compartment

Everyone has problems these days, if it's utility prices, if it's rent, if it's gas...  Somehow all the milk has been cleared out of the supermarkets, although it doesn't seem like anything else has suffered quite so much.  Beer is perfectly available, for example.  And if not in the supermarket, in the beer stores.  La Cervecista does have the backing of Mahou, but sometimes you accept a more corporate source for some convenience.  It's not like the selection is blah and bland, there are a number of good breweries represented.  Jakobsland, for one.  I decide on The Fits, an American West Coast Imperial IPA.  It must be that specificity of identity that gives some people the fits.

It seems an oddly rusty color for such a transparent brew, even the fluffy head seems to have a little off-white to it.  It has a light and piney aroma, what you might expect from a West Coast IPA, although nothing overwhelming.  The flavor has more weight than the scent, bringing in a little maltiness and toast as well.  I'm surprised by the lack of pine and citrus.  It actually tastes more like a more traditional IPA, although with a very delicate kind of bitterness.  Despite the clarity of the beer, it has a sort of thick and substantial feel, like melted jello that is somehow still cold.

Supplier: La Cervecista

Price: €3.70

keeps my pictures?

Days getting warmer and brighter mean most people want their beer to do that too.  Well, the brighter part anyway.  Some people can't do with a dark beer on the most wintery of days.  Hard to understand, those other people.  I'm not averse to an IPA every once in a while myself, and if it's from a brewery like Basqueland, even better.  SSD is a West Coast IPA, so maybe not as soft and breakfast-wake-upy as a NEIPA might be, but both sides have their good points.  Refreshment assured being one of them.

A remarkably fruity aroma leaps out, more peachy to me than citrusy or anything else.  After a little time some of that spicy pine that you would expect from a beer of this style does push its way through.  It's a lighter colored beer, pale gold, abundantly headed.  The flavor is darker and mellower than I was expecting, although there's no surprise citrus.  I get more melon than peach, although some sweeter, woodsier fruits are hiding in there as well, peeking out from time to time as you try to figure out how a pine-smelling beer can be so creamy.  It has a fairly thick feel, if the peach was more in the forefront it would be a peaches-and-cream kind of beverage.  As it is, it's perhaps a filtered melon drink.  With melted ice cream.

Supplier: La Mundial

Price: €7

work your magic

It's supposed to get more humane this week, maybe even rain a little bit.  Gray skies need a little brightening, so I feel justified in having an IPA.  A nice hoppy one, too, to reenergize.  Naparbier is always a good choice, and Aker has an interesting label design.  More than an IPA, it's a West Coast IPA, so no tropical sweetness expected, probably a lighter feel than a NEIPA.  Although I would have been happy with that too.

It's a bit cloudy for a West Coast IPA, but it has a tangy, spicy aroma that fits right in.  It has a straw yellow color, fine, white head.  The flavor is light, although the beer has a sort of resistance in the mouth that's surprising.  It's resiny, with a tiny touch of citrus.  There's also a hint of pine and an undercurrent of wood, but I don't think I can tell if it's pine wood or any other kind.  The fruity flavors come out little by little, a blend of orange, mango and cucumber.  Maybe there's some melon in there too.  It's a very refreshing kind of mixture, light feeling and summery.  

Supplier: Cerevisia

Price: €3.40

loud and clear

I'm down to the little cans in the pack now, but I can imagine they are just as enjoyable as those big ol' Osos.  Oh yeah, done with Oso Brewing for now too.  Today it's Caravelle.  Still national, but less local being in Barcelona.  This is Violent Mumble, a West Coast IPA, which I hope won't knock me out to the point of mumbling violently with no clear ideas.  It's only 6.5%, so probably not.  I had a good lunch and everything.

What's that you say?

Ah, yes, of course

I was expecting the West Coast IPA to be a little clearer, but this one is also on the cloudy side.  Not nearly as much as some of the other recent ales, and a somewhat darker color too.  Nice white head, though, and a more cleansing kind of smell, very piney.  And I do mean cleansing in a good way, not that I feel like I'm about to have some floor cleaner.  The taste blends the pine with a touch of citrus and grain, giving a rounded sort of flavor that rolls through the mouth and down the throat at a leisurely pace.  I'm getting a tiny bit of toasty aftertaste, interestingly enough.  Again, it's a thoroughly refreshing beer, with a very moderate kind of bitter, nothing to overload the senses.  It's not particularly sweet, having more of a resinous, woody quality.  Kind of tastes like you might imagine the west coast woods to taste like, in fact.  Hey, even the fires get in there with that whisper of toast in the end!  So timely Caravelle, so much awareness.

Seems quite peaceful, actually

Supplier: Birra Y Paz

Price: €4.20