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chocolate

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)-8

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

I complain about all those birds, but the other gifts aren’t all that easy to match up either.  This year the maids a-milking was one of the harder ones, for some reason nothing stood out that was maidenly or milky.  Finally, there’s a good stout that has a good picture on it.  It’s a little more like a sexy maid than a milkmaid, although I don’t think she’s quite that either.  More like somebody who’s going to be doing some milking of a slightly different kind.  Hopefully, in a nice warm room.  It’s from Estonia, a brewery called Pühaste, so I think this Dekadents ought to be formulated for warm indoor spaces, no matter what’s going on outside.

Pouring out, it’s lighter than expected, although the dark brown color is pretty strong once the glass is full. The aroma is a lot fuller than the coloring, sticky, syrupy, heavy chocolate and toast. The first impression of the taste is similar, but quickly followed by a blast of licorice, wrapped up in a return of toasty, burny sensation. It’s a heavy, melted milkshake of a beer, extra thick. It doesn’t have excessive sweetness, with just that pop of mediciny licorice. It’s not hard to get down at all, although the full texture does not encourage chugging.

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.

with interest

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I eagerly await more dark beers as the month goes on, but something shiny is by no means unwelcome.  I pulled out a sunny little can of imperial sour, another Guineu, this time with Màger.  Fested Mind has some extra special ingredients – orange and white chocolate – which you might link to the season.  I don’t mind a little orange with my beer, but orange and chocolate leaves me somewhat cold.  Maybe that goes with the season too.

There’s that gassy smell that many sours seem to have, but with the essence of grape and a little plum mixed in. The color is juicy, the beer isn’t especially clear, and the head fizzles away in seconds. The flavor has a lot of sour candy in it, alternating between Jolly Rancher and mild lemon candy. It feels a little thicker than a lot of sours, leaving a little stickiness in its wake. Interestingly, I don’t really identify orange or chocolate in the flavors, although if I make an effort I can just pick out a touch of citrus. It’s bright and perky, so not quite what I naturally turn to at this time of year (who am I kidding, any time of year), but it’s like a dessert or special treat to add some light to the dark days of the season.

building up

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Found out there was a beer store I hadn’t visited yet, and after the disappearance of the nearby Cervecista – Hop Hop Hurrah!  Yeah, that’s the name, I’m not exclaiming my joy.  Not just, anyway.  Like La Mundial and Prost Chamberí before, it’s a smallish place in a municipal market.  Actually, Barceló has ceased to be a mere market and is now a “polyvalent center” containing a market among other things.  I think there’s a gym and at least one other thing that isn’t about food.  Although compact, the selection on the shelves was more than adequate; I had to leave a couple of black beers behind, not wanting to lug too many home.  First I have a national to try, Yria’s Bauhaus Imperial Stout, whiskey barrel aged.  Committed to supporting craft wherever they can obviously, Yria has used Sackman whiskey barrels, another national product.

Didn’t get a very good head on it, but a momentary mat of dark beige bubbles did make it for a photo-op. The beer is highly aromatic, heavy on the chocolate and malt, promising to swamp the mouth in flavor. And indeed, it is exceptionally tasty, more bitter than I was expecting, but well within the lines of a nice stout. There a good head of smoke, a base of earth and the chocolate core whistling its way through everything. It starts out very smooth also, but develops an edge after just a few sips. The fire starts to make its way more to the top, leaving an alcohol burning behind it, more or less extinguishing the earthiness. The chocolate still maintains itself, though. It never gets exactly syrupy, but over time it does build up in weight. Of course, that could also be an effect of the whiskey sneaking in…

Supplier: Hop Hop Hurrah

Price: €6.20

building up

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Found out there was a beer store I hadn’t visited yet, and after the disappearance of the nearby Cervecista – Hop Hop Hurrah! Yeah, that’s the name, I’m not exclaiming my joy. Not just, anyway. Like La Mundial and Prost Chamberí before, it’s a smallish place in a municipal market. Actually, Barceló has ceased to be a mere market and is now a “polyvalent center” containing a market among other things. I think there’s a gym and at least one other thing that isn’t about food. Although compact, the selection on the shelves was more than adequate; I had to leave a couple of black beers behind, not wanting to lug too many home. First I have a national to try, Yria’s Bauhaus Imperial Stout, whiskey barrel aged. Committed to supporting craft wherever they can obviously, Yria has used Sackman whiskey barrels, another national product.

