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Let's Learn Beer!

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Let's Learn Beer!

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Let's Learn Beer!

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Let's Learn Beer!

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beer

shades and shadows

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A spooky beer for a spooky time, dark as night and full of surprises!  Of course, it has to come from a reputable place and Basqueland is one of the most reputable around.  This pastry stout has some extras in it, delicious raspberries, “berried alive” in fact.  What a way to Live Forever.

A beautiful black beer, with a thick looking cocoa powder head, surprisingly not as heavily scented as I thought. There’s some raspberry in there alright, and a touch of stout punch. It is not a heavy hitter in flavor either, sliding in very gradually with upfront fruity raspberry and only revealing a little bitterness almost in the aftertaste. Some chocolate starts coming up as well, leaving a feeling of a dark chocolate, raspberry jelly treat. Quality too, Lindt or some other fancy Belgian chocolatier. The feeling is a little scratchy after swallowing, like the tartness of a red fruit filling. Close attention also brings out a touch of campfire smoke, tinged with roasted marshmallows and fresh-made s’mores. It’s much more pastry than stout, but a good flavor for the holiday.

Supplier: Hop Hop Hurrah

Price: €7.80

cosied up

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One of the other dark beers pulled off the shelf at Hop Hop Hurra, Pohjala’s Cosy Nights Vanilla Porter.  The shopkeep was impressed with the choice, saying he was just blown away by it.  Pohjala is a very respectable source of beer, especially the dark beers I’ve found, and it looks like there will be some drizzly days ahead.  Perfect for a porter at home!

Good color and fizzy head, looking on the slimmer side for feel. It has something of a vanilla ice cream aroma. The first sip is oddly tickly, with a tiny feeler of bitter, but then it smooths out into something more candy-like, and the vanilla is definitely leading the way. It has something more of a coating feel in the mouth, not a beer that slides on and disappears, although not sticky at first. There’s a shadow of licorice and coffee boiling up in the middle, fortunately for me the licorice remains just a whisper. It has a definite warming effect, very appropriate to being a winter porter, and just the thing when you’re suffering a little cold. After a while there’s some kind of banana flavor sneaking in, giving it even more of a pudding sensation. In the end, there’s much to recommend the beer, it’s tasty and it’s calming, it goes perfectly with its own name. A fine choice indeed.

Supplier: Hop Hop Hurrah

Price: €5.75

building up

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Found out there was a beer store I hadn’t visited yet, and after the disappearance of the nearby Cervecista – Hop Hop Hurrah! Yeah, that’s the name, I’m not exclaiming my joy. Not just, anyway. Like La Mundial and Prost Chamberí before, it’s a smallish place in a municipal market. Actually, Barceló has ceased to be a mere market and is now a “polyvalent center” containing a market among other things. I think there’s a gym and at least one other thing that isn’t about food. Although compact, the selection on the shelves was more than adequate; I had to leave a couple of black beers behind, not wanting to lug too many home. First I have a national to try, Yria’s Bauhaus Imperial Stout, whiskey barrel aged. Committed to supporting craft wherever they can obviously, Yria has used Sackman whiskey barrels, another national product.

Didn’t get a very good head on it, but a momentary mat of dark beige bubbles did make it for a photo-op. The beer is highly aromatic, heavy on the chocolate and malt, promising to swamp the mouth in flavor. And indeed, it is exceptionally tasty, more bitter than I was expecting, but well within the lines of a nice stout. There a good head of smoke, a base of earth and the chocolate core whistling its way through everything. It starts out very smooth also, but develops an edge after just a few sips. The fire starts to make its way more to the top, leaving an alcohol burning behind it, more or less extinguishing the earthiness. The chocolate still maintains itself, though. It never gets exactly syrupy, but over time it does build up in weight. Of course, that could also be an effect of the whiskey sneaking in…

Supplier: Hop Hop Hurrah

Price: €6.20

into the sunset of summer

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It’s the month of darkness, of creeping horror, of the best of holidays.  At yet, I ended up with an IPA to open it.  Not only that, but crafty IPA more than a craft one.  How dare I!  Well, Alhambra is not a bad beer, especially in the bottle, and we do have to try things of all kinds.  You never know when you’ll be in a situation with limited options.  It looks appetizing anyway, Esencia Citra IPA does.  But you can bet I’ll be looking for more frightening choices later on.

Instant lemony aroma, kind of a darker color than expected, but not that unusual for IPAs. Good head, very bubbly. Bitter, citrus and bread come in together, it’s a little surprisingly grainy for an IPA. The main flavors are definitely ale-y, though, with a very traditional bitter beeriness and a modern slice of Citra hops. It tends toward lemon or grapefruit rather than tropical fruits, leaving a feeling of wanting to be a summer beer. Still, there is a certain weight behind it while you drink, a little more muscle than most summertime, beach-lounging beers dare to show. It’s not quite as clean as you might think from the aroma, but it’s not an overwhelming amount of stickiness. The aftertaste tingles with light citrus, floating you on to the next sip without the need to hurry. In that, being a beer to take at your leisure, it is a beer for all seasons.

life in the sun

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Given family and vacation connections, I could not ignore Jakobsland’s I Can Make You Smile.  A Florida weisse?  It seems to make sense from a weather standpoint.  Those weisses are sharp and refreshing, not the kind of beers that leave your mouth coated, suitable for additives you might feel like doing while you laze around on the beach or by the pool.  Maybe it’s even a beer you could have in celebration of voting out a wildly unreasonable governor who will then not go on to be president.  Maybe?  Hopefully.

