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Spanish beer

ride to the rescue

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No, I cannot resist that can, that fun, funny, whimsical can. Garage does have a tendency to use those kind of designs. Also, imperial stout? Fuck yeah, gimme that now! I think I have had this beer before, possibly at Bee Beer, and I have the vague memory that it was quite a treat. I seem to have lost the receipt, so I don’t know exactly how much it was, but I can make a good guess. It certainly isn’t at the level of the German Red, but real craft beers, even domestic ones, are not in that price range. It is my little luxury, and I find ways to indulge. I might cry Alfajor Tears if I couldn’t.

The liquid is just lurking right under the tab, ready to leap up and grab you by the palate. It doesn’t, but somehow you know that it could have. It looks heavy enough to pull you down into the can and produces an impressive, dark beige head. There’s a good amount of chocolate in the aroma, not overly sweet, but not a smokey or raw baking chocolate scent either. It also comes through in the taste; first there’s a slightly medicinal, almost cola flavor, but the chocolate bubbles up quickly after. It’s an interesting mix of sweet, bitter and that special cola, surprisingly light in feel given the look. There’s a slightly dusty feel in the aftertaste, which brings out more natural flavors, almost like an horchata weirdly enough. It gets stronger over time, developing some almost sour notes as an undercurrent, and gaining a certain amount of robustness. While not a pastry stout, it gives a nod to dessert, and still has a close to classic profile. The weight is probably enviable for a Guinness, although it is not as smooth and nothing to swallow, which might be a problem for fans of that particular brew. It’s just right for me, though, my baby bear’s beer. And I’m not Goldilocks, so I don’t even have to break into somebody else’s house to get it.

Supplier: La Buena Cerveza
Price: €7.95?

knife or star

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Despite rising temperatures, I deliberately seek out a stout to relax with. We’re having a discussion on love tonight, so I think I might need something to chill out. I haven’t gone looking for more Steam beer yet, but I have revisited an old favorite, La Buena Cerveza. They don’t have an overwhelming variety on the shelves, being a bar/store now, but there are quite a few nice looking stouts. Almost immediately, my gaze is drawn to Bowie, an imperial stout from Drunken Bros. The blend of deep blue and red on the label is both enticing and calming somehow. I am promised cocoa and vanilla; we’ll see how desserty this stout ends up.

A liitle jumpy, but no explosion with careful opening. It’s a sticky looking dark brown, with almost milk chocolate head. Not much aroma, which is a little disappointing, just some ghostly toast and echoes of vanilla. It’s smooth and mouth-filling, a slippery devil. Not very sweet, so not drifting into the realm of pastry stout. There are notes of dark chocolate and licorice along with a hint of raisin. Smoke and earth also start to rise with a little bit of time. Dimensions of flavor start to unfold themselves, although the texture doesn’t change much from the start. A sort of dustiness starts to form over it, but the beer still elbows its way smoothly through the mouth and heads down the throat unimpeded.

Supplier: La Buena Cerveza
Price: €7.50

can’t complain

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This bottle came as a gift, which is the only reason I have it. I won’t look a gift beer in the … bottlemouth. Anyway, it’s one of Mahou’s special beers, Reserva, with the tiny statement “cerveza extra” on the back. It is a nice bottle, I have to say, a little bit artsy and somewhat of a retro silhouette. I wonder if those old-style beers Mahou was producing more than a good ten years ago were the beta version of this one. One of them anyway, the one that was eventually just called Cerveza Extra. I enjoyed those past-referencing labels they used, reminding their customers of the company’s history and footprint in the city. Maybe they stopped using those names because people got salty that they moved out of town for more modern facilities. Just for reference, those beers were Amaniel – Lager, Maravillas – Extra, Jacometrezo – Ale, and Marcenado – Wheat. They are with their blander names but retro labels on this page: http://www.legaval.es/coleccion-casimiro-mahou/

Very dark honey color, and exeptional head. It goes down eventually, but it takes it time. Quite a thick lagery aroma, with honey and grain filling the nostrils almost overwhelmingly. The beer itself follows the hints given by the aroma. It’s thick feeling and heavy, with a slathering of honey-sweet that gives way to more expected bitter at the end. I think it just might be the development of that old retro red. I’m not especially a fan of Mahou, although there are a few interesting beers in their collection, and I’m not especially a fan of lagers. As far as both of those things go, though, Reserva is a solid and pleasing offering.

dvanactý

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On the twelfth day of Beermas I went and got for me
Twelve thunders thundering
Eleven drinkers drinking
Ten drug lords delivering
Nine priestesses priesting
Eight pirate maids a-sailing
Seven boney swimmers
Six geese post-laying
Five gold nuts
Four obvious non-kiwis
A three-time remade masterpiece
Two guarding lions
And a crow glaring silently

It’s the end! Another Beermas drunk through! There were some stretches in meaning and metaphor here and there, but there’s always one that just doesn’t fit like you hope for. This final beer is a good finale. It was the label that caught my eye with the wild sky and moody color palate, but then I saw the brewery: Laugar. Hooray! And then I saw the style: Imperial Stout with marshmallows. Double and triple hooray! Nimbus carries a threat of rain and dark days, but with a sweet surprise, or maybe a consolation. The solstice is over anyway, so we’re on the way to brighter and brighter times.

