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The Hobby Drinker Blog

cat’s meow

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To begin the second half, Löwenbräu! The brewery has a presence in bars where import beers are prevalent. I remember it being a more impressive experience than Paulaner or even Franziskaner, but I haven’t had the pleasure for quite some time. Also, the normal import beers aren’t the Oktoberfest beers, just the normal lagers.

Back to extra bubbly and pale gold, but this one has a vanishingly faint aroma. The taste is also light and delicate, with just a teasing amount of sweet breadiness. This is one of the lighter of the festbiers, flowing in and down without fuss. While the last three had a good amount of weight and you get the sense that they will nail you to your seat (not such a bad thing at Oktoberfest, actually), this is a beer you could stand up and walk around with. It’s also lower alcohol than previous beers, but still more than 6%, which is stronger than what you would be getting from your standard evening lager.

Supplier: Más Que Cervezas
Price: €2.25

first half

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Ah, Hofbräuhaus, I remember you! Long tables, loud tuba, feverish enjoyment everywhere. Apparently once banned to women, although because service was only for the seated nobody would get up even to pee. They peed, of course, but not in a contained location, and certainly not maintaining a friendly environment for long skirts. Now Hofbräu Oktoberfestbier can be found at any of their restaurants, they have something of a franchise, but I believe I was told that was their original beer hall, or least the oldest one in operation.

Well-headed and bubbly, but not quite as lively as its brethren. Bright gold and clear as day, and with a little tang to the aroma. The taste is much fuzzier than the other beers too, although not overly strong – there’s some pretty clear malt and a little clean grain, but the feel is heavy and oddly powdery for the appearance. A kind of sour lining comes out over the tongue after a while, which would leave your palate feeling cleansed if the feel wasn’t as heavy. The flavor is delicate and well-balanced, but the texture is definitely robust. This beer is a whole drink in itself, demanding and center stage, which is probably what a festbier should aspire to be. In comparison with Hacker-Pschorr’s märzen, I prefer the märzen, but that’s definitely my personal preferences coming out. If anybody made an Oktoberfest stout, that would be my favorite out of principle.

Supplier: Más Que Cervezas
Price: €2.60

they can hack it

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Second week, second beer. In alphabetical order it’s Hacker-Pschorr, with its traditional top and traditional style. You do come across the swing top on other beers occasionally, but Hacker-Pschorr proudly has them on all its beer products. The story of the Märzen is told on the back of the bottle, just in case you need a little light reading while waiting for friends or food. Unlike Augustiner, it’s always been a secular business, although sometimes it was actually two businesses (hence the hyphen). We can expect something heavenly to come out of that bottle, though.

The pop from the traditional top is satisfying and the opening itself is easy. The beer is coppery and heady with a strangely lemony aroma, mixed with some honey. A repeated sniffing also reveals fresh bread. As expected, it’s a step above the tostadas you can find in any old bar around here, malty in taste and velvety in feel. Although predominantly sweet, there’s a floor of bitter holding everything up. Although fluffier than Augustiner’s festbier, it whisks itself down the throat more quickly with a cleaner feel. And yet, there is some aftertaste, quite pleasant and surprisingly creamy. Strangely, I feel like I might be tasting a ghostly amount of Nutella, or some other hazelnut flavored treat. Maybe the ghosts of those tonka beans have finally shown up.

Supplier: Labirratorium
Price: €2.75

a+

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So now it’s fest-time, and the beers are flowing into the stores and the streets. There are multiple Oktoberfests organized in Madrid, although no Beermad this year, but I don’t feel much like elbowing my way through crowds right now. No, I would prefer a quiet heimfest, and I can do that with all six Oktoberfest beers! Let’s start with Augustiner, it’s easy enough to go alphabetically. Founded by monks, of course, but a privately owned brewery since the 19th century, Augustiner graces the Theresenwiese with no mere tent, but a beer castle. Deserving of such a royal presentation?

I may have slightly overchilled, what with all the collecting bubbles, but the resulting head is nice and the beer is a very clear light gold. It’s not very aromatic, just hints of straw and something kind of peppery. The flavor is pure lager, a little sweet and grainy, maybe even a touch of honey. The bubbles are a little prickly, but the beer itself is smooth. It’s a little heavier than the color might suggest, leaving a bit of a coating behind as it goes down. Although it’s not the light and easy pilsner that took over almost every beer drinker’s glass a century and a half or so ago, this golden festbier shines a light on a celebration of beerkind.

Supplier: Be Hoppy
Price: €2.95

this one counts

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We’re on the cusp of fall and Oktoberfest, what better time for a beer called Nosferatu? It’s not a German beer sadly, but we can’t have everything. A mountain brewery like Pyrene will be able to give their product the light and shadow worthy of a Murnau movie. Maybe there’s even a little bit of the supernatural spirit of old Iberia left up there that nobody in civilized, modern cities talks about anymore.

