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Spanish beer

ruby noma

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Now we’re getting daring! Parting from the pale ale and lager, it’s time for a red IPA, and Imperial Red IPA to boot! At least it must have been easy to choose the color for the label. I have learned that Arriaca was the first craft beer to appear in cans, certainly a trend later and practically the norm now, and one of the founders of AECAI, the association of independent Spanish craft brewers. They aren’t as old as some, but they are more than a decade old at this point, and as far as I can tell are still forging their own path. It’s probably a little romantic to hope for things to be long-lasting and unchanging, or at least changing slowly, in this day and age, but we all need some stability in our lives.

This is an appetizing look, with a dark rusty brown liquid and a thick off-white head. This one, despite its IPA category, is not especially aromatic. There’s just a little tickle of hops, but it’s more toasty than fruity. Like many red ales, it doesn’t follow a particular pattern, but has a wavering flavor between sweet and bitter. For most of the sip it’s on the sweet side, but there’s a definite bitter aftertaste. It has a well formed body that fills the mouth without being overwhelming, goes down easily, and is disarmingly soft for its alcohol content. It’s a little dangerous in fact, so easy to sip down that if you’re not careful you’ll have drunk the whole can, and a second one, before you know it.

hop day

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Right in the middle of my Arriaca flight, with a hoppy lager. While a more modern style, I’m expecting something of a traditional bent, much like their ales. My can is a little dirty, which I didn’t notice before, but it must have been something that happened on the shelf. The shitty fridge isn’t going to have dirt raining down from the top, is it? Nobody’s complained about food contamination yet. I’m a little disappointed that Arriaca does not list their hops like some other breweries do; it would be interesting to compare the varieties used in their styles.

This one has aroma that leaps out of the can. It’s not quite head-butting, but it makes itself known. The look is classic lager, bright golden color and bright white head, which really fills up the top of the glass. It takes its protective role seriously for this beer, I see. The taste is also practically an homage to traditional lagers, with sweet maltiness and just a touch of hops to cover up excess grain (not that I suspect excesses). It’s a bright call to arms, more energetic than the session IPA, although not too much more complex. It has a few layers to it, with the malt and a touch of lemon and honey. The frothy head decreases little by little, but pouring out the rest of the can revives it to its original glory. It’s a well balanced hoppy lager, with both components clearly detectable, but in a way that complements each other rather than fighting for attention.

quiet session

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Day two of Arriaca “flight¨, and I’m taking it easy. Today it’s their Session IPA, at less than 4%. It seems like the brewery is more active in fairs and industry activities towards the north of the country, showing in Salón Gourmets and winning medals in Barcelona and Frankfurt. I don’t know if the beer fairs of Madrid have become too small for their gastronomic ambitions, but there’s nothing wrong with pushing beer to a higher standard of recognition. It’s been the drink of kings, after all.

It appears to be a lighter version of the regular IPA, a more sunny golden color, and fluffily heady. Slightly spicier aroma, but still clearly in the IPA family. The session IPA is actually heavier on the citrus than the regular one, very orangey and tart. It doesn’t have the background of maltiness in the taste, being very clean and sharp. It’s a tasty but simple flavor. As a session IPA, it has a light feel and maybe the unsandwiched notes are best for its probable habitat – an afternoon drink or a nightcap, probably no meal, potentially a group sitting around having a good conversation.

a jaunt down memory lane

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My world tour might be over but my month of beer is not. Just over halfway through, so still a few days to go. I have another small series in line – Arriaca. It’s been a while since I’ve enjoyed an Arriaca, they used to be a little more present in the craft beer bars, being from nearby Guadalajara. Now, they’re easier to find canned on a supermarket shelf. Good for them, although it does make you wonder about their craft cred. I haven’t seen anything that shows them “selling out” at all, or doing collaborations that might tarnish their name, like some of our early craft friends. They have changed up the cans and modernized the labels a little, but it looks like pretty standard fare. They’re a brewery that always went for a quality known style rather than being overly experimental. Somebody has to do it! I’m starting simple this, with their IPA.

It looks like just the thing you want in an IPA, very clear, dark gold, abundantly headed. Quite a few bubbles decorate the sides of the glass, without obscuring the clarity. It also has the modern classic aroma, tropical citrus hops. It’s much maltier on the tongue than I expected, adding a touch of honey to the buzzy bitter. It has a pretty robust body on it, although there isn’t a lot of aftertaste or odd sensations left behind. There’s kind of a sugar cookie flavor to it, albeit one without that much sugar. It’s a striking example of the 21st century IPA, while still having nods to the historical style. It makes me wish Arriaca was more easily found on tap. Or hell, in a fridge.

other choices of tree

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I had a thing a few days ago, and I felt that the best thing would be to have a beer from Madrid. Since both FM and Mad Brewing are now out of action, we can only go to the outskirts. Yes, La Caníbal is in Mad Brewing’s old space, but I haven’t seen them canned and waiting in the stores. That leaves Península and Oso, although Cibeles could have been a ringer. Surprisingly, it’s a little hard to find things when you have specific names in mind, and moreso now that it’s vacation time in Spain. Finally, I did get a cheerful citrus beer from Oso, called, fittingly, Citrus. It looks pretty bright and tickly, although the back label warns of an “explosion” of partying fruits. This one does include orange and lemon juice, as well as Citra hops, so I think it might be NEIPAier than recent NEIPAs.

