ninethly

On the first day of Beermas I went and bought for me
A bird dropping beads on the street
Two turtledoves
Three Belgian roosters
Four birds calling for blood
Five rolling blings
Six geese parading
Seven mermaids bird flipping
8 breakfasts steaming
Nine drinkers dancing

Serendipitous, that's what this is!  Looking for something related to dancing and up comes Twist & Stout.  It's even a black beer, hooray!  This comes from Cerveja Musa, and although the label doesn't have a very energetic appearance, it does make you think of music of a certain time.  Music plenty of ladies liked to dance to.

It's one of those dark chocolate brown rather than black stouts, but those can have a lot of complexity.  There's something spicy or peppery in the aroma.  I almost think it's going to be a sweeter stout, but the flavor quickly turns into bitter, baking chocolate.  It's earthy, even a little dusty.  Really not very thick or heavy, though, a very light feeling beer.  For a stout it's remarkably thin.  The flavor is strong, and after a few sips something spicy does start to pop up.  After it settles it thickens up a little, feeling more like a normal stout than it did at first.

Supplier: Espuma
Price: €3.06

another outing

It's getting to be bright, sunny afternoons after rainy, haily ones and sometimes you just can't help but feel like spending some time out of the house.  Even remarkable homebodies like me.  I have things to do tonight that put me in the street, so maybe I'll just kill three birds with one trip.  I stop at Toast Tavern to see what's brewing and they have a summery selection of ales and lagers, with one Founder's on the wall.  It's the Scotch ale, which is a little heavy for my taste just now.  There are several IPAs, and one that I don't recognize.  Who doesn't like a surprise?  It's OPO 74 Gyroscope, from Portugal as it turns out.

Gyroscope has the look of many a craft IPA, with a rather orange color.  It's not as aromatic as some, but that doesn't stop it from having a fine, bold taste.  The flavor is bluntly bitter, rolling over the tongue and down the throat without a second thought.  While there is a hint of citrus, it's not as strong as with a majority of craft ales, probably to the liking of many who find that overwhelming.  The aftertaste has that touch of sweetness that a lot of crafts do, though.  The beer is constant from start to finish, remaining refreshing and smooth.  It's a good start to my Saturday brain bashing.

Supplier: OPO 74, Toast Tavern
Price: €5.50/pint