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taste the music

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I went looking for stouts as usual, and lo and behold, they have appeared for the fall! We will see them soon enough. I got caught up with a sour first, a strawberry and black currant number. Funny how they get stored near the stouts, maybe they’re going alphabetically. This sour bears the name Syd and is part of Drunken Bros. Memorial Series, which I didn’t think about at first, but now I suppose it must be named for a certain punk musician. Well, no, after a little research it is a different musician altogether that the beer is namesake for. Wrong spelling for the punk’s name anyway. In any case, it does look more fitting for this other Syd, with the somewhat psychedelic design on the can and the ruddy color scheme.

A little explodey, possibly from not being chilled enough, but no real disaster. It very much has a natural strawberry appearance, with a calm orangey salmon pink, not so much black currant. Abundantly headed, not so well-endowed aroma-wise. There are tantalizing hints of bread and jelly, a morning sort of smell, maybe triggering a wake-up response. It does not taste like toast and jelly, though, it tastes exactly like a fruit sour beer. There’s the tang with some sweetness underneath and a clean and smooth feel down the throat. Strawberry sours often have some kind of dustiness to them, and do not tend to be desserty really, and there’s a touch of that, but there’s also an almost syrupy currant nectar playing alongside it. My impression is that currants themselves are not that sweet, maybe even astringent like cranberries, but a black currant drink always carries a heavy load of sweetness. A warmer beer, more settled, starts to show more character and bite, giving a little bit of sting on the way down. It’s not quite winter yet, and doesn’t even completely feel like fall, and this beer has a fitting last gasp of summer in it to my palate.

Supplier: Más Que Cervezas
Price: €5.19

down to darkness

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Finally I have another dark beer in my hand! It’s been a bit of time. I would have liked something sturdier, but a porter can also be very enjoyable, with its layers and details that make you stop and think about what you’re really drinking. Drunken Bros. Remastered Porter might have crossed my table before, but this is “remastered”. And it looks like there have been some additions to the ingredients list for some extra flavor sensations. It’s not a pumpkin beer, nor a pumpkin pie beer, but there might be some dessert elements.

A handsome chocolate syrup colored liquid, and a mocha head, it starts out well with its appearance. The aroma is smoky, with a whisper of fruit. Maybe raisins? The orange is not especially noticeable, which I appreciate. However, it does pop up when you take a nice soothing sip, a little orange drink in a watered-down coffee. It’s an interesting balance of typical black beer warmth and a little citrus to lighten the load, probably making it more attractive at all times of the year. There’s a weird prickliness about it, it’s not as smooth as it seemed like it was going to be, but that gives it some punch and something memorable. I have the wish in the back of my mind for something heavier, more seasonal…I guess it’s time to go shopping.

Supplier: Hidden Beers
Price: €6+

mediaticly recommended

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One of my semi-secret treats to myself is watching videos on The Craft Beer Channel. They are a UK based channel, so a lot of their content is focused on the products of their nation, as is fitting. I’ve head them mention St. Austell’s Proper Job IPA more than once, and especially recently, so if there’s a choice to be made for something not stout, maybe go with something that has a presence among the experts? It’s unseasonably warm these days still, so this is a style that would be more popular among the masses. Also, this is heavily hopped, so just what people who feel a little nostalgia for the early days of craft might be looking for.

It looks like a picture dictionary entry of beer, with the right color, head and bitsy bubbles. The aroma is lagery at first, with grain and grass, but the hop tickle comes in at the end with a touch of spice. It tastes like a standard English IPA, maybe a little less bitter, but not very fruity and wild like its modern counterparts. Despite the simplicity of flavor there’s also a depth there, a towering brightness that illuminates your mouth and prepares you for launching a blistering opinion on that classic film you just saw (totally a classic/totally overrated). Since it isn’t an extra strong IPA, it has a gentle and friendly feel, very much for the street or a party that you don’t want to miss too much of. It’s another last gasp of summer, although we might be past those by now.

Supplier:
Price: €6+

what do you expect?

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Picked up a few new gems from Hidden Beers, reopened after the summer holidays. I didn’t get my email in correctly though, so the exact prices have flown off into the ether. They’re a little over 6 euros each, that much I can be sure of. Close enough? I was hoping for more stouts or themed beers, but there wasn’t much to be had. There was this DDH double IPA, with a season appropriate design. Leave it to Germans to give us just what we need when we’re on a beer hunt. Sudden Death’s Devil In Disguise might burn a hole in my throat if DDH beers of the past have given me anything to go by. It might start out nice, you know, in disguise, but eventually that fiery devil will have to come out.

