in the light of evening

Oh dear, more pale beers!  This Hoppy Pilsner is from a new discovery, thanks to the calendar, Hoppit.  Their last contribution was quite pleasing, although no stout.  Now that the rain has stopped it's starting to head towards more wintery temperatures around here, so a darker beer would be appreciated, but the extra light of La Llum might just be the thing to brighten my evening.

Pale, yellowy gold, pure white foam on top, it's definitely a pilsner.  It's a little bit sharper and citrusier in smell than what I expect from regular pilsners.  It is also very sharp in taste.  It reminds me of a lemon candy, sour and puckery and first, but smoothed over with a sweet tail-end.  It has a modern touch, not nearly the level of bitterness that more traditional pilsners have, a sting that pushes it towards IPA territory.  

wandering now

Kind of a '60s reminiscent style on the label, but it sounds like a more traditional leaning beer - kellerpils.  I guess it's a reminder of the goal of any brewer, to make a product that people long to have in their glasses, but there are lots of ways to get there.  Normally similar, only a few have significant differences of make-up or difficulty.  Everyone heading the same way to the same place of happiness, not with Santiago, but with Sanfrutos.  Time to mark out some Caminos Paralelos.

Very light in color and not a hint of cloudiness, also very classic head.  The aroma is pure German lager, lots of grain, a little grass, practically honey sweetness.  Flavor is surprisingly light as well.  I was expecting either a striking bitter or a rounded breadiness, but the beer is almost difficult to even feel in the mouth and the taste is really subdued.  It is more bitter than anything else, but there's a tad bit of corn and cucumber sneaking around too.

have a prize

The World Cup is right around the corner, and while I don't really care about that, I see from some advertising that Victoria Malaga is a sponsor of the Spanish national team.  Not a beer I know, so why not give it a try?  The spectators in Qatar aren't likely to have a chance.  A quick look into the history of the brewery reveals a strong German connection, German brewmasters being brought in at the company's beginnings and a happy German tourist being a memorable mascot mid-century.  Although the beer is named for the patron of Malaga, Our Lady of Victory, it does seem appropriate to sponsor a sports team.  Wishful thinking and all that.

As expected, very light, very foamy, a slightly sweeter aroma than many.  A nice lager flavor, bready and malty, with a tiny hint of bitter skittering over the top.  It has a disarmingly full mouthfeel, but then disappears right down the throat, making it both very satisfying to drink and quite easy to go for another sip.  However Spain does in soccer, the beer is a winner.

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!

suggestive

Although it's the last of the recent Be Hoppy selection to be drunk, it was the first one I noticed in the store.  They had it sitting proudly in the refrigerator with the colorful head map drawing the eye and the Slavic-like name piquing interest.  It almost looks like it should be a word in Czech or some related language, but as far as I can tell Rmuntovárí isn't a word at all.  Rmut is mash or pulp, and the suffix could be related to cooking, but what do I know?  Not a hell of a lot, I can tell you.  I can say it's not a surprising thing from Naparbier, one of the most dedicated and innovative craft breweries of Spain.  At first I thought they had done a collaboration, as they often do, but this looks like all Naparbier.  They have used a new yeast to create this classic Bohemian style pilsner, which they expect to give you a traditional experience, perhaps somewhat enhanced in flavor.

It pours out like a foamy champagne, with a sort of tan transparency that leads me to expect a sharp and somewhat dry flavor.  It's very lightly scented, just the barest hint of grain.  The first sip has a strong yet clean bitterness that drags a grapefruit kind of citrus behind it, a surprise, but one that cleanses the palate.  Despite the strong flavor, it's a very light beer.  While in the mouth it packs a punch, but once swallowed it kind of disappears, with only the mildest bitterness left on the tongue.  I guess I have to say it's one of the nicest pilsners made in Spain that I've had.  Many others have had an overabundance of sweetness but this one certainly doesn't suffer from that.  Yes, there is some citrus fruitiness, but it's a round and filling bitter citrus, not a flighty tropical kind like you'd get from a lot of modern ales.  I'm glad it's not as champagney as I was expecting, since I'm definitely more about the grain drinks than the wine ones.

Door #3

What do I have lying around for door number three?  Oh look, a German pilsner.  It's not one of those export pilsners in a half-liter can, so maybe we can be optimistic.  I mean, Weihenstephaner, oldest brewery in the world.  They must be doing something right?  I'm feeling a little skeptical about traditional things right now, though.

