stout

I have not traveled far and wide to beer fairs and festivals, a little to my chagrin. Well, I don’t like to drive, I don’t like crowds, and I’m not a good trip planner. So much easier to stay close to home – Beermad, La Ruta del Lúpulo, other assorted fairs and fests, there’s no lacking of opportunity in the area. For some reason, this seemed like the year to add Barcelona Beer Festival to the list. It’s supposed to be the biggest in Spain, with the most professional bent, in previous years they had up to 600 beers on the list.

So…it wasn’t quite as big as that. It was a little bigger than the last Beermad, but not too much. The professional area was bigger, but I don’t think there were many more stands and there certainly weren’t more toilets! That seems like poor planning to me. Also, the food just wasn’t as nice as from the food trucks at Beermad, although it was quite a bit cheaper. I was unsurprised to see all the info on the food stands in Catalán, and where there was Spanish it was lower down and a little smaller. They have to make their point. The best thing about BBF was that it was convenient to get to; I came in on the train and walked about 15 minutes down the street. Beermad is always a little bit out of the way for people from out-of-town, and even for people in town sometimes.

I didn’t want to waste time once inside, but I had just had a two hour train ride and a walk in the sun (it was kinda hot that weekend!) so I snapped up the first pick-me-up looking beer I saw, and it was Naparbier. A fruity apricot sour, something that sounded both soothing and like a good opener to more. It’s dark orange, rusty, with some potent alcohol fumes and a coating of old fruit. It really tastes like the liquor part of chocolate liqueurs, with the apricot being on the sour side and only a film of sweet on top. There’s a base of woodiness underneath, what you might expect from a barrel aged beer. I think I almost feel shreds of pulp as I drink, but it’s probably just the intensity of the flavor. It is a thick beer, though. While it starts out refreshing, it gets heavy if you don’t drink it fast, which is a little hard to do with the texture and alcohol feel. It’s a little stronger than I meant to start at, but definitely tasty.

Next I find something a little more local, Kom’s Amazonas NEIPA. Not quite ready to dive into stouts yet. It has a good color, very juicy looking. It turns out not to be as spiky as some in flavor, quite soft and creamy in fact, something of an easy drinking beer. The taste gives you the impression of natural, fresh squeezed orange juice. It’s a lovely NEIPA, happy on its own and probably not too bad with a little snack (was a little put off by some fishier odors by the food stands, so no lunch yet).

The time has come for a stout to take the stage, something bitter and black at last, so Petrolis seemed like the place to go. They had a Bidassoa Russian Imperial too, but I was told Mica Roble y Pino was more bitter, and that’s what I was hankering after. I don’t think it is that bitter, but it’s a barrel aged stout and that part is evident in the flavor. It’s even a bit peppery somehow. I was warned about a little wine taste coming out, and some does indeed, but I’ve had more obvious wine-beers. The combination of flavors is fairly heavy, but the beer itself is smooth and goes right down with little cling to the mouth. Well done, Mica!

Practically all the beers were Spanish and mostly from the north if not Cataluña (although Península was also there), but there was a stand with Polish beer on one end and French on the other. There must have been some buzz about the Polish beer because a line formed out of nowhere and snaked all the way around the corner, leaving me with little desire to stand around. The French beers looked like your typical craft offerings, IPAs and pale ales, and I thought after a barrel aged stout a hoppy IPA would hit the spot. They had Cambier IPA Mosaic/Idaho 7, which sounds like it ought to be bright enough to balance out the previous darkness. It is a perfectly acceptable IPA, good Mosaic flavor comes out, it’s not very bitter, mildly fruity, really a good pick-me-up after a disappointing pizza. The info on the stand recommended a Czech style pilsner as the beverage of choice, but I think the stronger tasting IPA is needed to make up for the disappointment. I was also treated to a taste of La Pirata’s barrel aged Black Block from a South African/Canadian couple at the table. They were on a Mediterranean cruise, spending the day in Barcelona and coincidentally saw the festival happening near their hotel. Hope you enjoyed the rest of your trip, Tim and Robin! Also, I hope I guessed right on the spelling. The Black Block was a delectable contrast to the IPA, even more of a comfort after underwhelming food.

I have time for more! There’s Althaia, who I remember from beer calendars. They have an interesting sounding smoked chilli stout, I ask if it’s very spicy and am told not very. Let’s try it out. There’s a smoky bacon aroma, good stout appearance. First flavor impression? Tabasco rauchbier. It has a good feel to it, very balanced in the smoke-earth-spice, but not much of a mealtime beer in my opinion. It’s a good little taster, actually perfect for the glass size at the festival. You get a good idea of what it is, but when it’s gone it’s just in time. It might actually be good with ice cream. I’ve had a bit to eat so now I feel like I might deserve dessert.

But I spend my last wristband tokens on Gecan Porter. This is a beer festival after all. It has a good dark color, but nothing in particular on the nose. It’s bready and toasty, more what you’d expect from a stout than a porter, although it’s not especially strong. Certainly not as fruity or smooth as I have come to expect from porters, but it is supposed to be a more traditional take. We can probably chalk it up to that.

And that was my Saturday in Barcelona Beer Festival. It could have been worse in so many ways, but it was a let-down from build-up on their website. Much more of a local festival than a national or international one. Next year what, Hamburg? Granada? I guess it depends on if I feel like flying or not.