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The Hobby Drinker Blog

solidly experimental

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There’s a name I haven’t seen for a while – Arpus! They had a whole suite of fruity sours that pleased even the less enthusiastic of beer drinkers. A little surprisingly it wasn’t at Más Que Cervezas or Be Hoppy, but La Buena Cerveza. I don’t see a name on the can, but a description. A long description. Black Currant x Cherry x Blueberry x Coconut x Almond Smoothie Sour Ale. That is quite a collection of ingredients. It was the currant that sealed the deal for me, although I’m not sure if coconut in a sour rather than a stout is going to come out very well. I guess it’s common in tropical cocktails, so it’s not like there’s no established connection with fruity drinks. Piña colada anyone?

This one has a real hurry to escape as soon as the opportunity presents itself. Kind of like how I imagine that octopus, it oozes out of the can in a determined way and starts bleeding over the edge. I rush to get it in the glass and notice a very unusual amount of solids. This really is a smoothie beer! There is something like a head of lighter colored ruby red stuff in the glass in the end, but most of the product is dark movie blood red. Again, should have saved for a later holiday? It smells weirdly salty, with a hint of toasted almond. With careful sniffing, coconut also makes its presence known. There is a small nip of fruit, although I can’t distinguish them. Wow oh wow, that is one chunky beer! It isn’t hard on the throat though, which is a plus. The currant is especially present in the flavor, and probably has a lot to do with the coloring, but the blueberry is kind of hiding in the background, keeping things from getting too crazy. Even the coconut does its part to soften the blow of acidic berries. That being the case, it’s not a terribly sour beer. Being in the shitty fridge, it isn’t super chilled, it would possibly benefit from being a couple of degrees colder. But it definitely does not taste bad, and starting at a lower temperature I might have missed the interplay of the ingredients at first. I was excited for the black currant and cherry but hesitant about the addition of coconut and almond, but I must say this is a successful experiment. Another real dessert stand-in, not only not needing a food on the side, but would probably but interfered with by its presence.

Ugh?!

Supplier: La Buena Cerveza
Price: €8.40

full o’ beans

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It’s weirdly cloudy outside, but it hasn’t gotten any cooler. Do gray skies give me an excuse for a dark beer? You bet! And this one is a northern one, so maybe fitting. If we got a good rain, which we won’t, it might evoke some seafaring fantasies. Or forests, dark and foreboding. Actually, that sounds a little more like Laugar, threatening images on the label, and what we have today is Lervig. Not only that, but there’s something light and silly about a three bean stout. You can only imagine the symphony later.

It doesn’t look especially thick as a liquid, but the head certainly has a whipped-up appearance. It’s a very dark beige and only diminishes slowly. More than any kind of beans, I’m getting cinnamon from the aroma, with a touch of gingerbread. It’s thick, smooth and rich on the tongue, liquid gingerbread in fact. Is there vanilla and cacao? Vanilla for sure, cacao probably, but I can’t identify tonka as a distinct flavor. When I have had it, in stouts, it’s been more of a variety of cacao than something uniquely its own. The whole blend is very Christmasy, and it’s too bad I didn’t pull this out for Beermas. Well, maybe I can make an exception with repeats. It is almost a whole dessert in itself, I think any kind of baked good or pastry would just be too much. A nice simple ice cream might be ok, even something like strawberry. It does calm you right down, almost giving you a gauzy curtain to shield yourself from reality, and I expect it has to do with the strength. But for the life of me I can’t find the ABV on the can. It does seem to recommend splitting this little 330ml can into several servings, though. Should have been a warning.

Supplier: Lambeer
Price: €6.50

other choices of tree

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I had a thing a few days ago, and I felt that the best thing would be to have a beer from Madrid. Since both FM and Mad Brewing are now out of action, we can only go to the outskirts. Yes, La Caníbal is in Mad Brewing’s old space, but I haven’t seen them canned and waiting in the stores. That leaves Península and Oso, although Cibeles could have been a ringer. Surprisingly, it’s a little hard to find things when you have specific names in mind, and moreso now that it’s vacation time in Spain. Finally, I did get a cheerful citrus beer from Oso, called, fittingly, Citrus. It looks pretty bright and tickly, although the back label warns of an “explosion” of partying fruits. This one does include orange and lemon juice, as well as Citra hops, so I think it might be NEIPAier than recent NEIPAs.

It pours out bubbly and stays bubbly in the glass, with relatively large spheres clinging to the sides. The head does not look very compact and vanishes quickly. It certainly has a citrusy color, lemony specifically, and gives off just a touch of lemon aroma. I was led to believe by the can that there would be a much stronger scent, but maybe they’re saving it for the taste. It is strongly flavored, and citrusy, more of a bitter orange than lemon. There is some feeling of natural lemonade in there, too. It’s surprisingly robust in mouthfeel, not thin and ephemeral like you might expect a lighter beer to be, but this has a roundness and hop leafiness that leaves you feeling like you have had a mouthful of something. Although this Citrus isn’t as powerful as I expected, I think it is appropriate for the season. It’s not bad to have something more subdued that you can quietly enjoy every once in a while. Not a NEIPA, in the end, but no regrets.

