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 Despite my less than impressive previous experience, I couldn't resist picking up the black label Senador Volstead from the import store cooler.  I assumed it was a dark beer and, managing not to flood my table, I was rewarded with an amber brew, of fleeting head, and a puff of apple aroma.  The beer is sweet, without any particular notes at first.  Maybe there's a little chocolate after a couple of sips.  The flavor remains mild throughout the drinking, not becoming oppressive or sticky.  It is recommended to go with food, "any kind" of food, but this time I think the Senador can stand safely on its own.

america meid in espain

There are some things from your home that you'd rather not do without when you're an ex-pat.  They aren't absolutely necessary, but if you can find them, you snap them up.  That's why I patronize the import groceries for sodas and snacks.  Sorry Europe, your pickles just don't compare to Heinz hamburger slices.  Then one day I saw this in the cooler with the Dr. Pepper:

Apparently the makers are taken with the adventure and romance of Prohibition.  They named the beer after the leading proponent of the amendment and the website is a photo of 1920's gangsters.  And almost nothing else.  If you want to get some of this for yourself, you have to write to the email address and negotiate a delivery.  No info about what stores may have it, what bars stock it, what's in it, where it's made, nothing.  It's not entirely secret information; you can google up some interviews with the brewers, based in Galicia if you're curious.  I was curious enough to pick up a bottle.

The beer looks about as typical as can be - beer colored, beer-foamy when poured.  It gives off a sour, ale-y smell and is very bubbly in the glass.  The head isn't excessive and dies down pretty quickly, although the beer continues to be almost soft-drink bubbly.  As the smell would suggest, it is sour but with an almost oatsy undertaste.   Snacks like chips and olives moderate the sourness, making it much more palatable for me, and it becomes more bitter than sour after sitting a while.  To my taste, it's not a beer to drink on its own.  With a little food, it is refreshing and offers a nice balance to salt or vinegar, but by itself it's just the sourness of a self-proclaimed anti-authoritarian smugly flipping the bird at the gummint.