roads long untraveled

As we wake up again to life outside, both thanks to spring and to the idea that we don't have to worry about certain viruses anymore, celebrations that we remember fondly also reappear.  Beermad did shake off its sleep last fall (and will be up again shortly), but Artesana Week was nowhere to be found for a couple of years.  Happily, it has been awakened.  A few places I remember from other years aren't on the list, but some familiar names are, and there's no reason to shun new opportunities anyway.  As a grumpy introvert, I went down in the afternoon, hoping there would be relatively few people.  There might have been, but there were still more than enough for me.

Good to know we are well watched over

We begin at Casa Zoilo, one of the old standards.  They had four Península brews on tap, and I considered the sour at first, just for something different, but ended up with Sendero Hazy IPA.  For whatever reason I felt like starting off slow and the sour was a fairly strong 7%.  Sendero has a cloudy look, thick head, what I tend to like in a NEIPA.  It's bitter-juicy, a natural, fresh squeezed kind of tasting beer, not super citrusy, like a mild grapefruit.  The chorizo tapa is ok, a little grease to balance the bitter, almost tart, of the beer.  Despite appearances it's not a super thick hazy, feeling very light and easily drinkable.  Also not exceptionally strong, at just over 5%.  It's a good starter, just a little push-off for a beer march.  Crawl is not the word I want, especially early Saturday afternoon.

 

Now on to a new name, Beer Joint.  They offer Oso's Dignity IPA for the Week.  It's similar to Sendero, down to the cloudy color, but much lighter head.  It has a somewhat flatter taste, a little bit planty, less overt hops, tingles a bit more.  In fact it's weirdly tickly for such a mild flavor.  Again, nice afternoon starter drink, good to talk with since it doesn't demand the limelight.

I think Taberna Filomena used to operate under a different name; I might have to dig through some old posts to see if I can track it down.  Their sponsorship goes to Groovie, with a session IPA and an amber ale.  I've already had two IPAs, so Gabba Gabba Hey it is.  Nice caramel color, low aroma, kind of salty sweet to the taste at first.  Maybe like a candy you forgot in your pocket.  Still, it has a certain charisma, an allure with a touch of bitter that maybe, just maybe, hints at something more.  Eventually it mellows out into a malty sort of refresher, a little bit heavier after the IPAs, feels like a good step on the path.

 

Chinaski has shown some good times in the past, and they've done a little redecorating.  Gone is the board on the wall with the scribbled names of brews, up is the shiny new screen behind the bar with names, prices, percentages etc.  The menu is long and varied, but I'm dedicated to Artesana Week, and what they have for that is La Quince Roots Red Ale.  La Quince is good and red ale is normally good.  I dive in.  Also good color, much like Groovie's, but there's something in the aroma a little like when you first open a freezer.  The flavor is a ball of surprises - grainy, sour, bitter - all strangely pleasant.  There's a slight cucumber/melon with a touch of salt in the aftertaste.  I'd say this is a more grown up beer than the previous ones, a beer that isn't afraid to stand alone.  That little bit of saltiness even makes it seem like its own snack.

Wandering down Argumosa, I remember how much I didn't like going out before the pandemic.  It's good to see people patronizing their local watering holes, but the crowd is a little too much.  I sit down in La Buga del Lobo anyway, after asking for Speranto's Blanka Trigo at the bar.  I wait quite a while before a waitress takes pity on me and brings out my beer within a minute.  We're back to a cloudy beer, with that sweet, light wheat aroma.  It's just a little sour in flavor, but mostly sweet and summery.  It's a nice wheat beer in that it doesn't have that weird aftertaste a lot of the German ones have.  It's a step back from Roots, into lighter territory, but it's a solid step in a series of afternoon beers.

Old El Pedal was taken over by the more traditional cafe next door, I guess.  Maybe to have a space to appeal to hipsters, and take advantage of all kinds of promotions.  Of course, the offer isn't what it once was; La Virgen is on tap.  I risk a Jamonera for old time's sake.  It's what it has been for years - vaguely beer tasting with a nice color.  The more bitter note is nice after the sweet wheat beer, and is in fact more impressive than Jamonera has been in the last 5 years or so.  It's an ok mid-romp beer, a little thick and sticky, something that doesn't flow past you perfectly unnoticed.  I still might keep badmouthing the beer, at least in comparison to what else La Virgen puts out these days.

