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stout

dark dreams

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It’s unseasonably warm right now, although cooler temps should be on the horizon. That’s what usually happens around Easter anyway. Still, how do you say no to a stout? You know very well that I don’t! And this is a special one too, Drunken Bros Black Maiden Imperial Mocha Stout. It’s from the Nightmare series, with a touch of oak conditioning that ought to add some strength and body.

It’s magic radiating off the can, that’s why it’s blurry, that’s the ticket!

It pours thickly, but silky smooth, and settles like some sci-fi B movie monster in the glass. It’s black enough to pull your soul out through your tongue, and even the head vanishes in minutes, unable to contain the power. It is one of the heavier beers I’ve had for a while, like a barely melted shake. It plays on the mocha angle heavily too, with a dark roasted coffee coming on strong at the end of the sip. It has a very toasted grain flavor, with a mild chocolate undertone. While not excessively sweet or coffee bitter, it’s not the easiest beer to drink. It has a robust body and a little bit of crinkly texture that keeps your attention, but doesn’t exactly whip down the hatch like a whisper of wind. I happen to have some white chocolate on hand, and since it isn’t an extra sweet stout, it might be a good little helper….Well, it does cut through the body a little, but it lends a more sour quality to the flavor. Was not the best outcome. Oh well, there’s still beer in the can and more chocolate for another day.

Supplier: La Buena Cerveza
Price: €6.95

across the water

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Although it seems like an American celebration with its consumption, loudness and flashy tradition, it’s the feast day of the patron of a completely different country. Sure, there are many millions of Irish-Americans, and when the world thinks of St. Patrick’s Day it’s the American style parade and green beer that come to mind. Even in Spain you find some examples of pubs and promotions for the occasion. Typically, it goes along with Guinness, but since I am consistently disappointed by that particular beer, I have myself another, more promising Irish stout – Galway Bay’s Ostara.

Very heady, cappuccino froth, and a touch of smoke and dirt in the aroma. Although dark, it isn’t a deep, deep black stout, or the purported ruby red of Guinness, more of an extra coffee color. The head vanishes within minutes, leaving practically nothing on top, even a little layer of foam. There is a lot of coffee in the flavor, very toasty and slightly dusty. There’s a touch of milkiness, but it’s more of a hint of lactose sweetness than a smoothness or creaminess in texture. It is actually a bit of a rough beer on the throat, although certainly drinkable. It’s stronger and more evocative than Guinness ever is for me, making me think of imagined Irish wind and landscape. Of course, if I ever I might find out that Galway Bay was exaggerating the experience.

Supplier: La Mundial
Price: €3.60

diva in a can

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Nothing like a stout on a potentially rainy day, and nothing like a pastry stout for a relaxing weekend. Attik’s Soprano sings out to me with promises of delights and joys on the tongue. The cacao is pretty standard at this point, but I don’t recall seeing hazelnut in a pastry stout, although there was a Black Velvet version a few years ago. There’s something vaguely art deco about the design on the can, which is another plus for me, although I can’t quite make a connection with the song and the art. Maybe the beer is so good it makes you squeal those high notes.

It lives up to its style perfectly, oozing out of the can and trailing chocolate, vanilla and some kind of liquor through the air. It doesn’t build up a thick head, but looks almost jelly-like in the glass. A couple more careful whiffs tilt my perception more to chocolate syrup than anything else. It’s oddly not sweet at first, sort of a mild dark chocolate taste, but then fingers of orange and red berry grab at your tongue. It doesn’t quite go sweet, but more fruity-tangy. The pastry part becomes more and more apparent, sort of a raspberry pie drenched in chocolate. I may not be hitting high Cs, but I was always more in the alto range anyway.

Supplier: La Mundial
Price: €7.70

kernel of joy

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Still winter, technically, but the temperatures might cause you to doubt just a little. Or at least doubt where you are. But I still have the hankering for the dark beers, so I can’t refuse a stout when it comes my way. It’s a little different from most that catch my eye, a so-called Imperial Brown Stout, but it comes from The Kernel, which has its fame and its fans. A simple brown rather than a more profound black should be welcome once in a while anyway.

