cross the line

Here's something fall-like and appropriate, a wheat IPA!  We're back to Guineu and a very simply labeled WIPA, although I wonder if the color scheme is meant to be evocative.  I kind of appreciate the inviting message on the yellow tape, though.  Despite a certain sense of exclusivity, there's always been at least the desire to have the door to the craft beer world open to all.

Mildly cloudy and a short but resistant head, the wheat comes through clearly in the aroma.  Very bready and meadow-sharp.  There's some fruit lurking in there too, the ghost of the IPA I imagine.  First the wheat beer glowiness slides in over the tongue, then a bitter boulder rumbles down.  There's kind of a fight between relaxed wheat and feisty IPA, a dance of different sides that kind of corkscrews its way down the throat.  It settles down into a modest easy-drinking beer, although it might be a little too demanding for those who just want to have snacks, sit back and watch the tube or something.  On a holiday eve, it could be a great choice for evening media consumption.  Old Christmas movies anyone?

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...

overwhelming!

Some fun having beer festivals during the week when you get up early every day!  Well, I managed to squeeze out a couple of visits to Lavapiés Artesana Week anyway.  If I had the time, I could probably visit all 31 venues over the course of the week, with a 28cl beer in each, but since I had to economize my time, there are only four to show.  First on Thursday, when I only had a couple of hours in the afternoon, I had to find a place that opened before 6pm.  There are a few, taverns and restaurants, and I thought I would try La Mancha (Miguel Servet 13). 

They were serving Bizarra, a beer from Salamanca, for the fair, although they might have it regularly?  I wandered in at about 2pm, and the place was gloriously empty to my eyes.  There was one couple at the tables on the street and one small group inside.  I got my Bizarra Tostada and my little tapa and sat down myself.  The beer has an apply, kind of cidery scent and a color that also recalls American apple cider.  The taste, on the other hand, would be described as bittersweet.  It's really quite a dry flavor, especially for a brown ale.  I keep expecting the sweetness to break through, but it really doesn't.  There is an interesting nutty background, but the taste is definitely bitter and a little smoky, like burned toast.  The acidity stays in the throat, building up, like with a strong lemonade.  There is a hint of caramel in the fore of the sip, but it is fleeting, and it takes a while for a smoothness to develop in the taste.  Only at the bottom of the glass does it seem like a little sugary teaser comes out, but the beer is never really sweet.  It's too strong to be a conversation or a meal beer, but quite nice to relax with accompanied by a mild snack and an interesting book.

Evening market

Friday night came and so did the desire to toss back a few.  We started at La Buena Pinta in Mercado San Fernando, which was surrounded by adults and children alike.  I'm not sure if this isn't the regular thing here, people coming with their kids to the market for a Friday night drink.  La Buena Pinta had La Virgen and Medina on tap, the latter being the represented brewery of the fair.  The promotion was a wheat IPA, suspect for me, but I'll try it.  It's light yellow, cloudy, looking quite a bit like a NEIPA.  The aroma also falls in line with that, being light and fruity.  The flavor is sweet, a little dusty, certainly not citrusy.  While it's a little sticky, the taste is very regular and balanced, not veering into bitter or cloying with a little time and temperature (it was damn hot in there!)

We escaped to the street looking for a snack and fell upon Como Vaca Sin Cencerro near Metro Lavapiés.  We were lucky to find one table free.  Their offering was La Loba IPA, but we got one IPA and one lager.  I took the darker colored beer, and it seems I got the lager.  A little disappointing, it had the same color as many Imperial IPAs.  The smell is a bit sweet, and the taste a bit flowery.  There seems to be a little dust in this beer as well.  It reminds me of Sagra Premium actually.  This is more of a company beer, not demanding too much attention, but it does develop a little more character in the presence of food.  Our small meal of potato/egg/mushroom/ham forced a little sharpness out of the brew.

Looking suspiciously like an Imperial IPA

Action tapas!

Wandering out into the rain, we darted down the likely streets looking for the posters in the windows.  For the last drink of the night we got into Aguardiente on calle de la Fe, more of a cocktail bar than regular bar.  Nice place, though, and the music wasn't too loud, with an enjoyable selection.  The beer here was from Alegría, a saison with a touch of lambic.  It was definitely fruity, but on the sour side.  While cleansing and refreshing, it goes a bit outside the comfort zone for typical beer drinking.  As I said, it really harkens back to lambics.  I found it to be a pleasant end-of-evening beer, which would have been better if I'd had something heavier before, stouts for example.  My drinking buddies were not so impressed, finding it more vinegary than they like their beers to be.

Don't forget those dates...

Once the glasses were drained, we tumbled out into the wet streets of the old city, fortunately not being rained on at the moment.