I've been traipsing around for a few hours now.  One more to call it a day, and another new place: La Caníbal.  I'm hoping for something dark and substantial, but it's just a pilsner.  With a little raspberry though, so that's something.  Dessert?  The brewery is San Frutos, so I can trust that it's at least pleasant.  It looks very normal, nice little head, really no aroma at all.  The taste is certainly different from what I've been having today, a lot of woodiness, a very bitter and stimulating kind of pilsner.  The aftertaste does have some fruit in it, but unprompted I don't think I would identify it as raspberry.  It's sharp and driving, the kind of beer you don't fall asleep to, not the most obviously pleasing however.  After a bit of time a sweeter, softer, more desserty flavor comes out, but also only in the aftertaste and it vanishes quickly.  It's an interesting beer, I'll give it that, stout and built up in sensation, delicate and easily crumbled in flavor.

Artesana Week comes to an end in Lavapiés, but Beermad is just around the corner!

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

modern times

Will we ever find a light at the end of this tunnel of restrictions and disinterest?  It's the disinterest that's the worst.  People don't even want to do free things anymore.  It's a time to brood over a brew, that's for sure.  I could have gone the solemn stout route, but somehow a bright and bubbly IPA just called to me.  Maybe it was the name: Hashtag Modern IPA.  It's a beer from Península, which seems to be weathering the viral storm without much trouble, at least in terms of inspiration. 

Awfully fizzy for a beer that's been in my refrigerator all night.  Wasn't in the door either, so no extra shaking.  Oh well, there have been greater disasters.  It has that nice almost piney IPA smell and it's definitely on the lighter side of the color scale.  It has that sweetish flavor that lots of modern IPAs have, very fruity, not bitter hardly at all.  I can catch just tiny hints of citrus, but it's much more melony.  There's also an oddly dusty feel to it, like some pulp or fruit fibers made it through the strainer.  The beer itself is perfectly clear, though.  Although the flavor develops some interesting layers, herbal and spicy notes, it never really gets beery bitter.  It's just a sort of liquid pesto.  However, the beer feels too delicate to do any kind of cooking with.  It's definitely one you want to have somewhat cool to be at its best level of refreshing.

Supplier: Labirratorium

Price: €2.85

Door #20

While browsing stouts I happened to see an offering from Península, which made me think of how lucky I am to have so many local and regional breweries makin' the good shit.  If we had had a pandemic 10 years ago I think I wouldn't have fared as well.  The man in the shop really talked up Glotona; it's a maple syrup infused stout, with cinnamon and cookie flavors, mild but flavorful, good for drinking hot or cold, even for cooking with.  I wonder about cooking with some of these special beers, I think I might kill off their presence.  I better cook than me would know how to highlight them instead, I imagine.

Blacker than yesterdays', a little more head, with a dark beige hue.  It's almost like the Moose Moss or whatever stout I had a couple of years ago, that was absolutely divine.  There's a wafting maple syrup whiff that comes up from the glass, but not as much spice as Oso's stout.  The syrup is really lying in wait for the sip, though, easily flattening any other ingredient.  It's not exceptionally heavy, though, a sweet but easily sipped drink.  It's not the wallop that the other one was, but Glotona is quite a nice stout, and with just that touch of sweetness rather than a whole barrelful.

Things still on the way, stockings to be stuffed.

right side of the tracks

There is nothing like outdoor beerfests.  Last time people had to pay to get in, and it was covered, but the most recent Beermad was free to enter and open to all elements.  Fortunately, the elements were favorable.

It's a little difficult to decide sometimes, with so many beers from so many places, so I thought I'd rely a little on fate.  The first beer I came across was Vulturis, and there was a Saison con Lavandra, which is something different.  First time I've seen that, it's a good start for me!  At 6% it's heavy for a saison.  Cloudy orange, fizzy head, not very perfumey, which I would have expected from a lavender beer.  There is a touch of perfume in the flavor, a sort of clover honey, but it's really more bitter than anything.  Kind of tough on the throat after a while, but I guess the roughness could be pointed out as "natural" or "herbal".

Doing a little beer roulette, my glass was empty near Peninsula.  It's a good brewery, so no regrets there.  I ended up with Hop On Pale Ale, a little darker orange and with more citrus aroma than the last beer.  Not so much citrus in the flavor, though.  It's a definite ale but with a deeper bitter, and cardamon or something.  A little sticky, but summery and refreshing flavor without being too light for a rainy day.