Very light in color, straw yellow, bright white head, although not very long lasting.  It has that German beer smell, a good whiff of grain and grass, although it is a little lighter than a lot of lagers and other helleses.  It's pretty thin in the mouth, but with a good flavor.  Slightly sweet, not grassy in taste.  Not very much bitter for a pilsner.  It feels a lot more like a summer beer than an Advent one, with just enough flavor to be good on its own, especially in company, but would so not lose anything with a nice salty snack.

I would have thought that I would have picked Wiehenstephaner pils at some point in the past; I have had several other of the beers.  Somehow the pilsner has never made it to my glass.  That's probably a mark of my disinterest in the "typical" than a true lack of opportunity.  The beer stores are pretty well supplied with German beers of this type, even now.  And the influence of German beers has been felt for more than a century in Spain and its drinking habits, at least in the products.  More on that later...

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...

Dec. 24 - Apostel Bräu

It's the end of my calendar!  All things must end, I suppose.  Tomorrow starts Beermas, however, and so we are reminded that every end is also a beginning.  The Apostel Bräu appears promising, as those more religiously themed beers tend to have some weight behind them.  Must be something about monastery life that makes people feel the need for powerful liquids.  Oddly, the can on one side has the normal "Gebraut nach den deutschen Reinheitsgebot" while the other side warns of the dangers of excess alcohol to health.  In Spanish, no less.

So, for the finale I get another transparent vaguely yellow brew.  It's so...unimpressive to behold.  The head is fairly resistant, takes a while to fizz away.  Not much aroma, just a hint of grain.  It's kind of a suggestion of beer.  The first taste is smooth and somewhat heavy, much more than the color would have you expect.  It's not exactly sour, but definitely not sweet.  The aftertaste lays down a little bitter at the back of the tongue.  It's not bad, I guess.  I feel like the Christmas Eve beer should have been more wintery, or at least a black beer, but you get what you get sometimes.  And starting tomorrow I get what I want to get, within certain limitations.  Nah, I get what I want to get, I make the rules for Beermas!

Dec. 20 - Mecklenburger

Well, one more pilsner I guess.  Why not?  The Mecklenburger Pilsener can is a festive red, although not as rustic or busy or modern as others.

Ech, kind of a dog's breath smell from the can when it gets popped open.  Maybe a little healthier color than yesterday's, white, fluffy head that leaves a nice if not very thick top.  Sour at first, and then a kind of sweetness oozes up.  Although I thought the aroma meant a bitter beer, it really isn't bitter at all.  Not too sticky, though, goes down pretty quickly.  Another beer that isn't bad, but not really anything special.  Makes the special ones more special...?

Dec. 19 - Hansa

Oh man, yet another pilsner!  It's a bright and active looking can, though.  A nice sailing ship gives a feeling of movement and adventure.  I wonder if Hansa Pils will live up to that impression.

Sharp pilsy scent on opening the can.  There's that light and transparent beer again, head quickly disappearing.  The taste, however, is a surprise, given the track record of these beers.  It's bold, sharp, bitter but not overly so, just a tad sour at the end.  It does build up a little bit of maltiness, even as a pilsner, although it's just a mild feeling in the middle of the drink.  Some stickiness builds up too, but overall it's a light but flavorful beer.  A pleasant surprise indeed.

Dec. 14 - Dominikaner

Oh maaaaaan, my swear journal will get started because of this advent calendar I think.  Another pilsner has popped up, still "premium beer", but pilsner nonetheless.  Dominikaner Pils.

Once again, that clear, light colored liquid, although a pretty good head on it.  White, fluffy, sticks around a while.  There's a mild sour-bitter aroma, something that shouldn't surprise when you have a pilsner.  The flavor is a bit sweeter than other pilsners, with a hint of grain, kind of a dusty aftertaste.  It would be nice if some bitter would kick in.  It's refreshing, anyway, but a little light for my tastes, especially at this time of year.

Dec. 11 - Astra Urtyp

The can of Astra Urtyp is simple, but with an attention calling heart towards the top and a barely camouflaged skull and crossbones at the bottom, not exactly boring.  "Brewed with love", they say.  Again, very modern and industrial, no folksy details or anecdotes.  I'm not hopeful that it will be anything special.

