What kind of German film watcher am I, without German beers for my weekend? Not to worry, I’ll have a couple on Sunday. For tonight, it’s a strong imperial stout, to go with bittersweet feelings about film festivals. This is not the first time I’ve picked up a Pyrene, and I seem to recall being impressed. This Black Boots is also a collaboration with Pink Boots Brew, named for the women’s society looking out for them in the industry. Maybe I should have had this one in March…
Yep, yep, new towel
It is a very proud pouring beer, with quite a thick head. It does kind of deflate like a cocoa soufflé, though. There’s a very breakfast cereal-y aroma, with chocolate, but also a savory breadiness, so toast is definitely present and maybe a little bit of sausage? The flavor starts out with a somewhat cold dark chocolate whisper, but then something green floats up out of the abyss. It tastes like a health drink pretending to be a shake or something. It doesn’t taste so much like an old beer as a beer that hasn’t quite settled yet, but it could still be that it’s older than it should be. And has been dragged around out of refrigeration more than necessary. I’m not enamored of the sprouting flowers flavor, that also starts to develop a little sourdough aftertaste, but it’s not the worst beer I’ve ever had. It’s not even the worst one I’ve had this month. But maybe I really should have had it in March.
It’s Beermad number ten, and more populated than the last time, from the very beginning. It wasn’t that much of a line, not like years ago, but last year I was the only one at the gate until practically opening time. There were about 20 people hanging out patiently this year, even as opening time came and went and the gate remained shut. They got us in pretty quickly once things were worked out inside, whatever it was that had to be done; people are pretty used to what is expected by now. It’s only 11(:15) and I’m already feeling thirsty, so I set off to get my first drink and take a look around.
There are quite a few new names this year, along with some old familiar friends, so I’m feeling hopeful. As usual, I want to start off strong with a nice stout/porter. Not far from the entrance I found Japi, beer from Cantabria, and a new one for me. Fortunately, they have a black beer, simply called Japi Negra, which I happily accept as my first of the day.
Kinda looks like an Ozzy Man more than a … Cantiman
It has a good look, dark brown, fluffy beige-ish head, and with kind of an oaty stout aroma. Maybe a little malt-heavy, but that’s not bad for a dark beer. It hits a little malty on the tongue, and gives a heavy first impression, but it really is pretty slick drinking. It takes a bit for some bitterness to make an appearance, but eventually it does, from the back of the tongue, interestingly. As a relatively light stout, it’s a good beginning for me. Other times I dive in a little too fast, but this feels…sensible.
I do not remember that motto for Leiner
Now it’s time for something different, and I noticed quite a few different things on the signs. As usual, lots of IPAs, but also some fruity sours with less common fruit. I toss some plans around in my head as I head for another new name, Tensina. There’s a Little Cherry Sour waiting for me.
Incredible color, Kool-Aid worthy, bubbly but not much head, and not much aroma either. It does have a little bit of a cherry yogurt smell, maybe due to the lactose that they told me was in there. Although it looks fizzy, it’s very smooth feeling, not a single tickle on the tongue. The sour cherry flavor is there, but it’s hardly overpowering. It has a very dry feel, in fact. It seems like Kool-Aid with less sugar than normal, and a little watered down too. Well, the color is right anyway. That’s not necessarily bad, we need to have some subtle things to tune our palates to once in a while, to keep us on our toes. I’ve been awfully spoiled with strong flavors as of late.
Is Iris the brewer? Got distracted, didn’t ask
Now we get back to my preference, the dark beers. I saw Pohjala’s Chocolate Porter listed alongside some Lervig and others, and had to go back for that. I think I’ve probably had it either at Taproom or from the bottle, but there’s no harm in trying a new serving style and new environment.