There's a definite lack of dark beers, although that's not a new thing.  There are a few though, like La Morena Stout.  It's a little light in color, more of a dark brown, slightly sour smell, bitter-sour taste.  It's earthy without any chocolate or heavy malt, a tickly and summery sort of stout.  It's like some German darks in feel, but with the bitter flavor of a good black beer.

Walking roulette left me in front of Ebora, where they had Suomi Baltic Porter.  I hesitated at first, since it is barrel aged, but it is really quite a subtle sort.  Light in color again, weirdly toasty for a bourbon beer in aroma, and just a touch of bourbon in background flavor.  If you didn't know it was there you might never guess.  This beer does have some whispers of chocolate or vanilla, and is less bitter by far than the last one.

Ziva 5.0# is in the same line as a barrel aged stout from the last edition, but this is a "normal" beer.  It's Russian Imperial Stout, again not quite black, but with a beigier head than the others.  There's a more typical stout aroma, dark, a little smokey and a little sour, the taste is definitely sweet though.  I would guess this is a bourbon porter before Suomi, but there's a weird grassy grainy aftertaste that i could actually do without.

I was thinking of heading out, so I though a lighter beer might be good to end on.  I found Oso Brewing Cerveza de Mesa and hoped that it would fit the bill.  It's very light, like a kölsch or radler, with kind of a weird sweety citrus smell.  It's vaguely bitter and vaguely citrus, a real palate cleanser, but not a real mark of ending.  So...

The real last drink was La Verbena 2nd Hand Ale, an amber.  The appearance is typical of amber and red ales, but this is one of the more balanced ones.  It's a little touch of light, but with a fairly substantial body, slightly citrus but more ale.  It's a smooth drink, easy down the throat, with a good level of bitter.  Not a sweet beer in fact, a strong ale sort, just enough sour to give it something interesting.  Now this is a good one to end on.

self service

On the venerable street of Malasaña is a bar I have not yet visited.  As if that's special in a city this big.  Anyway, I had seen Los Grifos a couple of times as I hurried to some other place, and a little bit of checking told me they had taps that you can serve yourself with.  Wha?  How does that kind of thing work?  Seems dangerous!  It's something that brings you in to check out, in any case.  As I got there early, it wasn't hard to get a nice window seat.  I think it wouldn't be as nice in the evening, though, when the street is full of smoking drunks.

There are in fact taps to serve yourself with, as well as three at the bar, and a fridge full of bottles.  Being what I am, I started with a bottle because that's what the stout was.  Espiga's Blackcelona barrel aged stout is slightly odiferous on the pour with just a touch of that whiskey sweet.  It's an opaque dark brown, typical stout appearance.  The aroma is much fuller from the glass, slightly smokey but strongly alcoholic.  It's a little salty at first, then powerful liquor bitter, with a hint of licorice and subtle sweetness in the last few seconds.  There is a noticeable aftertaste, not unpleasant, although it alternates oddly between bitter and sweet.  The tastes are harder to separate towards the end.  It's not too sticky in spite of being barrel aged, but has definite weight.

As long as I'm here, I can have a draft beer too.  I remember La Virgen's Jamonera, but let's see if it lives up to my memories.  Cloudy amber color, light head, dusty honey scent - but disappointing taste.  The flavor is on the weak side, but a little bitter bubbles up at the end, not at all what the aroma would suggest.  A couple of sips bring out the honey, although just on the tip of the tongue, the rest gets a very mild bitter.  There's a kind of cheesy smell that starts to come off the beer as it warms up, which is odd, but doesn't get strong enough to really be distracting.  Like most of La Virgen's stuff these days, the beer seems thin and soulless, not the wild unpredictable thing it once was.  It has been tamed.

You need to get a card to work the taps, and the novelty is just irresistible.  There's a nice IPA from Península to end with, too.  A bit cloudy but good golden color, and that high citrus scent.  Nor surprise in the taste, a strong citrus bitter, very craft IPA, although none of the tropical nuances of American IPAs.  This is really more spicy.  A tad bit of cardamon or something similar.  Even pepperiness comes across in the flavor.  I am not quite sure, but I wouldn't be surprised if I've come across this beer at some beer fair in the past, since I'm finding that spiciness familiar.  It's not as light as some IPAs or pale ales, mildly sticky, but the spice makes it a refreshing and interesting beer.