A very agreeable introduction, with a dusty rose color and hint of grapefruit aroma. Plenty of tiny bubbles on the sides of the glass, but not much head. Even upon closer inspection, it smells more like grapefruit soda than anything else. But upon tasting, that vanishes. The taste is also quite a surprise, though, with gingerbread, apple and just a little bit of dirty wood in the starring roles. The color makes it look like spring, but the flavor is definitely fall. It might even lean a little more into Christmas, making Jack Skellington a more appropriate namesake than Count Orlok. It takes a while for the expected sourness to make an appearance, and then it’s only drifting in on the aftertaste. I was also expecting some saltiness, but I guess that’s wrapped up in the gingerbread. It’s definitely a surprising beer, and a welcome surprise at that, although a gose purist might not be so happy with it. I did not double check the fruit content before drinking, so it’s a little odd that none of the listed fruits came through at all, and even knowing to look for cherry or current, they are only discovered with difficulty. I think the tonka bean has completely escaped me. Must have flown off into the darkening night.

Supplier: Labirratorium
Price: €5.15

unrattled

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A festive season is approaching, but for the moment, a lighter beer might be the most appropriate. I am saving up the darkness for the near future, when I intend to wallow, wallow, wallow, so even a radler is acceptable as a nice contrast. To be honest, I don’t see too many craft radlers or shandies, although they are around, sours seem to be the fashion of our time if you want to get away from strong bitterness. So, it was somewhat surprising to see Bidassoa standing innocently on the shelf. They’ve been around for a while, so I guess it’s time to try even these commercial creations.

It pours out like the fizzy drink that it really is, although with a good whiff of musk. The bright white head dissolves into a thin mat pretty quickly. The taste is sharp and summery, very sweet lemonade at first with a mildly bitter beer chaser. It feels very full at first, the sweetness probably makes you think the beer is heavier than it really is, but once you swallow it doesn’t leave much behind. To be honest, it’s a little too sweet for me and a little too sticky when in the mouth. As a more equinoxial beer I think it would do fine, but while summer is still strong I would actually be happier with something a little more bitter or foresty. Or a stout, always a stout.

Supplier: Hop Hop Hurrah
Price: €2.65

bee’s knees

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Things are cooling down outside but about to heat up in work, so it feels like a good time to grab one more strong drink. Of course, stouts are my go-to at any time for any reason, but I have plans for the future and variety is always good. So, why not an IPA? Why not indeed, and let’s make it double! Garage, makers of oh so many fantastic brews, has a hearty product on the shelves – Hexagons Honey DIPA.

Slightly spicy aroma, something like caraway, and a color that speaks to its name. Head appears fragile with larger bubbles, but does keep a pretty good cap on for a while. The scent in the glass takes on more sweetness, mostly typical IPA citrus, but there’s some honey lurking at the base. The first impression of the flavor is that it’s more like the first NEIPAs I had, smooth, sweet, like a beermosa. It has some extra sharpness in the throat, so it’s not completely a pushover, but for the most part it’s very drinkable light. I get a bit of coating on the tongue, although the beer itself doesn’t feel sticky at all.

Supplier: Be Hoppy
Price: €6.75

going darker

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Oh, I just can’t stop myself from picking up another black beer! It was a hard choice too, there are a lot of new names on the shelves. But Lervig is always trustworthy and it’s been a while since I’ve enjoyed one of their fine products, and while it’s still default vacation I feel like cake. Kransekake, that is. It’s labeled as an imperial stout with almonds (there’s a warning label about them on the back), not a pastry stout, but I have the feeling that it’s going to brush up against that variety.

Although it contains almonds, I’m getting more of an egg nog hit off the smell from the can. In the glass it’s a little nuttier. I haven’t been able to pour for head recently, but again, the beer is a rich and inviting color, and temptingly opaque. It has that syrupy pastry stout sweetness, and more than natural almonds I detect marzipan on the tongue. Good for me I love the stuff. There’s also a good whack of raisin and preserved fruit, another kind of Christmas-y note. It’s a thick and heavy beer, not what most people would choose for a summertime sip. I’m happy enough with it being sweet, that gives you a little kick when you feel run down, even in Madrid summer.

Supplier: Más Que Cervezas
Price: €6.47

tinta de verano

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Weather patterns are strange things. Last summer was unbearable straight through, and this summer is only intermittently so. It’s bad when it’s bad, though, makes you feel like hibernating. The best I can do, I think, is turn to Oso Brew, with their snappy label designs and wild pastry stouts and sours. Or maybe not so wild this time, Tinta porter is actually a very laid-back can in comparison with others.

Perhaps a little extra bubbly, and with murderous bubbles at that. You can see them attacking the head and eating it away from the second you stop pouring. The color is nice, rich chocolate brown, and the aroma sends up tendrils of plum and cocoa. Yes, you might think it’s more appropriate for colder days, but I will not be denied my dark beer at any time of year. The chocolate carries over into the flavor, with shades of fruit – I can’t quite tell if it’s more cherry or raspberry, but it is a lot like those fancy dark chocolate bars with bits of fruit in them. Maybe more cherry, like the ones with chili and cherry gel. The taste is pleasant and mouth-filling, although the beer doesn’t feel very heavy in itself. There is a slight trail of aftertaste, leaving hints of smoke. It’s a happy little beer, maybe not as elaborate as Oso’s pastry stouts, but it gives you something extra in the style, something that leaves you well satisfied.

Supplier: Be Hoppy
Price: €4

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

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