Bright and sunny looking liquid and frothy laundry-white head, this devil definitely appears friendly at first glance. The aroma is sweet on top but layered on nuttiness and savoriness. The savory comes out first in the flavor, followed by a melony feel and peachy finish. There’s some pith lurking in the aftertaste, but it’s very smooth in feel in general. It starts to develop almost a candy flavor, with a mix of lemon and butterscotch. It’s not the rough and tumble DDH I was expecting, but maybe that’s part of the disguise. Maybe there’s a big pile of grassy, caraway sediment on the bottom waiting to surprise me. No, there is not. The beer remains pleasant, smooth and weirdly desserty to the end. I don’t think I want to complain much about it though, it’s been unseasonably warm and a sugary treat gives you energy to get to the shade.

Supplier: Hidden Beers
Price: €6+

can’t undrink

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Is this the first Saturday of a series of terror? Will darkness descend and drive us into madness? Probably, but it’s not so dark today! After my taste sensation last week, I have something that’s almost more of a palate cleanser, although only for hobby drinkers like myself. It’s an Oso-Prizm collab, and I have had some mindblowing Prizms recently, at a respectable 8.5%. It promises a basket of fruit, although more in taste references than in actual fruit puree as an additive, and I notice with interest that there are three, count ’em three, grains in the ingredients list: purity-compliant barley; exception-demanding wheat; because-they’re-there oats. With all the curiosities, the name makes a lot of sense. Let’s indulge in some Clickbait DIPA.

It’s cloudy and lemony colored, pillowy headed and lightly spiced. Very lightly in fact, there’s hardly any aroma at all. I suppose there’s a hint of fruit in there, just an echo of a can of mandarins or pineapple opened hours ago. I am once again surprised by the explosion of flavor that comes with the first sip. It’s a tangle of tropical tastes, I can’t really pull them apart at first. I also feel a real weight to the beer, maybe from the triplet grain content. It’s one of the less citrusy IPAs, with more of a peach and mango character, and that squeeze of pineapple on top. It’s like the last echo of summer vacation, with a yellow-y orange sunset belying the coming dark evenings. It’s a candle in a pumpkin, sending out just a few rays of light from squirrel chewed holes (that was a crazy photo to come across). It’s a torch leading the way…down what road, we can only wait and see.

Supplier: Lambeer
Price: €7.50

counted

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Officially fall and no excuses to not have a black beer. I’m not exactly enamored of oatmeal stouts, they are often a little too soft for my demanding tastes, but they can be a pleasant evening unwinder. This one comes from Garage, so we can be sure that it will be delicious. It’s also an Imperial Oatmeal Stout, so any concerns about lightness are probably in vain. The label makes me wonder if I should be working to put this beer together with a good meal, but I just can’t be bothered. Yambic Pentameter will have to do on its own, and going by the name it’s one that would be put off by a heavy meal anyway. It could very well want to have center stage to itself.

The can is quite full and spits out a little on opening. It looks fizzy although not too thick, just oozing out onto the top. A good pour produces a good, mocha colored, fluffy head, but little aroma. I have to really get my nose in there to find that fine stoutiness. It has some dusty sweet oats and a touch of malt. The flavor and feel are a surprise compared to the scent; I was expecting something lightly sweet, not exceptionally thick, a mild and calming evening drink. Instead, it’s bold and thick, full of body, and real oatmeal feel. There’s kind of a licorice aftertaste that I wasn’t expecting either. After a while I get something kind of appley, like apple cinnamon oatmeal. Well, actually not as sweet as that tends to be, just a nice level of inviting snackiness. It bridges the summery desire for sugar and relaxation with the fall feeling of warmth and energy.

Supplier: Lambeer
Price: €9.40

won’t leave you crabby

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So, a quick break from the road of darkness, but don’t worry! We’ll be back on it soon enough. It felt right at the moment to get a variety pack from Lambeer, since I’m focusing on cans in the refrigerator. I hesitated before picking up Crab Fruit, to be honest, but it doesn’t look like it has isinglass or anything. It is a smoothie sour ale, packed with tropical fruit and a restaurant mascot quality crab on the label. We thought it might have been coming on fall, but it looks like temperatures will be going back up. Oh well, a good sour can perk you up on a steamy night, no matter the season.