Similar in appearance to fruity lambics, a little tang in the aroma. Fluffy, resistant head, tinted pink. It has the tight dryness of a weisse, with a little sour only developing in the aftertaste. There’s kind of a fruity bed that the stiff alcohol rides in on, but it’s not very sweet at all. Wild fruit, just sweet enough to not punish you for eating it. It’s almost shockingly untropical for something labeled with Florida. The dryness wears off a little over time and rising temperature, but it stays clean and mouth cleansing more than anything else. I have to be honest, though, while the beer has a nostalgic Kool-Aid color, and it’s a perfectly fine modern weisse, a stout would always make me smile more.

Supplier: Labirratorium

Price: €6.85

celebrations

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Back to basics, after reading up on German beer history.  Feirabend (sic)!  Dortmunder Export style!  Naparbier!  Ok, it’s not a German-made beer, but you can’t deny that Naparbier is a respectable and trustworthy brewery, voted best in Spain a few years ago no less.  Although temperatures have gone down, and there’s even been some rain, there’s nothing wrong with having a nice, light, easy-drinking beer for an evening chat with friends.  Not that I wouldn’t be happy with a stout, but sometimes that kind of darkness is threatening when you want to talk about freedoms and rights and…things you raise your voice about.

Very golden beer, fluffy white head, it’s a perfect example of the typical beer. It has a tiny bit of sourness in a grainy aroma, just enough to give it a little something unexpected. It’s just a little bitter at first, but suddenly an explosion of beery bitter wallops you in the mouth and disappears down your throat as soon as you swallow. It’s a little fizzier than I would expect, so the mouthfeel isn’t quite comfortable enough for quick drinking. It has a serious feel to it, while light in the mouth the flavor gives it weight and power. Without being too complicated the beer demands attention. The name fits perfectly in this case.

Supplier: Labirratorium

Price: €3.20

harvest time

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Labirratorium just rearranged their stock from country-based to style-based, which means all the stouts are right there!  Of course, sometimes you want some national representative, but then you ask about it, the same as you used to when you wanted a particular style.  Some people worry about their searching habits, but jeez, you can get used to anything and this isn’t even a weird change.  I was very happy to find Laugar’s Soul Reaper Imperial Breakfast Stout right away.  Yes, the name and label had something to do with its choosing.  It isn’t that long til Halloween after all.

There’s just a whiff of chocolate stout, but definitely something there. It’s not especially heady, although the head that’s present it tight and resistant. Promising dark and opaque brown, very nearly black. Taking a closer sniff, there’s a more toasty background than obvious at first, but with a dusting of dark chocolate still on top. The chocolate comes out big on the flavor, giving you a good shove right up front. Then there’s a more licorice finish, typical for many stouts, which always makes me question my devotion. It feels slick and smooth, although it has a lot of body. It goes down pretty easy despite having plenty of weight, even with a tiny little kick at the back of the palate coming in on the swallow. A little spiciness builds up on several sips, something cinnamony and even a little minty, very Christmas-y I’d say. It feels like a good partner with gingerbread, for example. Even over time it stays smooth and satisfying, with little change in texture. It’s s solid beer, one that would tempt me every time. Even the licorice dies down after a while, nearing it to perfection.

Supplier: Labirratorium

Price: €6.10

Wonderful Words of Beer Draft 14

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Øl – is the Norwegian word for beer.  The term is shared with other Scandinavian languages, and comes from the same root as English ale.  A word related to English beer also existed – bjórr – which was borrowed into Old Irish, becoming Modern Irish beoir.

not quite the end

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A final splurge from Birra Y Paz for the summer, Valhalla Ragnarök mead.  I’m a little apprehensive, what with temperatures going up again, but it’s not a fruited mead so I don’t expect it to be too sweet.  I’m not sure if it’s going to be a hoppy mead, which I’ve been told is a thing, but it is one of their special products, very simply made with a nod to history and care.

It sounds violent if I say I’m assaulted by a sweet pastry aroma as soon as the liquid hits the glass, but there is a viking on the bottle, so it fits. It’s not a cloying excessive kind of sweetness, it’s the expected honey and a little bit of wine in the background. It’s a very fizzy drink, with a head that bubbles up a lot at first and dies down just about as fast., leaving a little ring around the outside of the glass. Colorwise, it’s something like a cider, very clear and a tannish gold. The flavor is meady, full honey, but not sticky. There’s a hint of fruitiness lurking, maybe cherry or raspberry. It has a sour tail that stings a little as a goodbye from the sip, but overall it’s a very clean and smooth drink.

Supplier: Birra Y Paz

Price: €4.85

The Wonderful Words of Beer Draft 13

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pint – is a unit of measurement that beer is often served in in drinking establishments.  It is an eighth of a gallon or half a quart.  The word entered Middle English from Old French, presumably from a Latin origin.  Some suggest it is related to “painted”, referring to a mark on a container to show certain amounts.  It is used to represent beer when going out to drink, especially in the UK, whether drinks are served in this amount or not.

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