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not mad but fresh

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While Beermad prepares for a fall appearance, Oso Brewing organized a festival while we wait. They tried something a little different in terms of consumption; pay a fairly sizable entrance fee and then drink as much as you want. Given that I seek out stouts, which tend to be on the more expensive side, I think I can make the €40 worth it. It’s in the upstairs space of Chamartín, where Beergote was a few years ago, and most likely with much better temperatures. Unfortunately, those temperatures come with some moisture as well, making the outdoor space a little less usable. I was happy to see quite a line ahead of me when I arrived 20 minutes before the doors opened. This is what a festival is supposed to start up like, with anxious patrons looking forward to getting in there! We were lined up under some overhanging building features, so when it started raining, hard, just before noon, we were not bothered. It took a good 15 minutes to get in the door, with some starts and stops to keep the glass distribution uncluttered. I did not see stouts featured at first, but checking the guide, I saw a few on offer. I managed to hop right up to Vault City while the tapman was explaining their stout Swiss Peaks to some other interested visitors. It’s based on Toblerone, with chocolate and caramel, and supposed to be a cheeky little brew. How can I resist?

Waiting, waiting…

It’s a good, dark color, with a candied and nutty aroma, and an inexistant head. It really does smell like a Toblerone. The taste is a pleasant blend of stouty earth, salt, chocolate, and something a little rubbery, reminiscent of airports. It’s not very heavy in texture, but firm bodied. They keep the ABV a secret on the guide – too strong and scary or too unbelievably light?

It’s coming on 12:30 and there’s still a pretty long line of people waiting to access the fest. Seems like a positive, except for them. I find Soma and Factory side by side, each with a nice sounding stout for me. Factory is a little less busy, so that’s where I start, with Lady Cupcake #10. It’s another “simple” imperial stout, nicely dark colored and also rather lacking in head. There’s a vaguely sweet aroma, but very subtle. Tastewise, it’s something a little different. There’s a burst of cherry with a dark chocolate cake, oddly dry feeling in the mouth, and a slight hint of timber in the aftertaste. I’d expect it to be shortly barrel aged, but it doesn’t seem to be one of those. It’s a very respectable stout though.

There’s a line building up inside, and at first I’m not sure what for. Later I see it’s for Messorem, and even later I find out why everyone is willing to wait.

I wander back to the pair from before, but this time I sidle up to Soma. Burial sounds like something preprared for a Halloween release, but here it is on a fertility promoting May afternoon. Again, merely imperial stout, but also again, very good looking. He filled the glass right up to the tippy top, but still no head. The aroma is very slight, but there’s something earthy and wooden wafting up. The wood also comes out in the flavor, strikingly so. Hard nuts and vegetation also come to mind. It has that nutty flavor that’s not exactly sweet, but there’s no traditional stout bitter. There’s another character in there too, some kind of smoking supporting actor lurking in the background, not quite in focus but leaving its mark.

Anspach & Hopday sounds like it ought to be German, but it is not, it is English. They didn’t get their Stout Porter delivered to them, so maybe some postal workers are having a party somewhere, but lots of people spoke very well of London Black, so I’m persuaded to give a nitro beer a chance. It’s fascinating to see in the glass, but the show is over a little too quick for my camera skills. As expected, it’s very easy drinking, with a sort of mineral watery flavor. The head, finally, is perky and abundant. All respect to A&H, they must work hard, but it is as I feared and just another nitro beer. I can understand what other people like, but it does nothing for me.

The bubbles, almost got ’em!

Neighboring stand Cloudwater had a **barrel aged** stout, which felt like something deserved after that nitro. The rain had let up and people were drifting out into the patio area for a little extra room, although the surfaces were not really ready for sitting on. Cleaning staff was mopping inside most of the time, and were even trying to dry off the outside tables, to little avail. Trees For Life is quite the name, and quite the beer from the get go. Cinnamon, cherry, ginger, the aroma is incredible. It has a sort of Christmas candle essence to it. The taste does not disappoint. Apfelstrudel, gingerbread, a faded memory of Sachertorte, this beer is a glory and privilege to drink. It kills off any previous disappointment, and doesn’t stop there. The complexity of flavors builds, they melt into each other to create a fantastic blend of experiences. This isn’t an all-year beer, this is a beer that transcends time, with notes for every season, a weight for winter and a shining light for summer.