It’s a good dark brown, not the lightest purported stout I’ve ever seen. It releases just a whiff of toasty malt aroma as it pours and produces a neat and not too thick beige head. In the glass, it has a little more of a grainy sharp scent, a little lighter than some stouts, to go with the color I suppose. It’s very toasty in flavor, and much heavier than I was expecting. In spite of the evident smoke on the palate, it’s a smooth and easy beer for drinking. It seems to have a tiny bite of hop, like a hoppy lager or a really laid-back black IPA. Despite its subdued feel, it’s quite a strong beer at over 9%, but it doesn’t quite drink so strongly. The overall feel might be what knocks people out first.

Supplier: La Mundial
Price: €7.40

flames

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On the fifth day of Beermas I went and got for me
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

For some reason the golden rings are even harder to match than all those damn birds. I feel a little creative this year and was inspired by the label of Lo Vilot’s Gazoleum. Flames can be golden and barrels have rings, so there ya go. A brandy barrel aged imperial stout is definitely high powered fuel, one that will burn bright and propel you far. You might get five miles away, see five counties (or whatever) from the air, or get your rockets to work in five stages. Lots of ways to get to five, and lots of ways to see rings. I think I might be subconsciously looking for ways to attach myself to stouts, one way or another.

Chocolatey color but little head, and there’s a mild hint of wine to the aroma. Maybe I’m just equating wine with alcohol in my head. The taste is heavy on the licorice, with a slight coffee aftertaste, and a slippery, oily mouthfeel. I was expecting a sweeter flavor from the brandy, maybe it contributed more to the aroma, but this has a definite modern stout experience about it. It doesn’t weigh on you too much, it feels like you could take it down without much trouble in not much time, which distinguishes this beer from many other barrel-aged ones. I’m not 100% sure that I mean that as a compliment, since we are looking at more than 10% alcohol, and even during the holidays we want to consume responsibly. This smooth mo-fo will go down a little faster than you might want, leaving you with an empty glass and a full head. Full of praise for stouts, that is. If you’re really lucky, maybe somebody will trade you a ring for the last sip. Fifth day down!

route 666

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I was told, or warned, about this beer – El Demonio! It’s one of those fancy innovative stouts, but this time with chipotle instead of cinnamon or maple syrup. I’ve had chipotle stouts before, but usually they have some chocolate in there too. It looks like Sanfrutos has gone for more of a desert experience than a dessert one.

The beer looks robust and sticky, but doesn’t produce a lot of head. It does have a strong, smoky aroma, almost in the realm of rauchbiers, but with a spicy twist to it too. The chipotle attacks right away, snapping at tongue and palate, but it doesn’t go overboard. The background flavor is difficult to pick out, there’s a little smoke and savoriness, sort of meaty, but the pepper is what stands out. It has a certain amount of staying power, leaving a prickly trail for minutes after swallowing. It’s a little bit demanding, not the kind of beer you drink mindlessly while paying attention to other things. Oh, you can pay attention to other things, but you won’t be able to forget about this little devil of a beer.

Supplier: Más Que Cervezas
Price: €4.20

eternal depths

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Life can be a complicated thing. You think a decision is simple, but then you realize there are many factors at play. This applies not only to your own decisions, but understanding the decisions that others make. There are reasons within reasons within reasons, everything fitting together like a finely made toy. Another thing that fits together finely is a well-made beer, and Basqueland is a brewery that has a history of making beers well. To be honest, I have come across more ales than stouts from them, but everything is top of the line and a delight to have in the glass. I don’t suppose Matryoshka is going to be any different.

It’s weirdly slow-pouring, but sits nicely in the glass, without an abundance of head. There’s a slightly green plant-y aroma, like freshly pulled carrots or zucchinis. It smells a lot like a standard well-made beer, with a nod to the earth that produced the ingredients. While other stouts have had enticing scents and more subdued flavors, this one goes the other way. The taste is full and earthy, hinting at bitter but sticking with slightly savory. It’s a pretty classic Russian Imperial Stout, heavy and slightly bristly, but pleasing in the end.

