nómada can make a beer that you don't mind drinking with anything.  Passiflora Sour is just barely colored beerishly, hardly bitter at all, and crisply fruity.  It has a champagne sort of dryness to it, in keeping with the style.  With its low alcohol it's not a bad choice for celebration, since it won't cause too much damage the morning after.

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...

irregularities

It's not that I don't enjoy beer fairs, it's that I like to have some idea about when I can expect them.  They always seem to appear out of nowhere.  It seems like it was only a few months ago that Beermad was down at Caja Mágica, and here they are again.  Now, I can't let opportunities to go waste, so went down too, for one day at least.

I was thinking I could give myself a pretty good variety, alternating between light and dark beers.  Nómada was looking a little lonely when I arrived so I darted over and chose the pilsner.  A little something different.  Naturepils is unfiltered and unpasturized, so I expect something interesting.  It's dirty yellow, with a light head, not too aromatic.  The flavor is very soft, just a touch of bitter, and with a mild grassiness in the aftertaste.  It's unintrusive, a good sipping beer, could even be gulped at 4.2%.  The flavor is steady and unchanging from start to finish, harboring no surprises, what you start with is what you finish with.

The wind is a little unpleasant, although we're under a roof it seems like rain could easily be blown in.  I'm wandering a little deeper for the next glass.

La Volet was sandwiched in between a couple of busier stands with food and music, but the offering was attractive enough.  I went for Antiga, the old ale, hoping for my dark side to be fulfilled.  It is a nice chocolate brown, with a mild appley aroma, but the scent is pretty light too.  It's a little bitter at first sip, toasty, not so sweet as I feared it might be, just a little bit of apple flavor bubbles up in the end.  Mostly, though, the beeriness is in the forefront to be savored.  There's a bit of that left on the tongue after every sip, building up to a nice bitter over time.

I'm feeling the need for a nice black beer, and there is a coffee porter at CCVK.  It's the same color as Antiga, but with a creamier looking head.  I don't detect any aroma at all.  I wonder if the wind and food smells have something to do with that?  The beer is a little thin at first, but then a nice coffee taste wafts up.  It's very smooth and only slightly sweet, not tart like some, even coffee, porters.  It's a dort of afternoon beverage, to be relaxing in the garden with, hoping not to get rained on.  Ar 6.5% it's deceptively unchallenging in flavor and could get you to drink three or four before you know it.

Hmm, yeah

Maybe an IPA will have more character.  I stop by Cervezas Sanfrutos for one, and it appears it will do the trick.  It's kind of a dull yellow but bright and citrusy in aroma.  The taste is a little darker than I expected, slier, like the beer put one over on you.  I taste a smirk.  Besides that, it's a pretty standard IPA, nicely hoppy and with a good clean bitter flavor.  It's more energetic than the previous porter, sort of a sunny afternoon/warm evening sort of beer.  I personally would like it for conversation, although some might find it too distracting.

I found my beloved stout at Monkey Brewing, although I wonder if I've had it in the bottle; the name sounds kind of familiar.  (Yep)  It's a nice dark brown, with a fluffy kind of head, not a lot of aroma here either.  It's a very nice sweet and flavorful at first, but I get a touch of sour at the end of the swallow.  The sweet builds up but stays under control, nothing too syrupy.  I keep thinking it's a little bit coconutty, but maybe that's wishful thinking after seeing Galactic Nuts on tap.

Cotton candy?  It's a damn carnival!

To finish up, I think a light beer will be best,  I've already had an IPA, so maybe a lager?  Four Lions is just across the aisle with a Helles.  It's straw yellow, one of the beeriest drinks in appearance of the day.  It smells like a beer, with the typical graininess.  The taste is bitter, slightly grassy, and fizzy.  There's a weird kind of sting at the end of the swallow.  It's nice, but a little dusty, not as refreshing as an IPA might be.

Door wide open this year

So many beers, so many festivals!  Oh wait, so little time!

Gee, what are they doing here?

just the beginning

I took a nice walk down to Retiro the other evening, and on the way back stopped at Birra y Paz.  It doesn't look like they have taps like some other beer stores, but there are a couple of tables and a fridge, so you could have a pleasant beer if you needed a break from hiking through the park, dodging bikes and joggers.  As I couldn't attend the stout tasting on Thursday, I had a hankering, so I asked for recommendations; there are classics, but there's also always something new.  Nómada isn't a new brewery for me, although it appears I've only had it on tap, but Imperial Coco Stout rings no bells.  There was also a hazelnut stout.  Well, next time!  Might as well try something exotic when it jumps up at you.

The coconut smell is immediately present, and grows into a sort of Christmas liquor candy aroma once the beer is in the glass.  The beer is properly dark, although not terribly foamy or completely black.  The flavor starts with the sweeter bit, clear coconut taste and a little bit of that stout chocolate, but soon morphs into a woody, deeper bitterness.  There is an undercurrent of tropical fruitiness, thanks to the coconut's association with tropical cocktails I suppose.  It's like a piña colada mixed with a heavy stout.  The beer also feels thick and substantial, not watery at all.  Not easy to ignore.  I even get some hints of peppermint, which don't seem to be mentioned anywhere on the label.  Tricks of the mind for the season?

Supplier: Birra y Paz
Price: €4.95