It mught not be fair for any beer to come after Trees, but Lervig is a formidable stout maker and if anyone can come to the match up, it’s them. Five By Rackhouse is also barrel aged, so it’s starting from the same place at least, but it doesn’t have the jack-in-the-box of scents. It’s mild and disarming, and diving in there’s a definitely stouty but also syrupy flavor. It leans toward bourbon, clearly displaying its barrel aged background, but it’s not as explosive as Trees. Still, Five is well-presented, solid, balanced, self-assured and hitting all the necessary points. It might not be a Black Forest Stout, but it is a delight in itself.

It’s finally time to switch it up and look for something else, perhaps a fruit sour to cleanse the palate. Sudden Death has an enticing one: Blåbärsoppa International Women’s Day Celebration Beer! There was a woman serving, fittingly. So, a couple of months late, but still appetizing. It’s a deep ruby red with a strawberry whiff, and wow oh wow, it’s cherry Kool-aid! It is in fact delicious, not to mention clean, sweet, summery and hopeful.

Sad, cold empanada

I haven’t visited the local beers this festival, which you really should. If not for them, there would be no audience, after all. I wander over to their taps and at this time we have Arktos, which I am well familiar with. I’m still trying to land gently after all those stouts, so I choose the honey beer, which is not exceptionally heavy. It’s not exactly a palate cleanser, but it certainly doesn’t take up all the air and has that touch of sweetness that perks you right up.

Water down yer drink?

Wandering with my honey beer, I run into my old beer friend Javi! It’s been years, but he’s looking well. He strongly recommened Messorem’s stout to me, and for good measure let me enjoy the last drops that he had in his glass…I was ready to let it go because of the line, but holy shit, that is not a beer to pass up. After warmly felt niceties I hustle over and get in line. I’m not quite sure why it moves so slowly, maybe there are some very chatty people up front. Finally I reach the end and get my little taste of heaven, Messorem Passage Temporale. We’re back to low head beers, and with a licory aroma on top of that, but there’s something else. This is a familiar sensation. It’s Sahale’s special rum stout! It’s cake in a glass, honeyed and cunning. It doesn’t have the onslaught of Trees, but it is undeniably delicious and a beer after my own heart. Despite its smoothness, it’s not a beer to rush through, it deserves its time and contemplation, and would really be a better beer for a porch or terrace than a bustling beer fair, where you can calmly observe your surroundings and enjoy to the utmost.

I still have some time and some thirst, so I veer back over to the fruity beers. How could anyone walk past Pretty Decent Beer? What kind of name is that if not perfectly unassuming? They must be hiding some kind of achievement! Since it’s coming close to closing time for the first shift, I’ll go for a moderate sour, Honk If You’re Sour redcurrant beer. It’s dark red with a generally fruity aroma, no specific ingredients stand out. It’s not very sweet in taste but has a strong flavor of natural fruit, not very sour but very drinkable. There’s just a touch of acidity and to my relief, no sulfur or gassiness like that which plagues other fruit beers.

Time is running out! Do I have enough time for something light? I think I can make time. There’s Prizm, a venerable contender among cans, always with something special and tasty. No stout, but the one for the road should be something lighter anyway. How about a NEIPA? Recess is also a collab with Frau Gruber, so all the better for me. It’s a light straw color, with hardly any aroma, but there’s a strong ale flavor. It’s only slightly bitter, and somewhat melony, very refreshing, a good send-off. Time to go sleep off the excesses of the day, and get home while the sun still shines.

Bye, crowd

hit it

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Beermad is pushed back to the fall this year, but there are other celebrations filling in. One is Fresh Fest, a new venture organized by Oso, among others. Next week we’ll find out how it goes, but for now we can sample some of Oso’s wares. Bigtime Imperial Stout has a self-assured label and a tempting description. A good omen?