As expected, it looks splendid with it’s color and head. It smells a little coasty, but it is a Baltic porter, after all. A second whiff gives me a hint of licorice. Dark chocolate taste, crumbly, slightly savory, a real mouthful. Licorice is enhanced by the Sachertorte, which is quite dry. Again, it’s not a kick you in the face kind of beer, it’s very mild, but the flavors that are there come right out without shame. I start to pick up a little porter plumminess after a while, adding something sweet on top. The bottom of the Sachertorte has some fruity, jammy surprises awaiting, which end up adding some moisture, but overall it is the porter that is carrying the weight of softening things up here. Not a bad combination at all.
Finally, one more tongue cleaning sour. There’s some mystery about the exact fruit in it, it might be cranberry, but probably raspberry. This is DAI Sour.
Big bubbles, but little head, suggestive if light aroma. It’s fuzzier than the cherry, but with more woodiness and confidence. It does have the essence of a cranberry drink with something sparkling added. A cranberry virgin cocktail, I guess. I am a little whistful for the days of tongue wresting brews that fight all the way down, but Anne Bonny here is no doubt a thirst quencher. Not a flavor bomb in any way, but definitely palatable, and not as dry as Little Cherry. It’s very much a drink, not a sensation.
And with that, my Beermad concludes. See you next year…
Beeeeeeeermad is here! I waited too long to pick up a ticket, so can’t go today. I’ll be there tomorrow morning, though, bright and early. Relatively. It’s probably a good sign; last year there was practically nobody at the gate when they opened on Saturday, although things picked up later on. You’ll have to wait until next week to here my fair details, so here’s just the usual solitary taste.
I don’t remember why I picked up this beer, maybe as a contrast to those pastry stouts. Also, since it’s Basqueland, a guaranteed good drink. I always think I’m really going to enjoy a fruited sour, even though past experiences have been mixed, but there must be some kind of unkillable hope living deep in my palate. I happily accept them when recommended and pour them out nervelessly. Then the smell is a little sewery, or the taste isn’t quite as balanced as expected, or the beer feels spikey instead of like a liquid for drinking…well, I guess I have had more pleasant experiences than unpleasant ones overall, and especially with Basqueland. This one is simply called Strawberry Lemonade. Why dump in unnecessary complications?
It looks berry-ish, not especially bright, but more natural that way. While not exceptionally bubbly, it does look thick, and produces a nice layer of head. It’s not a very aromatic beer. I struggle to pick out clear scents, there does seem to be a little bit of fruit, although if I didn’t know there was strawberry I wouldn’t think of it. There’s the tiniest whiff of gassiness that often comes with fruit sours, but not much. Flavorwise, it is sour as advertised, although it’s kind of a generic sour, not linked to any particular fruit. I guess it has a natural lemonade feel to it, without a lot of sugar to tempt the less mature drinker. It also has a certain dryness on the palate, not leaving a tingle or stickiness that candy sour might have, this is a little more sparkling wine-esque. I think I appreciate that, I don’t need to feel loaded down these days.
More stouts, gods in the heavens, give me more stouts! There are plenty to be had, from breweries known and unknown. This one in particular is a known one, Attik, although I haven’t had much experience with their stouts. White Delight sounds…a little suspicious based solely on the name, but seeing that it’s described as a pastry stout, flavored with coconut, almond and white chocolate, you can’t resist a taste. This is also one of La Mundial’s stock, having rested for a few cold months. Since it is a stout at 9.6%, it’s unlikely that much damage was done.
Soft and fuzzy pouring out, little head, just a little cap on top. It doesn’t explode with scent sensations, but the coconut makes a firm point of being noticed. Not much else comes through to the nose. There’s a natural feel to the coconut taste, very woody and scratchy. It’s sweetish, but not excessive. There seems to be a little vanilla lurking around, peeking out of trap doors or from the fronds of palm trees. Although full-flavored, the beer is not heavy or difficult, it goes down very smoothly and doesn’t have a lot of alcohol weight to it, despite being almost 10%. It has something of an ice-cream or fudgecicle feel to it, with a layered but clearly chocolate taste and smooth and cool texture. Since we’re coming close to summer now, with sun and temps and everything, it’s something to keep in mind. Especially since my beloved stouts seem to be having their moment in the sun. Or maybe more than a moment!
