la mundial – Let's Learn Beer!

porter day

por Ceit
enero 23, 2023enero 23, 2023

Baltic Porter Day was announced as January 18, so it wasn’t that big a surprise when I went to pick up something for the occasion and there was just a space on the shelves. As you can see, I missed the 18th, but I have also seen the holiday listed as the third Saturday in January, so I’ll take this loophole. Unfortunately, I also need to find a loophole for the Baltic part; plenty of stouts around (for next month), but not a lot of porters. I did have a regular but spiced porter presented: BBNO 03’s 10th anniversary collaboration with Amundsen. It looks quite complex, flavored with chocolate, orange and cinnamon. The Holidays might be over, but this holiday looks like it has a tasty drink to go with it.

Not especially thick pouring out, but the beige head is pretty fluffy. Spicy and slightly citrusy aroma, only the barest hint of chocolate lurking. It’s very toasty, still not strong chocolate, but with just a little bit of sweetness. It’s not actually very bitter, more smoky and earthy, so a smoother beer than expected at first. Even the sweetness is subdued, so the taste is quite clean. There’s no aftertaste to speak of and the beer itself has a light and smooth feel. After settling for a few minutes a more obvious flavor of chocolate starts to come through, but the beer remains drinkable and gentle, not as thick and warming as some I would choose for the season, but still delightful.

Supplier: La Mundial

Price: €7.60

building up

por Ceit
noviembre 2, 2022noviembre 2, 2022

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