It’s so thick, the first word I think to describe it leaving the can is oozing, since I’m pouring carefully. That’s such a negative word though, maybe something more neutral. The beer emits itself, dives into the glass, pulls itself ropelike from container to drinking vessel. The head is not hugely thick, but mousse-ish and with great staying power. Hints of chocolate, vanilla and toast drift up to the nose. It’s almost a smoothie in texture, thick with tiny nubbins that melt away in the mouth. The taste isn’t a kick in the tastebuds, but swims between dark chocolate and coffee, with a touch of licorice for good measure, surprisingly light down the throat. A gentle aftertaste starts to build about a quarter of the way through, leaving an essence of caramelly chocolate syrup. It starts out subdued and begins a lean into dessert, maybe my favorite kind of stout.

Supplier: Lambeer
Price: €7.30

double dog dare me

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Oh dare I sample from the poisoned tray? Do I leave my path of light and joy for swelter and bluster? I was recommended Cruzcampo’s Gran Reserva by a friend who is no slouch when it comes to beer, and their IPA was not bad at all. Maybe that’s just another example of modern IPA being easy to produce. When there was a tertulia at Molly Malone’s (RIP) we would cross the side street to Maravillas (recently RIP) and have one for the road. Their brand was Cruzcampo, and I think they didn’t clean the lines like they should have, and maybe mixed taps between beer and vermouth. Cruzcampo always has a little bit of a weird tang, but in that bar it was particularly pronounced. How will this little can turn out? I was bitten by curiosity, I just hope it doesn’t bite me in the butt.

Unsurprisingly light and fizzy, with a formidable head. It’s a dark gold color and with a rich, lagery aroma. Fields of grain and grass dance through your nostrils. The flavor starts out nicely, with a slightly malty sweetness, but with a bitter train following behind. It’s not as bad as normal Cruzcampo…although the aftertaste leaves something to be desired. It doesn’t taste like poison, but it’s kind of an odd flavor. Bitter, salty, mineraly, all of that rolled up. It has a heavier, more rugged texture than the standard Spanish lager, leaning into something more like Estrella Galicia’s Helles. I start to feel a bubbling of Cruzcampo’s distinctive flavor as the beer warms up, so for those who enjoy it, don’t chill too much. For the rest of us, just find Estrella Galicia if you want a weighty macro.

It’s the second glass, slightly beheaded

anniversary ring?

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As the heat grows, some people gravitate away from dark beers, preferring to match sunlight and beer shade. There’s something to be said for a sharp or bitter beer, or even a light and sweet one, but I cannot be swayed from my path of darkness. I picked up a special one too, an anniversary beer from Polish brewery NEPO. 11 years, it says. They also hint at going for a full century, and why not? The beer industry may be floundering a little these days, but it’s hardly the first time. Small breweries with good product and loyal following have survived to another boom before.

In a shadow it’s a rich black beer with an off-white head, but once in a brighter spot it takes on a warmer brown shade. The aroma hints at syrup and smoke and the flavor does not diverge from that. It’s lighter than I expected, almost effervescent. There’s an undercurrent of pastry and chocolate. It builds in body and strength, expected really, since it is something that happens with a strong beer. It still goes down easily, without leaving a slick behind or tumbling its way down the throat like a slinky. It takes quite a long time for the coconut to start coming through, I guess because it’s natural “aroma” and not a flavoring. It’s very tasty and a good cozy evening beer. I might be worried about the apparent thinness at the beginning of the can, but as it expands itself over time and warmth it starts to grow in robustness too, making it more of a formidable beverage. Here’s to 11 years, NEPO, if you make it to 100 you’ll deserve it.

Supplier: Lambeer
Price: €7.30

choose the bear

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It’s been threatening to be summer for the past couple of days, so a NEIPA is more attractive than usual. Not that they aren’t attractive normally, but the A/C isn’t on yet. What’s this? The refrigerator is actually cold! It’s an Easter miracle! Or something. Well, from my reborn appliance comes Knuckleball, a collab from Oso and Attik, with a very summery label. They promise a surprising beer, well-populated with echoes of fruit, and coming from Oso, I am convinced.