My buried treasure of beer keeps on giving! This one came from La Mundial, happily still in operation. We are in days that absolutely demand a drink to get through, although some drinks might be in celebration, and an IPA goes with anything. Well, a stout also goes with anything in my case, but for most they need something a little lighter. This slightly retro can contains Soma’s Don’t Quote Me, at a respectable 6%. By coincidence, I’m accompanying my drink with a little media, a story on the magical and occult history of the brewery’s home city, Girona. Full of religious mysteries, just like a lot of European cities. For some reason they don’t get into the beer!
The aroma explodes from the can when the pouring starts, very spicy and piney, It has a little bit of sour orange to it as well. It smells like a West Coast and looks like a New England with its cloudiness, although it’s supposed to be just a plain IPA. The snowy white head doesn’t stick around too long, but there is a thin layer that resists. It definitely tastes like a NEIPA more than anything, much sweeter than you expect after a sniff, heavily fruited with orange and nectarine. It feels thick, although the texture is also very smooth and slides right down the throat. After the initial shock, the flavor seems to settle down a bit, although you really have to concentrate to think you might be detecting some bitterness. It’s a bright and summery beer, maybe just the thing to brighten up a rainy long weekend.
Many people think their favorite meal is breakfast, but that might be because their favorite flavor is sugar. There’s still something appealing about anything connected with breakfast food, though, including beer. A pastry stout, imperial at that, seems likes the most likely beer to tackle that particular sector of gastronomy, although some NEIPAs get there with their overwhelming orange juice spirit. Basqueland, proven maker of stouts among other things, has presented us with French Toast, looking very much like a breakfast mimicking dessert.
Not much head, but slippery dark liquid, and tempting and subtle aroma. It has a hint of cinnamon and toast that make you think of fancy breakfast. Breakfast carries over into the taste, with a thick syrupy feel and tingly sweetness. There’s some kind of preserved fruit carrying the flavor on its back, possibly blueberries, which leaves the beer with a slightly winey presentation. Not even brunch goes that far, although I wouldn’t be surprised if some people indulge in champagne cocktails or the like. It really feels more like an alcohol drenched cake than a slice of French toast, with that warm and burning sensation, and the kind of sweetness that comes through careful manipulation of ingredients. The fruit becomes more and more noticeable, and starts to remind me of a blueberry ale I had once. Not the kind of beer you expect to find in a southwestern hotel, but there you go. Anyway, French Toast pastry stout does not disappoint in terms of its name or its will to please, but I don’t think I could handle it for breakfast.
Back to the black stuff, it’s just a black hole for me, drawing me back in. Not that I fight at all, and sometimes I even get a running start. I collected quite a few examples for the next couple of weeks from Labirratorium, which seems to have piled in a few more stouts than the last time I was there. I feel like I have run across Redneck Brewing before, possibly when out and there’s nothing interesting on tap, but this is an Imperial Pastry Stout, so I can’t ignore it. It’s not the most alcoholic of pastry stouts that I’ve seen, but if you’re not careful Teniente Dan-Up could leave you legless.
Plummy, liquory aroma, and heavy appearance. Not a lot of head, though. It looks like a thick but slick liquid, although at 8.5% it might have quite a bit of heft to it. There is body indeed, although it’s not too prickly, but there’s more wood and toast than I was expecting. It takes a couple of sips before some of the expected pastry starts to come out, very fruity and earthy-berry tasting. The plum scent comes through on the tongue eventually, and the overall impression is of jelly donut filling. At first, I thought the whole donut was coming out of that bottle, with the roasted grain being very noticeable, but when it starts getting fruity the grain and bread back off. It rounds out in the end, gaining a little bit of roughage in the mouth and mild grain undertones to the fruitiness, but it’s more of a fruit tart than anything else. It might not be sweet enough for some, or thick enough for others, but it’s good enough for my Saturday night.