Didn’t get a very good head on it, but a momentary mat of dark beige bubbles did make it for a photo-op. The beer is highly aromatic, heavy on the chocolate and malt, promising to swamp the mouth in flavor. And indeed, it is exceptionally tasty, more bitter than I was expecting, but well within the lines of a nice stout. There a good head of smoke, a base of earth and the chocolate core whistling its way through everything. It starts out very smooth also, but develops an edge after just a few sips. The fire starts to make its way more to the top, leaving an alcohol burning behind it, more or less extinguishing the earthiness. The chocolate still maintains itself, though. It never gets exactly syrupy, but over time it does build up in weight. Of course, that could also be an effect of the whiskey sneaking in…

Supplier: Hop Hop Hurrah

Price: €6.20

harvest time

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Labirratorium just rearranged their stock from country-based to style-based, which means all the stouts are right there!  Of course, sometimes you want some national representative, but then you ask about it, the same as you used to when you wanted a particular style.  Some people worry about their searching habits, but jeez, you can get used to anything and this isn’t even a weird change.  I was very happy to find Laugar’s Soul Reaper Imperial Breakfast Stout right away.  Yes, the name and label had something to do with its choosing.  It isn’t that long til Halloween after all.

There’s just a whiff of chocolate stout, but definitely something there. It’s not especially heady, although the head that’s present it tight and resistant. Promising dark and opaque brown, very nearly black. Taking a closer sniff, there’s a more toasty background than obvious at first, but with a dusting of dark chocolate still on top. The chocolate comes out big on the flavor, giving you a good shove right up front. Then there’s a more licorice finish, typical for many stouts, which always makes me question my devotion. It feels slick and smooth, although it has a lot of body. It goes down pretty easy despite having plenty of weight, even with a tiny little kick at the back of the palate coming in on the swallow. A little spiciness builds up on several sips, something cinnamony and even a little minty, very Christmas-y I’d say. It feels like a good partner with gingerbread, for example. Even over time it stays smooth and satisfying, with little change in texture. It’s s solid beer, one that would tempt me every time. Even the licorice dies down after a while, nearing it to perfection.

Supplier: Labirratorium

Price: €6.10

in the shadows

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So finally we had some rain yesterday, a good day for sitting in the window and sipping on a nice dark beer.  I kept my porter until today, though.  When I was browsing, there it was, sitting proudly on the shelf, all in its brown bottle, like a cone of chocolate.  Onso porter might not have that chocolate touch, though, being porter rather than stout.  There will probably be a little fruitiness to it, which is acceptable.  Now that it’s not 100 damn degrees out, even a little black beer stickiness won’t be so bad.  Cerveza Rodonda, show me what you got.

Extra foamy, and I’m a little surprised the bottle didn’t overflow on opening. The head is barely tinted beige, but the beer carries a pretty good dark color. It’s dark brown, not black, but good enough. There isn’t a strong puff of aroma at first, but letting it sit out allows just a hint of pickled plum to waft out and settle over the area near the bottle. In the glass there’s more of a light raisiny scent. The taste also has a lot of dried fruit rather than fresh, prunes and raisins over plums or apples. As a porter I would expect it to have some fruit to it, and along these lines. It’s a very subtle and unassuming flavor, displaying a little heft in the mouth but going down softly and not leaving hardly anything behind. Left to its own devices, the beer develops a wisp of smoke in the aftertaste, adding some interest and complexity to a solid but otherwise simple brew.

Supplier: Birra Y Paz

Price: €3.70

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