Supplier: La Buena Cerveza
Price: €5.50

say it three times

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Although I am not the biggest fan of sours, sometimes something in the ingredients, or the name or the label convince me to pick one up. This is one of those times. It’s Pyrene, a reliable brewery, so good start. And it’s covered in creepy monsters, so another point in its favor. And finally? Those monsters come from … BEETLEJUICE! No, I won’t repeat it twice more, I need to get down to drinking.

It’s leaping to escape the can, so much that it can’t even ruffle up a good head for itself. It does fizz so it kind of lean towards a soda more than a beer. The typical sour gassiness comes off it when you take a sniff, but it’s a very faint aroma this time. While it has good color, it’s almost pastel peachy, not a saturated red or pink. It has a delicate flavor, sweet, a little melony and strawberry, kind of a shaggy texture, but not spikey. This is very much a summer drink at first sip! It stays consistently fresh-fruity, not going sour, bitter, or syrupy. A very enjoyable sour, if I do say so myself. It’s a good choice on days when the street is like an oven, in triple digits Fahrenheit (a little more impressive than the double-digit Celsius measurements).

Supplier: Lambeer
Price: €6.50

no pie

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Chouffe is one of those Belgian beers you see in all the “Irish” pubs of the day, the ones that are really just import beer bars for people who want to be a little sophisticated, but not very daring. It’s not that it’s a bad beer, but it is a little on the normal side. And also Belgian. Not exactly my thing. However, I do like to try something different every once in a while and sometimes I feel something of a sweet tooth for my beer (ahem, pastry, cough). I have had La Chouffe Cherry already at Taproom, and it was an experience, but I’m curious about the tiny bottle version. It is that cute little bottle that they have, and the dwarf hanging out on the label. Could it be more concentrated than the tap? Or maybe a different blend altogether, having been in the bottle for who knows how long? I’m up for an experiment!

There’s a strong cherry aroma just of the beer being poured and the color is a startling dark rusty red. The head looks firm and fluffy, just a touch of off-white. It’s definitely a cherry beer, with both flavors hitting hard on the first sip. It has the flavor of Mort Subité but it’s a cleaner drink, not leaving anything behind once you swallow. In the middle of that drink though, it’s rough and dominating, grabbing all your attention. It’s sweet enough, but not as cloying as other cherry beers, a little more “natural” maybe. There really isn’t any beer aftertaste or ghostly background in the flavor, unlike in some flavored beers. Maybe that concentrated cherry juice just wipes out any beeriness it comes across. Or maybe the black carrot juice. Oh yeah, that’s what the label says. Suddenly goth beer, isn’t it?

Supplier: Lambeer
Price: €4.35

all good things

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It’s time for bottle number three from my gift pack, the only one that appeared to have its full volume. This is the pale ale, “Smash” pale ale, although the name makes you expect the typical lager. As far as I know, cerveza rubia has been in the lager style at least since lagers were introduced. All of the labels had some subtle and slightly surreal designs on them, but Rubia clearly shows a guinea pig on one side and a cat on the other. I do not know the reason. There isn’t even a quirky name to point to a fairy tale or weird ass children’s show.

Once again, extremely fizzy and well-headed, lovely golden color and subtle but standard beery aroma. It hits hard on the tongue with its carbonation, but the taste is right up the alley of any ale fan. It’s in-your-face bitter, but with a little garnish of grain to keep it floating. Like the weiss, it has a bigger, bolder body than I associate with the style, but it’s still a smooth and happily drunk brew. It is, perhaps, even more summery than La Balluca’s weiss, with a somewhat simpler profile and a less layered flavor experience. A little time brings out some sourness and turns down the bitter, leaving a more candied feel to the whole business. Of course, I will turn my eyes to darker horizons after this, but it was a nice little interlude of local beers that I wouldn’t have come across otherwise. The beer stores of yore will be missed, and sorely.

harvesting

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I didn’t see any leakage on the bottle, but this La Balluca Weissbier also had a lower level of liquid than you would expect to see. I’m going to trust that it is also still in drinking condition, having been kept from light and heat (for the most part). It looks like a pretty standard weiss, very short ingredient list, all natural. Things are really heating up these days on the street, so it would be nice to have something to cool down with on an August evening.

