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Ceit

7/10 would drink again

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As we roll into the month of vacations, it’s nice to look back as well as forward. Spain’s craft beer scene has just barely cleared a decade, and the field is still vibrant, changeable and volatile. Bars and stores come and go, breweries appear, expand, and sometimes get absorbed or simply vanish. As humans, we like to celebrate round numbers especially, those multiples of ten making the biggest emotional impact. Is the first decade the most exciting? It might be in most cases, actually, but the desired answer would probably be that the excitement will only grow as time goes on. San Frutos Siete, a Catarina Sour, shows the blending of fashion and tradition we still see in craft beer. Let’s see if it shows their typical quality as well.

Very, very light color, kind of a washed out gold. It has good head at first, but that goes down quickly. It’s extremely fruity in aroma, without the usual sulfur or swampiness that I get off of sours and some fruity beers. My first impression is mandarin, but there’s some passionfruit and maybe mango lurking in there too. Very tropical overall. There might be a hint of banana? Maybe that’s just psychological as I imagine a typical fruit basket, which tends to have some bananas. It’s not nearly as sweet and fruitpunchy as it seems when you get it in your mouth. The sour part of the style comes back with a vengeance, wiping out most other flavors you’re looking for. It even hangs around like a powerful sour candy, just waiting to take out anything you send after it. After the initial shock, I think some fruitiness does come out in the aftertaste, a little citrus and maybe some other tropical fruit I can’t describe properly. It has almost a ghostly feel, no weight at all, leaving all the heavy lifting to the flavor. It’s extremely refreshing, and not a bigass beer at a modest 4.6%. To sit in the shade, let the world pass by, and enjoy by itself, it’s a good choice. Happy Anniversary indeed.

Supplier: La Mundial
Price: €6

raise the extinct

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It’s hot and uncomfortable, at least for cold weather people like me, and the metro is full of hot weather warnings. Nobody suggests having a beer to relax in the evening, but that’s probably part of the general trend of less alcohol consumption over the last few decades. Still, if you’re familiar with the effects of a good, sharp, modern IPA, it’s an idea that tends to entice. Something about dinosaurs also perks you up, I think. And best of all, it’s a NEIPA! Well, New England double IPA, but within the group. I’ve been seeing a lot of Stu Mostów lately, I think people have the idea that those central Europeans must be making quality beer as always. It has worked out that way with this brewery for me. So, on to Art+66!

Very fluffy and bubbly, bright orange-y color, tingly and vaguely herbal aroma. There’s also a hint of dry grass and pine, which is probably how a lot of natural areas are smelling right now. Bitter at first, bouncing between that and an odd touch of wood and cilantro, the beer feels very controlled and calming, rather than explosive and exuberant as some do. There’s a hum of bitter in the aftertaste and the liquid feels a bit thick and sticky for its color, but it isn’t hard to swallow and the bitterness is stimulating rather than distracting. After a few minutes a little cantaloupe starts to form in the flavor, giving the beer another layer of freshness and roundness. If you don’t slam it down, there will be a bit more citrus starting to cling to the back of your throat, but even that is light and kind of a pick-me-up in this kind of weather. It’s not as juicy or beermosa-like as many NEIPAs, which could be a plus or minus depending on your mood at the time. I’m perfectly satisfied with what I got.

Supplier: La Mundial
Price: €6.50

wake up

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It’s as summery as you want and I will insist on a stout. Pastry stout! It’s almost more refreshing to have a pastry stout than a normal one, since that sugar kicks in. And this particular stout by Malandar is not only sugary, it’s chocolatey and coffee…-y. Some might be put off by the name – Donkaccino – but those people probably shouldn’t be drinking exotic liquids anyway.

Appealing color, but not very heady, even with an abundance of bubbles. There’s a good whiff of chocolate and vanilla, although with a touch of licorice. All come through in the flavor, although there’s also a good bit of toastiness, almost to the point of burned toast. The smokiness of charred bread hangs around in the aftertaste, well after everything else floats away. It starts off smooth and silky, every easy to get down, but the stickiness rises over time and after a few sips starts to leave a little residue along with flame-based aftertaste. Towards the end a woody flavor develops, reminiscent of barrel aged stouts, but maybe it’s just some absolutely sucked-dry coffee beans.

Supplier: La Mundial
Price: €7.90

Irish pubs

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Irish Pubs have seen a surge and purge here in Madrid and in other cities around the world. Ceit explores the reasons behind this, as well as what made Irish pubs popular in the first place.

always a season

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It’s been a hallmark of craft breweries to do some seasonal beers, either traditional styles or more modern innovations. Sometimes they become regular, like Christmas beers, sometimes they appear and vanish into the dark expanses of memory. Even those breweries taken under the papery wings of Big Beer sometimes continue fun, like Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandy or La Virgen’s Castaña ale. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised to see Estrella Galicia joining the fun, after all they hype themselves as being at the level of craft breweries in terms of innovation and attitude. Is Fresh Summer Ale another way to resist the summer temperatures?

