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IPA

mediaticly recommended

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One of my semi-secret treats to myself is watching videos on The Craft Beer Channel. They are a UK based channel, so a lot of their content is focused on the products of their nation, as is fitting. I’ve head them mention St. Austell’s Proper Job IPA more than once, and especially recently, so if there’s a choice to be made for something not stout, maybe go with something that has a presence among the experts? It’s unseasonably warm these days still, so this is a style that would be more popular among the masses. Also, this is heavily hopped, so just what people who feel a little nostalgia for the early days of craft might be looking for.

It looks like a picture dictionary entry of beer, with the right color, head and bitsy bubbles. The aroma is lagery at first, with grain and grass, but the hop tickle comes in at the end with a touch of spice. It tastes like a standard English IPA, maybe a little less bitter, but not very fruity and wild like its modern counterparts. Despite the simplicity of flavor there’s also a depth there, a towering brightness that illuminates your mouth and prepares you for launching a blistering opinion on that classic film you just saw (totally a classic/totally overrated). Since it isn’t an extra strong IPA, it has a gentle and friendly feel, very much for the street or a party that you don’t want to miss too much of. It’s another last gasp of summer, although we might be past those by now.

Supplier:
Price: €6+

what do you expect?

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Picked up a few new gems from Hidden Beers, reopened after the summer holidays. I didn’t get my email in correctly though, so the exact prices have flown off into the ether. They’re a little over 6 euros each, that much I can be sure of. Close enough? I was hoping for more stouts or themed beers, but there wasn’t much to be had. There was this DDH double IPA, with a season appropriate design. Leave it to Germans to give us just what we need when we’re on a beer hunt. Sudden Death’s Devil In Disguise might burn a hole in my throat if DDH beers of the past have given me anything to go by. It might start out nice, you know, in disguise, but eventually that fiery devil will have to come out.

Bright and sunny looking liquid and frothy laundry-white head, this devil definitely appears friendly at first glance. The aroma is sweet on top but layered on nuttiness and savoriness. The savory comes out first in the flavor, followed by a melony feel and peachy finish. There’s some pith lurking in the aftertaste, but it’s very smooth in feel in general. It starts to develop almost a candy flavor, with a mix of lemon and butterscotch. It’s not the rough and tumble DDH I was expecting, but maybe that’s part of the disguise. Maybe there’s a big pile of grassy, caraway sediment on the bottom waiting to surprise me. No, there is not. The beer remains pleasant, smooth and weirdly desserty to the end. I don’t think I want to complain much about it though, it’s been unseasonably warm and a sugary treat gives you energy to get to the shade.

Supplier: Hidden Beers
Price: €6+

ruby noma

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Now we’re getting daring! Parting from the pale ale and lager, it’s time for a red IPA, and Imperial Red IPA to boot! At least it must have been easy to choose the color for the label. I have learned that Arriaca was the first craft beer to appear in cans, certainly a trend later and practically the norm now, and one of the founders of AECAI, the association of independent Spanish craft brewers. They aren’t as old as some, but they are more than a decade old at this point, and as far as I can tell are still forging their own path. It’s probably a little romantic to hope for things to be long-lasting and unchanging, or at least changing slowly, in this day and age, but we all need some stability in our lives.

This is an appetizing look, with a dark rusty brown liquid and a thick off-white head. This one, despite its IPA category, is not especially aromatic. There’s just a little tickle of hops, but it’s more toasty than fruity. Like many red ales, it doesn’t follow a particular pattern, but has a wavering flavor between sweet and bitter. For most of the sip it’s on the sweet side, but there’s a definite bitter aftertaste. It has a well formed body that fills the mouth without being overwhelming, goes down easily, and is disarmingly soft for its alcohol content. It’s a little dangerous in fact, so easy to sip down that if you’re not careful you’ll have drunk the whole can, and a second one, before you know it.

a jaunt down memory lane

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My world tour might be over but my month of beer is not. Just over halfway through, so still a few days to go. I have another small series in line – Arriaca. It’s been a while since I’ve enjoyed an Arriaca, they used to be a little more present in the craft beer bars, being from nearby Guadalajara. Now, they’re easier to find canned on a supermarket shelf. Good for them, although it does make you wonder about their craft cred. I haven’t seen anything that shows them “selling out” at all, or doing collaborations that might tarnish their name, like some of our early craft friends. They have changed up the cans and modernized the labels a little, but it looks like pretty standard fare. They’re a brewery that always went for a quality known style rather than being overly experimental. Somebody has to do it! I’m starting simple this, with their IPA.