Very bright and lemonadey color, fizzy and nice head at first, but it soon fizzles out. There’s a tiny bit of sour and seashore in the aroma, barely gassy, peachy and coconutty. It almost tastes like a piña colada, but maybe a little more sour than they usually are. There’s a light covering of tropical fruit flavors over a sourball center. I’m clear on the pineapple and coconut, and I think I can detect the vanilla, although I had to be reminded that it was there, but damned if I can’t identify the passionfruit in it. It stays tangy and with a little prickliness even as the fizziness peters out, but the brightness does keep it easy to drink. It’s an absolute ball of sunshine. The end of the can is … suddenly chunky. There’s quite a bit of sediment, I’m assuming the fruit puree. It doesn’t disrupt drinking at all, and brings a lot more pineapple to the flavor for the final kiss.

Supplier: Lambeer
Price: €6.90

we’re all mad here…or is it just me

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It’s amazing how the days are noticeably shorter in a week, just the opposite as in the spring. Is it the latitude? The altitude? The misaligned time zone? In any case, the time for dark beers never ends, and with a certain holiday only weeks away, why not a chocolate porter? Thornbridge’s Cocoa Wonderland has an almost majestic look to it and a promise of desserty fun. Will this be another highlight of my weekend? There have been fascinating and fun metro visits, and now a tasty looking can before me. Wait, did Alice get bigger or smaller from drinking?

It looks rich and chocolatey, with a very fluffy coffee ice cream head. It’s more chocolate in scent than coffee, but there is a hint of a warmer brew lurking. It delivers on the name, full mouth of chocolate, not sickly sweet but not weighed down by earth or smudged by smoke. It isn’t thin and vapory, which I appreciate, but has a round body that sits perfectly on the tongue and rolls down the throat. This is quite a companion beer, something that works well alone, with a snack (I’m imagining dark chocolate or pretzels), in a group of friends, all alone in contemplation. The options are many. I don’t think I’ve grown or shrunk, by the way, but maybe there needs to be a rabbit around for things to work.

Supplier: La Mundial
Price: €5.90

mine!

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It’s a almost a new month, with old tastes. Sure, there will be some surprises later on, but for now, my old reliable stouts. There’s something both ancestral and futuristic about this label. That animal could easily be some kind of heraldic symbol, but it could also be a modern fever dream. The website for Stigbergets does not provide much history, so I’m guessing they aren’t some off-shoot of a traditional brewery. Fever dream seagull it is. The name Batch 1000 gives the impression of some kind of experiment, although it could also be that they’re just counting their production closely. 1000 is a big number, but with a number of beers going on, it could also be fairly soon after founding. Let’s see if it lives up to the aura of the big, round number.

Extra dark and heady, with almost a milk chocolate foam crowning this beast. The aroma is subtle, peeking out from under a bush, just light touches of malt. Somehow I smell more forest than field, it’s interesting. It’s quite a thick and heavy stout, oozy yet smooth body. Even the earthy bitterness is mild and muted, leaving the mouthfeel to do all the work of making you work at drinking it. It has a sophisticated and classic taste, leaning on tradition and history rather than any sort of experimental surprise. After some time it develops a warmer, woodier, toastier flavor, while maintaining a good amount of body without falling into stickiness. It’s not dazzling with bells and whistles, but it’s a beer you might fight off a seagull to keep.

Supplier: La Mundial
Price: €9

from the heavens

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So, the end of the month, almost the beginning of new opportunities. Or something? I cannot keep away from my dark beers, although this is a porter rather than a stout. It’s quite a well-known name too, Northern Monk. The ethereal name is Northern Star, but it’s description as a chocolate, caramel and biscuit stout makes it sound very earthy, if not temptation from the underworld. Perhaps a little early for dessert, but let’s just call it an evening snack.

Delicious appearance, practically black, but slightly lighter head than others. Very light aroma, with just a hint of toasted grain and a tiny ding of grass and chocolate. Chocolate floods through on the first sip, but is quickly overwhelmed by a dusty maltiness. There’s also a sour tang at the end, almost like a chocolate/orange thing. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised at a little fruit from a porter, but it isn’t the typical dark fruit of the porters I’m familiar with. It’s an extra sweet porter, with that touch of caramel coming through if you look hard enough. Looking at the label, you’d think it would be a thick and heavy kind of beer, but it really isn’t heavy at all. There’s a good amount of body, it’s very pleasant to drink, but it’s almost whispery going over the tongue. You finish the can surprisingly quickly, so it’s fortunate that the beer is a “normal” level alcohol-wise, at just over 5%. Maybe it is a trustworthy guide.

Supplier: La Mundial
Price: €3.90

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