Beautiful pour wit a sensible amount of mocha head. It doesn’t look quite as thick as number ten, but still presents body and substance. There’s a vapory whisp of marshmallow in the aroma, riding a stout dragon through the storm clouds of the can. The smell is disarmingly light so when you take a sip it’s a real wallop. While not the thickest beer ever, there’s a good amount of weight that floods over the tongue, and the touch of marshmallow sweetnes gives the whole thing an essence of s’more. It’s silkier than Midnight Call, really in keeping with the stouts from Laugar. Even though they produce some heavy hitters, and Nimbus comes in at 10.5%, the majority of their stouts are easy to pour down the hatch, even dangerously so. This is quite a climax to my Beermas; sometimes the stars, or the clouds, align.

Supplier: La Buena Cerveza
Price: €7.18

elfte

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On the eleventh day of Beermas I went and got for me
Eleven drinkers drinking
Ten drug lords delivering
Nine priestesses priesting
Eight pirate maids a-sailing
Seven boney swimmers
Six geese post-laying
Five gold nuts
Four obvious non-kiwis
A three-time remade masterpiece
Two guarding lions
And a crow glaring silently

It’s close enough to a pipe, even though it isn’t a pipe by any means, that porrón. Things flow out of the spout and that’s enough for me. I don’t think a weiss is exactly the beer to pour down your throat like you would using that device, but maybe one with a good amount of syrup would be easy to take. As far as quality goes, it’s Garage, so clearly a quality beer. And from the right city for the style. I just wonder what P9 is supposed to refer to.

Are people just filling cans to the tippy top anymore? There is a little liquid escape as soon as there’s an opening, but nothing too serious. I was expecting a light orange or even barely yellow beer, what I remember from weisses, but this is a very floral rosy peach color. Even the head is barely tinged pink. Not like the flamingo from a few years ago, but a very happy appearance. It has a tangy and fruity perfume, sort of a strawberry scent, but from a sticker or a doll. I associate weisses with a sharper smell, somewhat acidic and grainy, but this one is soft and slightly juicy. Could just be my memory, I don’t often indulge in the style. The first sip is definitely tangy, like a sour candy. And much like those candies, the sour wears off and you’re left with a calming sweetness covering your tongue. On the side it says “fruited sour ale bursting with raspberry and passion fruit”. Ah, yes, it all makes sense now.

Supplier: Más Que Cervezas
Price: €4.30

décimo

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On the tenth day of Beermas I went and got for me
Ten drug lords delivering
Nine priestesses priesting
Eight pirate maids a-sailing
Seven boney swimmers
Six geese post-laying
Five gold nuts
Four obvious non-kiwis
A three-time remade masterpiece
Two guarding lions
And a crow glaring silently

Hey…isn’t that a scene from a Tarantino movie? Not the famous one, that other one, less famous and sillier. Well, maybe not, it’s been a while since I’ve seen it, or any Tarantino movie for that matter. Suggestions for holiday films? Ok, not only is it stirring film nostalgia, it’s an imperial stout (finally!) and from La Quince. A safe bet if I’ve ever heard one. Maybe I’m stretching the definition of lord, but I imagine people in illegal occupations do a lot of leaping. If not physically, then morally and philosophically. Collaborator Seven Island is a Greek outfit, so philosophy is almost certainly a part of this beer. I seem to recall an earlier collab with Yria that resulted in a stout that would leave you one the floor – almost literally, since it was a seventeen percenter. Midnight Call looks powerful, but manageable. Let’s find out!

First time in a while I don’t get a good head on the first pour, but there is a little beige crown there. While not pitch black, it’s a pleasing dark brown, hot fudge syrup if I had to compare it. The aroma is pretty standard stout, a little toast and earth. Wow, it’s a real mouth filler! The taste is surprisingly subdued for such thickness. It hits hard with bitter, but then there’s a support structure of something sweet. Could it be the oats? It has kind of a breakfast element to it. There’s a tingling to the sip, like a thousand teeny tiny bubbles at once. It does leave a sticky residue on the lips, although no unpleasant aftertaste or other problems. Is it one that you’d get a hankering for at midnight? A secret treat that has to come under cover of darkness? That might make it more exciting, but stouts are a pretty acceptable indulgence. I would call for this beer any time.