It looks like just the thing you want in an IPA, very clear, dark gold, abundantly headed. Quite a few bubbles decorate the sides of the glass, without obscuring the clarity. It also has the modern classic aroma, tropical citrus hops. It’s much maltier on the tongue than I expected, adding a touch of honey to the buzzy bitter. It has a pretty robust body on it, although there isn’t a lot of aftertaste or odd sensations left behind. There’s kind of a sugar cookie flavor to it, albeit one without that much sugar. It’s a striking example of the 21st century IPA, while still having nods to the historical style. It makes me wish Arriaca was more easily found on tap. Or hell, in a fridge.

no punch

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The only nice thing about not being in the city center should be having less cement around you, but this neighborhood is at least as paved as any central neighborhood. Yes, there are some dirt areas trying to nourish some plant life, but the streets and the luxuriously wide sidewalks are all cemented and bricked and fake stoned, and they do not stop being little ovens after the sun goes down. Last week, when it was very windy, it was bearable, I must admit. Anyway, enough complaints, it’s time for a drink! This one impressed the guy at Hidden Beers when I pulled it out of the fridge and he waxed eloquent over its positive qualities. It’s an IPA, with no other qualifiers, from Triple Crossing in Virginia, very well made, very stable, very drinkable. It certainly looks to me like it has aspirations. Ready to fly into the sun, perhaps. Here comes Falcon Smash!

Once again, an abundance of foam in the first pour. It’s not quite completely white, and very bubbly. The beer itself is bright gold and just a little cloudy. It gives off a typical IPA aroma, slightly citrus and gruffly hoppy underneath. Most of the head vanishes in a minute or so, leaving a sort of crown around the edges of the glass. A fried egg of a beer, looking down on it. There’s a lot more forest in this IPA than tropics, tilting it towards more classic English styles with a touch of West Coast. It has a snap of citrus at first, but it gets rolled over with pine and climbing vines. Although smooth and light, it has a stickiness that hangs around the mouth, without any unpleasant aftertaste, just a sensation of just having swallowed something. While it looks like the perfect summertime beer, it has a deep almost bitter to it that lurks and clings, and might make it less refreshing than you want for a sidewalk drink. Inside, with the A/C wafting over you, you might just have a winner.

Supplier: Hidden Beers
Price: €9.99

PS. I learned about a week ago that Chinaski has shut its doors, so there goes another craft bar in town. Sure, they have a taproom in Valdemoro, but how often do I go there? Maybe I should look into it.

not-so-brave world

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My buried treasure of beer keeps on giving! This one came from La Mundial, happily still in operation. We are in days that absolutely demand a drink to get through, although some drinks might be in celebration, and an IPA goes with anything. Well, a stout also goes with anything in my case, but for most they need something a little lighter. This slightly retro can contains Soma’s Don’t Quote Me, at a respectable 6%. By coincidence, I’m accompanying my drink with a little media, a story on the magical and occult history of the brewery’s home city, Girona. Full of religious mysteries, just like a lot of European cities. For some reason they don’t get into the beer!

The aroma explodes from the can when the pouring starts, very spicy and piney, It has a little bit of sour orange to it as well. It smells like a West Coast and looks like a New England with its cloudiness, although it’s supposed to be just a plain IPA. The snowy white head doesn’t stick around too long, but there is a thin layer that resists. It definitely tastes like a NEIPA more than anything, much sweeter than you expect after a sniff, heavily fruited with orange and nectarine. It feels thick, although the texture is also very smooth and slides right down the throat. After the initial shock, the flavor seems to settle down a bit, although you really have to concentrate to think you might be detecting some bitterness. It’s a bright and summery beer, maybe just the thing to brighten up a rainy long weekend.

so what?

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That’s the beer, and there’s no need for any other title I think. It’s the call of a generation, several generations in fact. It’s the lament of those in the middle of a long road with no end in sight. That’s just the kind of design that appeals to me too, such a reminder of, well, all my past. You’d think Naparbier would have more optimistic offerings, being one of the most successful craft breweries in Spain in terms of longevity and reputation, but we can imagine a more positive interpretation. It’s the monster itself that elicits the phrase, from the traveler, not the viewers response to the situation. We may find difficulties in our way, but they might only be phantoms. We create problems for ourselves and use them as excuses to avoid making an effort. And that sucks, because there are real things that we can overcome if we actually invest some energy in it. Thanks for the push, Naparbier!