Yep, not quite regulation level

A little hissy under the cap, but looks good pouring and has a little wheaty tang to the smell. The head is fluffy, white, and does collapse into a manageable amount within half a minute. The beer is clear gold, showing off a lively amount of carbonation. The taste is stronger and heavier than I would expect from a wheat, with a little graininess but a big dark bitter spot. It has a crafty feel thanks to that roughness, not as sweet and effervescent as more industrial or at least bigger brand wheats. It’s less summery and refreshing than many of them are, but it’s true that a lot of wheat beers do have some pretty hefty body to them. There is a little sediment in the bottom, so the last bit of pouring should be done with care.

exploded

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Sometimes people like to help you in your hobbies. When your hobby involves food and drink, it’s always easy to pick up a little something on a trip as a gift. Even now, there are local microbreweries and craft breweries working along steadily, supporting local hop farms and bars. I have not heard of La Balluca, maybe if some of the old beer stores were still open they would have had a few bottles. As it is, a pack of three bottles was gifted to me by a friend who was taking a trip through Guadalajara. They all looked like pale ales at first, but on opening the package I saw that there was an English brown, a wheat, and, yes, one pale ale. The brown and the wheat seem to have had some mishap occur; both of them were missing some liquid and the brown had some residue around the cap where some leakage must have happened. In spite of the loss, it’s mostly there, and probably still perfectly fine, so into the shitty fridge with 5 Maltas brown!

Uh oh
Hmmmmm
Seems a little low, yep

It is certainly a brown ale, cloudy with an off-white head, and a sweet-and-sour aroma. It’s like a lemon glazed cinnamon roll. The head dies back pretty quickly, but not completely, leaving a little cap. It has a strong malty flavor, with a little bit of gritty texture. The sourness is also there, very light, just balancing the bready, grainy taste. It has the hallmarks of its style, the warm roundness, the tingles on the tongue, it hits high notes for summer and low notes for times of less oppressive temperatures. As expected, the shitty fridge did not cool this beer way down, even in a bottle over a couple of days, but it works well with the style. It’s a soothing beer for the evening, probably not one that would take center stage, but it’s a welcome accompaniment.

what’s his story anyway?

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Hoo boy, it’s really summer now! Not my favorite season, really, even though I am blessed with A/C at the moment. Maybe it’s my aversion to beaches that turns me off of the season. Also, the dearth of dark beers in the past. This year there are a few more stouts around than other years, which certainly warms my heart, and you’ve already seen some evidence of my enjoyment. This is the last one from La Mundial, a Lervig Imperial Stout with a name that makes me thing there ought to be a story – Konrad’s Stout. Can’t find a story in a quick Google search, but maybe that’s a Google problem. We’re having more and more of those.

Beer float worthy head, thick and bubbly, and a little nest of tiny bubbles at the bottom. It’s slightly cakey in aroma, but only a mild whiff. It smells fresh and bready, almost perky. Tastewise, it is a full-fledged stout, bitter and toasty warm. It warns of coffee or licorice, but doesn’t quite go there, staying strong in its stouty identity. It doesn’t quite feel as strong as its 10%, but it definitely has presence. It’s also fairly clean going down, not a whole lot of afterfeel, although there is a little bit of film on the back of the tongue reminding you that you have had a drink. In a way it’s good, since you don’t have the desire to just chug the thing. As usual, it might be too heavy for some given the weather, but I have no problems sitting in a shady place and enjoying a fine northern stout.

Supplier: La Mundial
Price: €5.20

moonlighting

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We are past the longest day of the year, and in Madrid the changes are actually easily noticeable from week to week. Still, it isn’t quite time for drinks outside under the moon. I mean, you could wait until night and moon are fully in force, but the atmosphere can be a bit oppressive on the ears. Much better to have your favorite style at home and at your leisure. Oh yes, the favorite style, you know what’s coming now. This time it’s a German-US collab, so that ought to be fun. It certainly has an intriguing label, this Dead Moon Cove. It looks a little like a classic Halloween movie poster. Will Third Moon Brewing and Sudden Death Brewing give us something so good it’s scary? Or just a horror?

It pours out thick and oily, barely letting any head build up at all. It smells like a bakery. Pretty much that’s it, a bakery. One that never burns the product and uses the best chocolate and vanilla. It’s another thick one, almost like a melted milkshake, but really it’s thicker than that. It’s almost like drinking chocolate syrup, except there’s an extra level of flavor besides the chocolate part. The alcohol sits boldly in the middle with a halo of decadent sweeteners around it, like the most extravagant 18th-century dessert. I’m saying 18th-century because after all my video watching, my impression is that they just didn’t overload their taste buds the way we do, although they did like a little, quality, spice like vanilla and cinnamon. Oh yeah, some cinnamon wanders out too. The glass is positively covered with a sticky film after the beer has been there, something they say about stronger alcohol sometimes. It’s not a beer that I would identify merely as imperial stout, although it does have strength and majesty about it, but one of the better crafted pastry stouts. The rich bakery sensations are there, as is an exceptionally weighty mouthfeel, but it’s restrained and refined, not punch you in the dental work sweet. Highly enjoyable, any day of the year for me, maybe with some ice cream just out the freezer for the rest. They say stouts are having a moment this year, but I think this one might be stronger than most people want at poolside. Missing out, I say!

Supplier: La Mundial
Price: €9.90

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