Yet another light yellow, typical beer-looking beer.  About the same look, and aroma, as yesterday.  Very typical light beer flavor, mostly just bubbly bitter.  There's a small aftertaste with a round, dusty sweetness, but nothing too impressive.  Basic beer...beeeyatch.

Dec. 10 - Germania

Today I get Germania Premium Beer.  That's it.  That's all it's called.  I imagine it's a lager, or maybe yet another pilsner.  A somewhat nature goddess-like face adorns the can, but nothing else to clue in the potential drinker on what they're in for.  The beer list calls it a pilsner, so I guess I should look forward to another thin, mildly bitter drink.

Very light yellow, transparent again, pretty good head.  It starts out thick and fluffy and maintains a line on top of the liquid at all costs, it seems.  A little sour and grainy in aroma, which makes me lean towards lager.  Also sour at first sip, but it quickly smooths out into a mellower sweet with a bitter chaser.  It's okay, not as unimpressive as the first ones, but not as sharp as yesterday's or the day before's.  Still, must be some hope if at least a couple have been fine...maybe another black beer lurking in there?

Dec. 9 - Pilsator

Oh man, back to pilsners.  Well, the can makes Pilsator seem like wild and crazy kind, so maybe there will be something different.  This can is fairly simple in comparison to the last one, no stories, no history, just a menacing feline.

High, thin beery smell, like a light beer.  Also back to the light colored and transparent.  Head is fluffy white and disappears only slowly.  And woooow, does the bitter pack a punch!  It has none of the tropical fruitiness that bitter craft IPAs have, it's just a medicinal, herbal kind of bitter.  It's remarkably clean, actually, disappearing from the mouth in seconds after being swallowed, no lingering behind.  There is a hint of graininess that starts to try for some kind of aftertaste, but it's also rather fleeting.  Despite the initial shock of the strong bitterness, I think I prefer this beer to the first pilsners, just for the power of the flavor.  I'd still rather have Cibeles Imperial IPA, or even that Paderborner from last night, though.

Dec. 4 - 5,0

So, I don't think the beers are shoved into the calendar randomly, I hold out hope that the black beers are being worked up to.  Just gotta get through the pilsners in the first few days.  Now I have something from 5,0, which might refer to the alcohol content of all the beers they produce?  The can at least looks like something more special and daring.  It's a "fan edition", in fact.  This is 5,0 Original, as opposed to the Export, which should come up a bit later in the month.

Another transparent, straw colored beer, dammit.  The head also disappears in a flash.  German lager-y aroma, a little sweet grain in there with a background of almost sour.  The taste is a blend of sweet, bitter, and sour, probably mostly sweet.  It's pretty solidly a German blond beer, but it has a little extra something in that sour part, although it still has a candy-like flavor to it.  It's more flavorful than those other pilsners, a little more attention grabbing.  Still a fairly tame beer, got that grainy taste overall, but it's more like what I've become used to and more pleasing to my palate.

Dec. 2 - Darguner

Another pilsner already?  I haven't heard of Darguner, though.  It's a premium pilsner, no maybe something a little stronger?

Even thinner looking than the Tuborg, but pretty good head.  It's a little stronger smelling, on the sweet side.  Practically the same taste, although it's flatter in terms of graininess.  There's a peculiar tingle on the back of the tongue that doesn't seem to have anything to do with flavor, but it's not an especially fizzy beer either.  I do get some of that same sour aftertaste as well, but again, more subdued.  If it sits for a while, there is some development of bitterness, but it's a very light touch.  I know there are some darker beers coming up, and I can hardly wait; pilsners are alright for summer, but I prefer something more substantial in the dark December!

Dec. 1 - Tuborg

"Drink and fun for everyone"?

So I have a German beer Advent calendar, and what is in the first box?  Tuborg.  Danish beer.  It is actually brewed under license in Germany though, so I guess that makes it alright.  I think I had some Tuborg in Copenhagen a few years ago.  I remember a kind of heavy, sweetish beer, good for seasonal sipping.  Let's see if the Advent can lives up to the memories.

It's a clear, light yellow pilsner, with a fluffy white head.  The very light aroma has a touch of toast and bitterness.  The flavor is hardly bitter at all, more mealy and slightly grainy.  It's a smooth tasting beer, but with a little ball of sweetness that builds up in the back of the mouth.  There's also some sour aftertaste, but everything stays at a low, mild level.  I think the Tuborg I had in Copenhagen wasn't the pilsner, hence the discrepancy in my memory.

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?