It’s a bright, happy yellow, with piney and citrusy scent to match, but doesn’t hold its head very well. Flavorwise, it’s also bright and bubbly, with a light sheet of bitter across the tongue rather than a rolling boulder that you might get from a stout. It’s very much a West Coast style, with little to no fruit in the taste but still maintaining a sunny and modern quality. It smooths out with time and warming, gaining a touch of citrus sweetness, and a little more weight in the mouth. If you’re fast it’s a good warmer weather treat, with the sharp bitterness to jab you out of lethargy, but if you’re patient it’s a little more of an all-year choice, sweet and summery but also warmingly full. No apathy at all!

Supplier: La Buena Cerveza
Price: €5.20

astronauts

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On the tenth day of Beermas I went and got for me
Ten space lords leaping
A third of nine dancers carefree
Eight spice rack maidens
A taste of one of seven seas
Six alarms a-ringing
A high-powered ring of fire
Four silent moths
Three frisky parrots
A bottle but not two cans
And more than half a liter of perry

At least the label has a clear connection to the song, although there’s only one guy on there. It’s kind of a lonely image, but maybe there are some other crew members hiding in or controlling things from the shuttle. It wouldn’t be that much of a surprise that beer, or at least alcohol, is one of the items that space explorers make damn sure they have around. After all, the pilgrims built a brewery at Plymouth for anything else, they say. Península and their Galactic Sunrise would have been an unknown in the early 17th century, but they might have gained fans then as quickly as they have today. Probably would have had a hell of a time finding suitable hops for a double dry hopped beer, though.

Sort of a peach-honey color, juicy looking, thick. Not excessive head. There is a little of the orangey citrus that modern IPAs can’t do without, but there’s also a swaddling of musk perfume. The taste is sharp, grassy, a stab of mint. There is citrus, but it’s a bitter citrus, not even the odd balance of a grapefruit. It feels wild and a little untamed, in spite of the typical standard beer’s bitterness, maybe because a little influence from the label comes in. It’s an unearthly drink, one that comes from a brand new setting. It’s a discovery of the similarities in unexpected places and differences that surprise you. It’s a stronger IPA at 7%, but the flavor is delicate as well as attention-grabbing, and you get the feeling that it wouldn’t interfere too much with a space walk. Tenth day down!

alarms

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On the sixth day of Beermas I went and got for me
Six alarms a-ringing
A high-powered ring of fire
Four silent moths
Three frisky parrots
A bottle but not two cans
And more than half a liter of perry

There was a lot of hemming and hawing over what would best represent geese a-laying. Finally, it seemed to me that the most important part was the awareness, activity and energy of doing a job, which might be an early-morning or first-thing job. Caleya has provided me with birds in the past, but this time it’s only the feeling with Hurry Up DDH IPA. Get up in the morning, get to work, use the early morning hours to get ahead and “lay” your plans for success. You don’t have a golden egg laying goose and you sure as hell aren’t one either, so get hustling. Or don’t, lazy ass, see if the Christmas ghosts care?

Extra-light, transparent, well-formed head, it’s a good looking beer from the start. The aroma is not super strong, but there are clear notes of tropical and citrusy hops, giving the beer a wake-up aura. The taste isn’t excessively sharp, but there is definitely fruit. More melon or even bland apple than orange or tangerine, and certainly not grapefruit or mango. It seems very light and delicate for a DDH but not all hops are flavor bombs; some can leave hints and nudges towards a flavor rather than kicking you over a cliff. The brightness of the beer could wake you up after a round of heavier, darker beers, and get you thinking about…whatever you need to think about. I think Caleya could give Fairweather Farm’s Profaniteas (and Tranquiliteas) a run for their money. Not only do you get the get the eff up punch, but there’s a rosy and warm feeling of calm down and do things without stress. Despite the sharp colors, the name of urgency, Caleya has made a beer that helps you focus and relax. I don’t think they get as much of a push as they should, if what you’re looking for is a pale ale or IPA, they’re one of the most reliable breweries around. Sixth day down!

toucan

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On the second day of Beermas I went and got for me
A bottle but not two cans
And more than half a liter of perry

This beer is calling out to be second, it’s very name is Tukan! Two…can. And it’s in a bottle. Is this one too cheap, too easy? At least it’s a bird! It’s also an IPA, so maybe we’ll have some tropical sensations to distract us from current weather. Attik has been included in beer Advent calendars, so I trust it will be up to the level of this special group.

Tropical breezes waft out immediately and the glass fills with roiling gold. There’s a pretty good head on it, very white and fluffy. With closer inspection, the aroma also contains some spicy and salty notes, caraway or rosemary maybe? The taste hits with fruit first, much like the scent, but doesn’t bring out the other spices very strongly. An aftertaste with some balancing savoriness starts to build up within a few sips, but the beer is mostly bright and sunny, with a touch of mango and melon. Day two down!

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