A creamy straw color with a thick cloud of white head, and a light but tantalizing aroma. It has notes of citrus and musk, but very light ones. It’s one of those nice, juicy looking NEIPAs, an old school one, the way they should be! The flavor starts out like an Orange Julius mixed with cantaloupe, a delicate taste, almost like a reflection. A more herbal flavor starts to develop in the aftertaste, and the texture is quite thick and heavy. It’s not a smooth and silky beer, but also not overwhelming. It feels bubblier than it looks, although there was a thin ring of bubbles near the bottom of the glass when it was poured. I think it probably was colder than ideal at first, as a deeper and more rounded fruit cocktail flavor starts to develop as the beer sits. The citrus pith remains but there are now hints of pear and honey coming through. It’s less blaring orange than many NEIPAs, which might surprise and even disappoint some, but it’s a nice option, one that has some weight and complexity. Not so much a beer to pour down your throat, but one to savor and probably have a chat with a friend with.

Supplier: Lambeer
Price: €6.50

off the beach

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My beer-giving friend has another gift for me: Desperados! I think I’ve had another of their products some years ago, a mix of beer and tequila. It was … fine. I’m not a big fan of tequila, or light lagers, but as something different, it is something different. This is not a tequila beer, however, this is a mojito beer! It announces rum as one of its flavorings, although at less than 6% it might not have any contact with actual rum. It also promises mint and lime aromas, if not flavors, which sounds right for the recipe.

Oh dear, so skunky! That’s what you get with a clear bottle if you let it sit around, even in a fridge I guess. It stimulates some nostalgia with its catnippy quality, memories of personable pets and warm summers. It does produce a creamy and resistant head. It has a very spicy aroma, like a caraway cracker or roll, more than a typical beer or cocktail. The taste is surprisingly sweet in the first second, but then is overwhelmed by herbal mint. I can almost feel the fuzziness of the leaves. It softens with a little time and warmth, oddly, and ends up much like a radler. If you can get over the, uh, natural aroma at the start, it’s a nice, sharp summery drink, probably a little lighter than the mojito itself, and more of a party than a simple light lager or pilsner. Oh wait, distributed by Heineken? I shouldn’t have expected anything else from the smell.

what we could wish for history

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At some point I’ll have to be more careful with my receipts. For the moment it’s just a minor annoyance that I don’t have the exact price of this fruit sour from my dear good beer place, but I can be pretty sure it’s close to the other two. I’m straying from my path of darkness, but once in a while we need a little contrast to know where we like to be. It’s a good northern beer, from the Swedish Fermenterarna brewery. They know how to make some wild and tasty stuff, so I’m not too concerned about trying a sour. Also, raspberries are awesome, even in beer. There’s No Better Rhyme. Raspberry, Ginger & Lime, down the hatch.

There’s that gassy sour beer aroma! It’s also tinged with raspberry and lime, as advertised. I don’t think I get any ginger in there, although there is sort of a crackery scent hiding in the background. There was an exuberant head at first, but it vanishes within seconds, not like last week, although that head did collapse eventually too. Tangy raspberry sails in first, and the others might scurry behind it in its shadow. I manage to catch some lime trying to sneak by, but the ginger is well hidden. After I while I think it must be in the richness of the beer with a depth of flavors that fruit alone wouldn’t give you. It isn’t exactly an earthiness, but there’s a definite flooring to the taste. it also turns a little dusty after a while, lending more texture and making you take more notice. It’s one of those beers that doesn’t quite quench your thirst as you’re drinking it, one along the lines of wine and champagne. I could blame the fruit, I guess. Still, a fresh flavor and a pleasing color with a spectrum of sensations to please the whole year through.