Very bubbly, fluffy head that gently dissipates, very light orange and transparent. It has a somewhat ale-y aroma, but it’s more like industrial beers with a good load of grain than the citrusy craft ales. Flavorwise, it hits you with a firm bitter, but rolls back into more of a maltiness. It’s light and easy going down, doesn’t leave a lot of aftertaste. It gets a touch of lemon after a couple of sips, although not to the point of being shandy-like. It has a very summery profile, definitely something that you would enjoy under an umbrella on the beach or at the bar, you could probably put several down without thinking much about it. I don’t mind this for a little change, but I think I prefer helles even for the summer. Keeps my grounded, or something.

Episode 03 – Cañas

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Today Ceit explains to us what on earth is a caña, and why they are so popular in Spain when people go out to terraces to have some beer.

touch of perfume

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A present! Yay! A friend had gone to the lavender festival not far from Madrid, where musicians had performed and many snacks had been sold, and brought me back a lavender beer. It turns out about 10% of the world’s lavender comes from Brihuega! Not bad at all. I have the vague memory of coming across a lavender beer at a past Beermad, when they were still at the Railroad Museum, which I did not hate. I know because I have not hated a single Beermad beer. Could it have been the same maker? This bottle says it was made by a butcher shop, so perhaps not. But who knows? Maybe Carnicería Clemente got Vulturis or some other brewer to cook up and bottle a few years ago too. The beer contains wheat, so I’m expecting that that will be the overwhelming experience of the beer and the lavender will be more in the aroma without affecting the liquid parts so much.

Very light golden color, straw yellow at first but gaining in golden quality. Not a lot of head, and what there is fizzles off into a tiny ring around the edge. The perfume is double-edged; searching for the lavender, you do find it floating on top, but there’s a much stronger almost musky aroma coming in low. It’s a little more like a wet field than a field of lavender, at least based on the scents I’ve been exposed to. But maybe this is the more natural aroma before it gets processed? The taste starts out tingly, flower-sweet, with a sort of perfume essence to it, then rolling down into a more spicy-sour, a battle of field and hay barn. The flowers come back in the aftertaste, although I don’t think I would be able to identify them as lavender if I didn’t know. Whenever something tastes flowery I default to clover. It has a quality of a sour beer without being especially sharp and yet it’s not a beer that you would drink without even thinking. It makes me wish I had a cheese board or something, it’s a beer that would not be harmed by a little mellow snack to take the edge off the bite of nature.

not electric

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There’s a fine brewery to my north where many a fine beer has been produced. Maybe not the most interesting beers, mostly varieties of pale ale, but all quite tasty. Of course they have branched out into sours, it’s the hot, hot summer, and we need that little snap of almost sugar with that cheek grabbing sour. The can is almost subdued, pastels but promising something exciting. Not a Boogaloo, actually, but maybe you’d want to get up and dance with all those blueberries, mangoes and currants flying around your mouth. Oh, you want to know what brewery is making this potion? Of course you do! It’s Península.

It’s kind of a fizzy grapefruit color, with a little head in the beginning, although it fizzles out. That sulfury aroma that many sours have is present, along with whiffs of astringent fruit. There’s a balance of sweet and sour in the taste, but definitely more weight on the sour. It has kind of a sour candy sort of flavor. While bubbly at first, the carbonation starts to wane with the minutes and the beer takes on the smoother texture, leaving only the sourness to smack your tongue around. It starts off pretty clean, many the fizz sweeps up on the way down, but as it gets flatter it gets thicker and heavier. Not to the point of unpleasantness or where you wouldn’t want to finish the glass, but it is a noticeable difference. Still, for those that are wary of taking on a black beer under a broiling sun, it might be a good option.

Supplier: Labirratorium
Price: €5.20

Episode 02 – Beer Fairs

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Have you ever been curious about beer fairs? In this episode, Ceit explores the wonderful world of beer fairs in various countries, their history and why they are interesting for both brewers and drinkers.

summer treat

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It’s true that stouts aren’t the beer of choice in a Madrid summer for most people. It’s not a surprise, I can’t fault them too much. But dammit, why can’t there be just a couple floating around for us lovers of darkness? Well, at least packaged stouts aren’t too hard to find, and very tempting ones too. La Quince astonished me with their Vanilla Black Velvet years and years ago, and it’s still a class act, although different years give slightly different results. Part of the fun! They also have different versions of Black Velvet, sometimes with different collaborators, but this is the old team of La Quince and Guineu, back with a new variety – Doughnut Black Velvet Pastry Stout. I now what you’re thinking, it’s going to be far too heavy for the current temps, but I say a little sugar water/beer is just the thing to get you up off your sweaty ass.

It’s extra foamy, very resistant dark milk chocolate head. I was expecting a little more aroma from the get-go, but it’s pretty subdued. There’s kind of a sweetish smell, but there’s a little bit of milk that’s just a tiny bit too old floating on top. It also seems kind of … meadowy? Clovery maybe? The taste is smooth at first, and very much Black Velvet. The doughnut doesn’t weigh it down very much or add excess sugar. Weirdly, it’s toward the middle of the sip that you notice the fizziness, so the beer actually ends feeling more like a soda or sparkling wine even though the flavor is unmistakably stouty. It’s quite pleasant and not at all a burden of a drink on a summer evening. Sure, some might prefer a fruitier or zippier style, but this is a remarkably light pastry stout and a tasty evening beverage. La Quince (and Guineu), you’ve done it again!

Supplier: Labirratorium
Price: €4.75

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