Supplier: La Mundial
Price: €7.50

ninth

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On the ninth day of Beermas I went and got for me
Nine priestesses priesting
Eight pirate maids a-sailing
Seven boney swimmers
Six geese post-laying
Five gold nuts
Four obvious non-kiwis
A three-time remade masterpiece
Two guarding lions
And a crow glaring silently

There are fewer beer labels with women on them than you’d think, given how women are used to sell things. I’d say it’s a mark of the integrity of the craft beer sector, but we all know that is unfortunately not true. Yes, there are duchesses and queens, but this is the first time I’ve seen a priestess. Given the experience I’ve had with people from Segovia (which is little), it’s not such a surprise that Sanfrutos would find it fitting to name a beer after such a character. It is a West Coast IPA, so something light and sharp, connected to nature and spirit, is what I’m expecting to find. Let’s see what kind of fortune teller I am.

It’s darker than expected but still clear golden hue. The head starts out fluffy, but bubbles away rapidly. It smells like honey, like a hopped mead almost, which certainly goes with the color. The taste is bittersweet, a one-two punch delivered in a mouth-filling liquid. Knowing it’s a West Coast style makes me look for pine and spice, and in a ghostly aftertaste I think there’s a little pine forest there. In spite of its aleness, it feels right for the time, heavy and covering, with notes of field and forest, not as refreshing as some less, let’s say spiritual brews. Of course, less refreshing is not less enjoyable, and there are times when you want a little weight to let you know you’re alive.

Supplier: La Mundial
Price: €6.10

osmý

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On the eighth day of Beermas I went and got for me
Eight pirate maids a-sailing
Seven boney swimmers
Six geese post-laying
Five gold nuts
Four obvious non-kiwis
A three-time remade masterpiece
Two guarding lions
And a crow glaring silently

I would like very much to have an all stout Beermas, but it would require a lot of stretching of the gifts. Maybe I’ll be feeling flexible next year. For the moment, we have La Grua’s North Shore, a DDH NEIPA. I’m not sure if there’s any history of pirates in the brewery’s area, although the community of Cantabria is on the coast. Actually, a golden beer is more appropriate for a pirate to be stealing, fossil fuels weren’t a thing when the romantic pirates were having their heyday.

It releases a tiny geiser of hop aroma, snappy, catnippy, jungly. No beer explosion though, and it pours very nicely. Not as heady as others, and cloudy like the past couple of weeks. There’s a wave of brightness in the sip, and an almost honeyed finish. Dry hopped beers in my experience have a bit more bitterness and edge, while this one has the NEIPA part of its background clearly coming out on top. If anything the dry hopping took off any edge a NEIPA can have. It gets more and more candylike, kind of like a flat soda, or a low-sugar lemonade. I guess I can imagine it’s sweet like pirate rum.

Supplier: Más Que Cervezas
Price: €5.91

siebte

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On the seventh day of Beermas I went and got for me
Seven boney swimmers
Six geese post-laying
Five gold nuts
Four obvious non-kiwis
A three-time remade masterpiece
Two guarding lions
And a crow glaring silently

It’s not swans, but it’s definitely swimming. Or at least it’s something that used to swim, until being snatched up by undead hands. Somehow I think O Fortuna has several levels hiding in its name. It’s a complicated beer, DDH West Coast IPA, and to go with that it’s a collaboration between three, count ’em three, breweries. The magic of working together on a concoction has a fairy tale ring to it, three witches brewing up a potion that can only be counteracted by seven feathers of seven swans from seven seas, or some mystical folk numerology like that.

We’re back to clear, golden, blinding white headed brew, with a heavy and spicy aroma fitting of West Coast IPAs. There’s a mix of snappy hops and pine, and a sort of hot marmalade. The blend of perfume is reflected in the taste, although there’s more sourness and grain on the tongue. It dances and sparkles on the tongue, like fingerbones tapping. There’s a sweet center hiding in a ball of roughage and savory herbs, hard to identify exactly, but always peeking out. It’s like the setting sun in a mostly cloudy sky.

Supplier: La Buena Cerveza
Price: €7.40

sexto

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On the sixth day of Beermas I went and got for me
Six geese post-laying
Five gold nuts
Four obvious non-kiwis
A three-time remade masterpiece
Two guarding lions
And a crow glaring silently

It’s not every time that you can find the exact bird, but geese aren’t all that unusual. These geese have hatched after the laying, though. The name seems to be sarcastic; I don’t remember ever noticing geese flying in silence, or even walking that quietly. It’s just an IPA, from Barcelona’s Little Rain, no super hopping or extra zap, but it is a classic style. Classics usually hang around for a reason.

All the recent beers have been very foamy and this one is no exception. It seems to have been filled right to capacity and there’s a threat of an escape when the tab pops. The head does not actually hang around very long, releasing a standard IPA hops cloud. There’s also some kind of rubbery smell lurking in there. The taste starts out like a more traditional bitter IPA with a light coating of more modern fruity hops, but suddenly it’s all wrapped up in a raincoat. And in rubber boots. I guess that’s to go with the name.

Supplier: Más Que Cervezas
Price: €6.31

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