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ale

always a season

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It’s been a hallmark of craft breweries to do some seasonal beers, either traditional styles or more modern innovations. Sometimes they become regular, like Christmas beers, sometimes they appear and vanish into the dark expanses of memory. Even those breweries taken under the papery wings of Big Beer sometimes continue fun, like Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandy or La Virgen’s Castaña ale. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised to see Estrella Galicia joining the fun, after all they hype themselves as being at the level of craft breweries in terms of innovation and attitude. Is Fresh Summer Ale another way to resist the summer temperatures?

Very bubbly, fluffy head that gently dissipates, very light orange and transparent. It has a somewhat ale-y aroma, but it’s more like industrial beers with a good load of grain than the citrusy craft ales. Flavorwise, it hits you with a firm bitter, but rolls back into more of a maltiness. It’s light and easy going down, doesn’t leave a lot of aftertaste. It gets a touch of lemon after a couple of sips, although not to the point of being shandy-like. It has a very summery profile, definitely something that you would enjoy under an umbrella on the beach or at the bar, you could probably put several down without thinking much about it. I don’t mind this for a little change, but I think I prefer helles even for the summer. Keeps my grounded, or something.

The wonderful words of beer

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Have you ever wondered where the word beer came from, what we called the drink,  in English before we used the word beer, and, for that matter, if the drink was any different when it was called by another name?

not in a box

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The only thing Valentine’s day is good for is the discount chocolate the day after.  And actually, I have my doubts that there are going to be huge discounts, the way prices have been going.  Maybe people will have loaded up on chocolate beforehand, being the comfort food that it is.  Wary as I am of Belgian beers, when it comes to sweet ones that aren’t pastry stouts, that’s the first place you should look.  And Kasteel’s Barista Chocolate Quad is right there to be seen.

Somewhat startlingly, the first impression is the smell of tootsie pop. Then, the beer pouring out like tootsie pop infused water, but once in the glass it does have a comforting brown color and reasonable head. A good close-up sniff brings out more depth of chocolate, which I hope is a good sign. Chocolate is front and center in the flavor, better and butterier than tootsie pops thankfully, but with that little Belgian tang at the end. It’s not actually that strong and it balances the sweeter chocolate flavors well. There’s even a little puff of smoke that seems to waft up after the swallow, so it’s no one dimensional beer. At a fairly strong 11%, it’s the kind of beer that makes you want to cuddle up next to somebody and fall asleep, if you don’t have a whole queue of Youtube to watch for the week.

Supplier: Lambeer

Price: €3.25

T(welve)-10

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On the tenth day of Beermas I went and bought for me
10 lords a-robbing?
Nine night owls hooting
Nine night owls hooting
Eight maids not for cleaning
Seven avian vampire teasers
Six plans a-hatching
Five collaborations
Four miles of nowhere
Three tropical tree eggs
Two staring wings
And an icy raven looking needy

Oh, the things I’m willing to do for the season!  Drink a Belgian beer?  Well, alright, it does have somebody lordly on the label, so it goes with the song.  I’m also tickled that it says “Robijnrood” on one side, which I misread repeatedly as “Robinhood”.  Shows where my sympathies lie, I guess.  What it really is is a red ale, ruby red is the promise, from Brouwerij Haacht.  Charles Quint is no stranger to Belgian beers, but he also has his place in the Spanish beer world.

It does have some ruddiness to it in the glass, sort of a rusty brown color overall. Very light beige head sits firmly on top. It certainly smells Belgian, although not as sour or tangy as some. For the most part the aroma is sweet, although there’s just a touch of sour apple. In the mouth it is plainly a Belgian beer, malty, slightly sour, a real mouthful. It doesn’t have an unpleasant aftertaste, and the flavor is balanced and well under control before the swallow. It’s not a bad sipping, talking beer, with enough body to make snacks welcome but unnecessary.

T(welve)-2

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On the second day of Beermas I went and bought for me

Two staring wings

And an icy raven looking needy

I guess I’ll have to be a little creative, since there are a damn lot of birds in this song and not that many beers with birds.  Surprisingly few, actually, it seems like something people might like to use.  Symbol of freedom, knowledge, power, why wouldn’t you link it to a beer?  Especially in a country where beer has not been the drink of the average citizen until quite recently.  Anyway, I went looking in some less-frequented places, and I got this tentative suggestion.  Almost immediately taken back, since that’s a moth, or something, on the can, but what the hell?  Things that fly count.  Also, taking the place of turtledoves, it makes sense to have all the eyes and be a monstrosity, because if there’s something you like to look at it’s your lover and if there’s anything that makes a monster into a masterpiece it’s love.  This is Rec Brew with Naked Lunch.

