West Coast IPA – Let's Learn Beer!

make you smile

por Ceit
junio 21, 2025junio 28, 2025

It’s summertime, for fuck’s sake. Streets are baking, heads are sweating, beers are calling. I even saw my first heat mirage! I’m not sure why I haven’t seen one yet in this town, I’ve been here through many a summer, and even hotter temps than these days. Must be something about the road composition in different neighborhoods. Since it is hot, hot summer, I relent on my stout obsession for a West Coast IPA. It’s national, though, from Caleya, a reliable brewery. And also, how can you resist Mola Lisa? Just look at that smile! She belongs in a museum.

Bright and golden looking, abundant and clean white head, firm but delicate tropical fruit aroma. It feels like a blend of whatever’s in season, it’s hard to pick out a particular one. It’s not more citrus or peach, for example, it’s just like walking past a fruit store. Does it translate to the flavor? Not quite, it’s a little sweet and hoppy at first, but suddenly you’re rolling through a pile of grain. There’s a strange distance between the light sweetness and the heavy, toasted base. After a bit, you start to get a little sourness, just for some variety. The flavor is stronger, and I would say more forceful, than the aroma, and while not quite what you expect from West Coast IPAs, it has a wildness that you might associate with the area. The pine isn’t very noticeable, that pine you might expect from a West Coast, but it’s scratchy and rough, a forest of a beer. There’s even something a little punk and/or New Wave about its sneakiness, with the whispered aroma and the punch of taste. A surprise, and a pleasant one.

Supplier: Más Que Cervezas
Price: €4.27

so what?

por Ceit
marzo 2, 2024marzo 2, 2024

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