Supplier: Más Que Cervezas
Price: €5.65

breakfast in the dark

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Still on the lookout for smooth and soothing stouts, dark like the depths of night. Who’s going to make one better than a northern brewery, Scandinavian maybe, or Baltic? It’s been some time since I’ve sat down with a Pohjala, and maybe it’s about time to get reacquainted. This looks like one of the more special ones with it’s umlauted name – French Toast Bänger. It’s an imperial stout, not pastry, but it features maple syrup, vanilla and cinnamon. The color scheme on the label makes me think more of cocktails like Tequila Sunrise, but I guess it could also be reminiscent of bonfires and hearths, perfect for sitting around with a good stout that has a way of keeping the fun going.

It lets off a warm fancy breakfast aroma, cinnamony and syrupy. It might be a little heavy on the sweet side, with no bacon or hashbrowns to balance it out, but on chillier nights you might prefer something with a little more calories to burn. It’s not quite as sweet as expected, but it is smooth and milky. Banana surfaces in the taste. So it is like a deluxe pancake, with bananas, whipped cream, maybe a light dusting of cinnamon or cocoa powder. It has the robust body that I expect from northern stouts, and Pohjala has always been a good example. Although it doesn’t really get sweeter, it does seem to take on some stickiness as you go farther down in the glass. It’s not unpleasant but it might keep you a little less talkative than normal. For some people that might be a good idea; for some others it just means we enjoy the beer and our own thoughts in our heads.

Supplier: La Buena Pinta
Price: €7.70

another heavyweight

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Coincidentally, there’s another Jumbo in the list, Mumbo Jumbo India Stout to be precise. This is a hopped stout, with Chinook, calling itself a classic stout with a hoppy punch. I wonder if this is going to be something of a black IPA. While it’s enjoyable to wallow in the depths of a pastry or barrel aged stout, there’s something about a hoppy beer that clears your head and lets the world in. The clash of expectations with the dark beer and the hop brightness also promotes focus. It’s not quite freezing cold, although the days get dark early at this time, and the spice of a hoppy beer can be like sitting next to a cozy fireplace. Of course, that’s also true of an extra flavorful stout. Well, let’s see how Mumbo Jumbo measures up.

There’s a very vegetal aroma with the pop of the tab, a little bit floral but not fruity. It has a more savory character than even a black IPA might. The beer itself is a good dark color with just an off-white head. Once in the glass it gives off many more spiced wafts of scent. There’s grainy bread, maybe rye, caraway, a little bit of catnip sharpness and muskiness. The taste is very toasty but also with a good garnishing of hops. It has a warmth that many black IPAs did not quite reach, with their shining citrus hops taking center stage, so it does deserve the title of India stout.

Supplier: La Buena Pinta
Price: €5.50

choice memory

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If you’re not in the mood for something specific, just a general category, it can be hard to choose. You get FOMO or even buyer’s remorse, thinking there could have been something better if you had just paid a little more attention or were willing to throw down that extra euro. Stout and porter might not be such a broad category. Besides, it’s hard to find bad ones out there. So really, La Pirata’s Hard Decision wasn’t much of one at all, especially since this is a trusted brewery. Sadly, their taproom in Madrid closed earlier this year, after having filled the spot once held by Irreale. Change is always afoot.

Heavy looking, befitting the label, thin but resistant head of dark beige foam on top, slightly rum/whisky aroma. I’m guessing that’s the oatmeal, really. The taste is slow to slide out and the first sensation is the smooth texture that many oatmeal stouts have. A kind of syrupy bitterness builds up from mid- to aftertaste, with a touch of smoky licorice to boot. It might just be something an elephant would enjoy, when it’s time to relax after a day of being gawked at in the zoo. I recently saw the David Attenborough documentary of Jumbo, and he was given not just beer but also whisky to help him travel calmly. So Victorian. Also Victorian and beyond are the attitudes towards social needs, both of animals and people. Just suck it up and do your job, whether it was a job you chose or not. Anyway, big fan of stouts are not, this is a beer that’s worth a try as something smooth and not overwhelming, although with a hint of its power shining through. Pick it up, it shouldn’t be a hard decision.

Supplier: La Buena Pinta
Price: €4.50

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