It’s strongly aromatic, with a whole tropical fruit basket flowing out as soon as it’s opened.  While cloudy, the color isn’t very bright, sort of a muted lemonade.  The flavor is less tropical, but still strong, snappy, and a little bit acidic.  It has some elements of certain NEIPAs, being a little throat-grabby, but it isn’t quite as strong as the DDH IPA set.  There’s a depth that keeps it from being a simple warm-weather drink, something about the hint of abrasiveness I think.  It is light in the mouth, but you can comfortably drink it surrounded by wintery figures and gray streets and not feel like it’s leaving you unprotected from your current weatherscape.  After a little while I start to get some woody notes, sort of pencil shaving-like, so a reference to a possible winter fireplace?  You put wood shavings in fireplaces, right?  Probably better that than moths.

the mascot

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Still with Guineu and its fox, now an amber ale.  Again, it looks like a very solid offering, although nothing special or extra creative.  Simple Birita, casual, unfussy.

It seems extra heady, and it has a rich dark orange color. Interesting aroma, a little honeyed and not very fruity. There’s a little bit of orange in the taste, but it’s more watered down than I expected. The first seconds of the sip give a bubbly heads-up but then it does down and practically disappears. It’s a good beer for sitting and relaxing but not thinking too much about. A little snack to go with it would mix well. Something kind of woody starts to come out after a few minutes, giving the beer more body and a little more interest, although it’s not the kind of taste that I particularly favor.

vroom vroom

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It’s not a black beer, but it is pretty dark, and strong besides.  Attik Brewing offers Hot Rod American Strong Ale for another rainy December day, with a label that ought to warm the table.  It looks exciting, and vaguely dark and dangerous.

It has the dark color of a strong beer, with a light beige and resistant head. There’s a little bit of apple floating around in the air, again hitting the notes of strong beers in memory. For some reason I expected a thicker and sweeter entrance, something like a barleywine, but it is not like that at all. It’s strongly bitter, playing up the ale part of its build, with a bit appley sweetness wandering in only when most of the sip is already down your throat. The bitter never goes away either. Although it’s not a heavy or sticky beer, echoes of sharp bitterness remain much longer than you expect. Good to keep you from chugging it down too fast, I would imagine.

the shinning

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Oh well, back to pale ales I guess.  It’s not a familiar beer, Hoppit, but given the quality so far I don’t think I have anything to worry about.  I feel like Ben Plantada American Pale Ale has some double meanings it might or might not want to share.

It is the very picture of it’s style – clear golden color, almost whipped cream head, maybe slightly more citrus than necessary in the aroma, but it’s fitting for an APA. The flavor is surprisingly heavy, with a big load of mandarin. It’s not sugary sweet, but there is a good amount of fruit. It’s a pretty big feeling beer, a lot of sun and a lot of brightness emanating from it. Despite the weight it isn’t heavy-handed, just firm, a real pick-me-up kind of beer. It’s not demanding but good back-up. On a rainy December night, it really lights up a room or conversation. Well done, or should I say well planted?

summer harvesting

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Squeezing in another purchase before a short vacation, I grab a couple of things from Birra Y Paz (they’re going on vacation, not me.)  I feel like I ought to be getting some things that I don’t normally subject myself to, and actually the bars are full of various types of ale more than anything else.  A lager here and there, but there’s a downright shortage of sours this year, plus the typical lower offer of stouts for the summer.  As interesting as lambics are as a style, I just can’t get into them as much as a taste experience.  I do, however, deeply enjoy a black currant drink.  It’s one of Lindemans lesser-seen lambics, at least in Madrid, but I think Cassis is worth a shot.

Slightly winey smell, fruity, but old fruit. Like a lot of lambics, it has a deeply tinted appearance with the essence of its most promoted ingredient. It looks a lot like black currant nectar, in fact, but with a rosy head on top. It has that fruity lambic stickiness, and a good amount of sweetness with no bitter at all, very much like Mort Subité, for example. It’s maybe even heavier than currant nectar, with more body and staying power in the mouth. It builds in sourness, but maintains a refreshing cleanness to the flavor that allows it to take a place among summer beers.

Supplier: Birra Y Paz

Price: €3.15

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