I forgot to take the picture! Believe me, it was a raspberry sorbet

Supplier: La Buena Cerveza
Price: ~€6.50

not far from the tree

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Well, following on from the recent holiday, why not sample some national cider too? Cider was a much more popular drink than beer until the 19th century, especially in the north of the country, where this can comes from. It isn’t hard to find Spanish cider, but this one has a very crafty look to it, and their stated ethos goes along with that. The cidery is named after a 6th century Breton bishop (tradition) and they limit their ingredients to Galician apples (local focus), but they also participate in scientific study to improve apple cultivation and use in an effort to be more sustainable (new ideas). There are several varieties, but I picked up the most standard as a start. Dry Cider might be the most identifiable one as a Spanish cider, but I guess I’ll have to try the others at some point to compare.

It comes out a goldish pink, which looks a lot like some apple skins you see in the store. It’s wildly bubbly, and unlike Magnars a little cap of foam stubbornly sits on top for a couple of minutes. There’s a touch of apple aroma and also a whiff of sulphur, reminding me of not a few fruit beers and seltzers. It definitely has an apple flavor, but it’s also raw and rooty, with a very natural touch, not overly sweet at all. It has a very champagne touch, living up to its promise of dryness. It isn’t as sharp or throat-grabbing as some other, more “traditional” Spanish ciders, but it isn’t syrupy British style either. It’s a very nice balance of fruit flavor with sweet and bitter notes. If the Dry Cider is as smooth as this, I wonder what the others will be like?

plan c(ider)

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Irish craft beers have been around but never especially plentiful in this town. Lots of Irish styles, to be sure, but brought over from the isle itself? A little harder to find. With time pressures of late, I thought I could grab something simple from the supermarket, but it turns out lots of people had that idea. Plan B it is, cider. Also not a lot of choice, to be honest, just one Irish cider on the shelf, Magners. I’m sure I’ve had it at some point in the past, maybe when one of the old import stores was still open, but not for some time. Let’s see if there’s a subconscious reason, or just my overwhelming preference for darkness.

Interesting rosy, rusy gold color. A little champagney maybe. Bubbly, not no lasting head. It has that tangy sour smell that you can expect from a cider, with a touch of sweetness to it. It is very sweet and appley compared to other, more crafty, ciders, and more like apple juice than even American cider. Despite the initial bubbles I find it very smooth and easy to drink, hence the juice comparison. It has a good level of flavor, not overbearing and with a clean finish, no weird aftertaste at all. It also has a smooth texture that doesn’t quite jive with the bubbliness in the beginning, but it’s very pleasant and an encouraging drink. These characteristics could very well make Magners a danger, since you could take down pint after pint in an evening without even thinking. It isn’t a sneaky pastry stout or NEIPA, but it is at the same level of alcohol as a normal everyday beer, so that will catch up to you eventually. I think I will be satisfied with the one, just for the occasion.

posted

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Well, not exactly a stout, but porters are right up there, and we know that historically they were forms of the same style. It’s a nice peaceful looking can, with a calming night scene, perhaps an Arctic landscape. Love Letter, it says, a Baltic Porter from Dos Kiwis. That scene could be somewhere on a Baltic coast, but the mountians look a little low to be New Zealand and it’s a little snowy to be Cataluña. Andorra maybe, but they only share a language, sort of. Is this beer coming a month too late? Let’s see if it is worthy of the professed live.

Super foamy, middling beige head, nice extra toasty brown brew. There’s also a breakfasty aroma, grains on the overdone but still palatable side. There’s a shot of coffee in it, but with a very natural feel. It’s not full of sweeteners and softeners that give a coffee candy aspect to a lot of stouts, and it doesn’t seem to be hiding any fruit in its depths, as I’ve come across with porters. Maybe it’s a hint of smoke from a steamship, one of those vessels bringing longed for black beers across the northern waters. It’s has a good mid-level weight, not thin or watery, but not overwhelming. It’s a relatively hefty 8%, but there isn’t an exceptionally loud note of alcohol. It’s a very drinkable beer, on its own or with some company. A good companion to a biopic about persecuted and reknowned artists, perhaps. Those are often some dark stories.

Supplier: La Buena Cerveza
Price: €5.60

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