Another rainy Saturday, and not a stout for me this time. No, I found something that seemed more appropriate, at least in name – Fruit Jesus! The label looks very similar to those fruit portraits from some Renaissance painter whose name I can never recall. It’s not too surprising that this comes from Basqueland, they have a record of interesting labels and names. It would be quite a shock to find that it’s anything but a sour, and there’s no shock in store. Will it be a transcendent experience, or just an earthly delight? Better open up that can and find out.
It has that sort of gassy puff that a lot of sours do, sort of sulfury, but probably not what you’d get by opening a grave. It has a very juicy appearance, opaque, maybe a shade lighter than orange juice. The head is not abundant, but it is bright white and resistant. Other aromas start to make their way out, a little citrus and pineapple, something smoother too. I’m not sure if it’s mango or some other tropical fruit. It’s supposed to contain passion fruit, and peach, but I think I don’t really know what passion fruit tastes like. The peach might be the smooth part I think I can sense. The taste starts out on the sweeter side, sort of a fresh fruit salad. Then the sour creeps in, leaving a sort of champagne tickle feel along with a lingering aftertaste of sour candy. Not a bad beer at all, not too crazy for a sour, but I don’t know if it would wake the dead.
It’s unseasonably warm right now, although cooler temps should be on the horizon. That’s what usually happens around Easter anyway. Still, how do you say no to a stout? You know very well that I don’t! And this is a special one too, Drunken Bros Black Maiden Imperial Mocha Stout. It’s from the Nightmare series, with a touch of oak conditioning that ought to add some strength and body.
It’s magic radiating off the can, that’s why it’s blurry, that’s the ticket!
It pours thickly, but silky smooth, and settles like some sci-fi B movie monster in the glass. It’s black enough to pull your soul out through your tongue, and even the head vanishes in minutes, unable to contain the power. It is one of the heavier beers I’ve had for a while, like a barely melted shake. It plays on the mocha angle heavily too, with a dark roasted coffee coming on strong at the end of the sip. It has a very toasted grain flavor, with a mild chocolate undertone. While not excessively sweet or coffee bitter, it’s not the easiest beer to drink. It has a robust body and a little bit of crinkly texture that keeps your attention, but doesn’t exactly whip down the hatch like a whisper of wind. I happen to have some white chocolate on hand, and since it isn’t an extra sweet stout, it might be a good little helper….Well, it does cut through the body a little, but it lends a more sour quality to the flavor. Was not the best outcome. Oh well, there’s still beer in the can and more chocolate for another day.
That’s the beer, and there’s no need for any other title I think. It’s the call of a generation, several generations in fact. It’s the lament of those in the middle of a long road with no end in sight. That’s just the kind of design that appeals to me too, such a reminder of, well, all my past. You’d think Naparbier would have more optimistic offerings, being one of the most successful craft breweries in Spain in terms of longevity and reputation, but we can imagine a more positive interpretation. It’s the monster itself that elicits the phrase, from the traveler, not the viewers response to the situation. We may find difficulties in our way, but they might only be phantoms. We create problems for ourselves and use them as excuses to avoid making an effort. And that sucks, because there are real things that we can overcome if we actually invest some energy in it. Thanks for the push, Naparbier!
It’s a bright, happy yellow, with piney and citrusy scent to match, but doesn’t hold its head very well. Flavorwise, it’s also bright and bubbly, with a light sheet of bitter across the tongue rather than a rolling boulder that you might get from a stout. It’s very much a West Coast style, with little to no fruit in the taste but still maintaining a sunny and modern quality. It smooths out with time and warming, gaining a touch of citrus sweetness, and a little more weight in the mouth. If you’re fast it’s a good warmer weather treat, with the sharp bitterness to jab you out of lethargy, but if you’re patient it’s a little more of an all-year choice, sweet and summery but also warmingly full. No apathy at all!
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