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beer

wake up

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Oh yes, there had to be at least one more!  Guineu and Mala Gissona give us a porter now, Txoko.  I’m hoping that that’s a hint of chocolate or cacao, but a regular, rich porter would hit the spot really well right now.  The November rain has been delayed until winter’s door, so it feels like a good time to sit with good dark beer and unwind.

A little thin looking, coffee smelling. Nice head at first, but it fizzles away quickly. The taste is much bigger than expected based on the color and aroma: it’s an extra chocolate and vanilla syrup shot in the morning brew. While slick, it does have a bit of a sticky feel. It’s a little strange for a mid-week beer for some reason, it feels like something you should be having on Friday night before going out for some real fun, or Saturday afternoon to wake up completely.

mysterious

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Alright then, let’s have another pale ale, or more precisely, RIPA.  I guess that isn’t a real repeat for this calendar.  The label looks so familiar, I have the sensation that I have done Jack the RIPA before, but it doesn’t come up.  Maybe I only thought about it in the store and then grabbed a stout instead.  Anyway, it is Guineu, so trustworthy brewers, and it’s a dark idea even if the beer is on the lighter side.  I could have chosen it for a Hallowe’en special.

It’s darker orange than plenty of normal IPAs, a little more along the lines of an imperial. There’s a very bouncy citrus aroma from this one. As for taste, it’s extra bitter rather than extra orangey, but it’s that pleasant IPA style. It’s a deep, rounded bottom kind of flavor, making me think of grapefruit without the actual taste of it. After it settles down a little there is more citrus on the tongue, but the overall effect is still very bitter-hoppy.

in the light of evening

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Oh dear, more pale beers!  This Hoppy Pilsner is from a new discovery, thanks to the calendar, Hoppit.  Their last contribution was quite pleasing, although no stout.  Now that the rain has stopped it’s starting to head towards more wintery temperatures around here, so a darker beer would be appreciated, but the extra light of La Llum might just be the thing to brighten my evening.

Pale, yellowy gold, pure white foam on top, it’s definitely a pilsner. It’s a little bit sharper and citrusier in smell than what I expect from regular pilsners. It is also very sharp in taste. It reminds me of a lemon candy, sour and puckery and first, but smoothed over with a sweet tail-end. It has a modern touch, not nearly the level of bitterness that more traditional pilsners have, a sting that pushes it towards IPA territory.

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.

howl

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I look askance at Rauxa at first; I just had a stunning imperial stout and now I just get a regular IPA?  OK, it’s Guineu and it’s been specially picked, but not even imperial, DDH, some other sparkly attraction?  The label, while subdued, gives a hint of wildness and some secret that it will be worth your while to find out.

Slightly cloudy, but sunny color, and a stunning puffy head. Another whipped cream topping, almost like a float. It’s not very aromatic, but the taste comes out like a jack-in-the-box, surprising in its sharp bitterness and power of lasting flavor. There’s a tingle of mandarin, but it’s almost a doubly bitter IPA compared to a lot of modern American style examples. A little something starts to develop over time that seems like window cleaner to me. It might be a nod to the pine essence of certain hops. The beer has an oddly smooth feel, but with a scratchy coating, kind of like a crumbly hard candy filled with liquidy gel. And all of it a big bad IPA wolf. No, wait, it’s a fox. Big bad IPA fox.

just one more

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Just what I was hoping for, another stout!  And it is an imperial, and a pretty good alcohol content too.  Oso Brewing has put on an almost sinister label, warning the weak off it I guess.  Called La Penúltima, it plays on Spanish drinking culture, where every drink the next to last.  At 15% I wonder if this one wouldn’t send you home right after, though. 

It pours out like chocolate syrup, and even has a little bit of that smell around it. It isn’t an overly sugary kind of chocolate, a little bit sharp, something you wouldn’t actually drink on its own, but use as a flavoring. The beige head deflates a little but stays firm looking if a little thinner. The chocolate carries over into the taste, giving the beer a rich chocolate shake feeling. It’s dark chocolate of course, so not cloyingly sweet, but there’s hardly any bitter to be noticed. It doesn’t leave much aftertaste behind, but there is a kind of feeling of weight that does stay. Oddly, the beer itself feels very smooth and light. It is a lot like a gourmet milkshake, with the high quality dark chocolate and natural, fatty milk. It’s a treat for sure, maybe so much that it has to be…the ultimate.

a call back

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There are plenty of breweries on the box and I think they all make plenty of beers.  But, it isn’t too surprising to find a couple that I already know in there, if they were quality products.  La Quince does pretty reliable when it comes to that, and I have in fact had their Llipa! IPA before.  It was even in last year’s beer calendar!  Worse performances have had encores, I would guess.

Looking just like I remember, bright and shiny golden color and perfect head, at least for a little while. The sharp pine aroma is immediate and summery. A whole medley of flavors rolls out on the tongue, from melon to peach to minty pine. The hops are quite strong and forestal, not so much on the tropical side. The beer is not overly bitter, however, balancing its components well. Although it has a very noticeable presence in the mouth it is more of a summer beer, in my opinion. It goes with warm sidewalks and strolling people, not so much scarves and jackets. There is a lightness to it that just shouts sunlight. I guess a lot of people do look for an extra point of brightness while they grump about winter evenings, though, even if they enjoy the Christmas season.

wandering now

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Kind of a ’60s reminiscent style on the label, but it sounds like a more traditional leaning beer – kellerpils.  I guess it’s a reminder of the goal of any brewer, to make a product that people long to have in their glasses, but there are lots of ways to get there.  Normally similar, only a few have significant differences of make-up or difficulty.  Everyone heading the same way to the same place of happiness, not with Santiago, but with Sanfrutos.  Time to mark out some Caminos Paralelos.

Very light in color and not a hint of cloudiness, also very classic head. The aroma is pure German lager, lots of grain, a little grass, practically honey sweetness. Flavor is surprisingly light as well. I was expecting either a striking bitter or a rounded breadiness, but the beer is almost difficult to even feel in the mouth and the taste is really subdued. It is more bitter than anything else, but there’s a tad bit of corn and cucumber sneaking around too.

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.

answering somebody’s prayers

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In this holy season it only makes sense to have some kind of blessed beverage.  Of course, if I were demanding something of a deity I would have other things in mind.  For most people, though, I suppose La Quince’s God Save The Session IPA would be a gift from heaven.

It looks somewhat watered down, very light, clear straw color, but abundant and snowy head. The aroma is also quite pleasant and nicely noticeable. Typical IPA, very bright and citrusy, with only the barest hint of dark fuzz underneath. The flavor is a little flat at first, kind of metallic. But, then notes of bitter hops start to poke out and a little chaser of orange follows. Like other session IPAs, it feels very light and leaves little trace once it’s gone down. It isn’t a surprising beer or an exceptionally creative one, but it is solid and does the job beautifully.

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