It pours out bubbly and stays bubbly in the glass, with relatively large spheres clinging to the sides. The head does not look very compact and vanishes quickly. It certainly has a citrusy color, lemony specifically, and gives off just a touch of lemon aroma. I was led to believe by the can that there would be a much stronger scent, but maybe they’re saving it for the taste. It is strongly flavored, and citrusy, more of a bitter orange than lemon. There is some feeling of natural lemonade in there, too. It’s surprisingly robust in mouthfeel, not thin and ephemeral like you might expect a lighter beer to be, but this has a roundness and hop leafiness that leaves you feeling like you have had a mouthful of something. Although this Citrus isn’t as powerful as I expected, I think it is appropriate for the season. It’s not bad to have something more subdued that you can quietly enjoy every once in a while. Not a NEIPA, in the end, but no regrets.

Supplier: La Buena Cerveza
Price: €5.50

say it three times

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Although I am not the biggest fan of sours, sometimes something in the ingredients, or the name or the label convince me to pick one up. This is one of those times. It’s Pyrene, a reliable brewery, so good start. And it’s covered in creepy monsters, so another point in its favor. And finally? Those monsters come from … BEETLEJUICE! No, I won’t repeat it twice more, I need to get down to drinking.

It’s leaping to escape the can, so much that it can’t even ruffle up a good head for itself. It does fizz so it kind of lean towards a soda more than a beer. The typical sour gassiness comes off it when you take a sniff, but it’s a very faint aroma this time. While it has good color, it’s almost pastel peachy, not a saturated red or pink. It has a delicate flavor, sweet, a little melony and strawberry, kind of a shaggy texture, but not spikey. This is very much a summer drink at first sip! It stays consistently fresh-fruity, not going sour, bitter, or syrupy. A very enjoyable sour, if I do say so myself. It’s a good choice on days when the street is like an oven, in triple digits Fahrenheit (a little more impressive than the double-digit Celsius measurements).

Supplier: Lambeer
Price: €6.50

all good things

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It’s time for bottle number three from my gift pack, the only one that appeared to have its full volume. This is the pale ale, “Smash” pale ale, although the name makes you expect the typical lager. As far as I know, cerveza rubia has been in the lager style at least since lagers were introduced. All of the labels had some subtle and slightly surreal designs on them, but Rubia clearly shows a guinea pig on one side and a cat on the other. I do not know the reason. There isn’t even a quirky name to point to a fairy tale or weird ass children’s show.

Once again, extremely fizzy and well-headed, lovely golden color and subtle but standard beery aroma. It hits hard on the tongue with its carbonation, but the taste is right up the alley of any ale fan. It’s in-your-face bitter, but with a little garnish of grain to keep it floating. Like the weiss, it has a bigger, bolder body than I associate with the style, but it’s still a smooth and happily drunk brew. It is, perhaps, even more summery than La Balluca’s weiss, with a somewhat simpler profile and a less layered flavor experience. A little time brings out some sourness and turns down the bitter, leaving a more candied feel to the whole business. Of course, I will turn my eyes to darker horizons after this, but it was a nice little interlude of local beers that I wouldn’t have come across otherwise. The beer stores of yore will be missed, and sorely.

harvesting

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I didn’t see any leakage on the bottle, but this La Balluca Weissbier also had a lower level of liquid than you would expect to see. I’m going to trust that it is also still in drinking condition, having been kept from light and heat (for the most part). It looks like a pretty standard weiss, very short ingredient list, all natural. Things are really heating up these days on the street, so it would be nice to have something to cool down with on an August evening.

Yep, not quite regulation level

A little hissy under the cap, but looks good pouring and has a little wheaty tang to the smell. The head is fluffy, white, and does collapse into a manageable amount within half a minute. The beer is clear gold, showing off a lively amount of carbonation. The taste is stronger and heavier than I would expect from a wheat, with a little graininess but a big dark bitter spot. It has a crafty feel thanks to that roughness, not as sweet and effervescent as more industrial or at least bigger brand wheats. It’s less summery and refreshing than many of them are, but it’s true that a lot of wheat beers do have some pretty hefty body to them. There is a little sediment in the bottom, so the last bit of pouring should be done with care.

exploded

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Sometimes people like to help you in your hobbies. When your hobby involves food and drink, it’s always easy to pick up a little something on a trip as a gift. Even now, there are local microbreweries and craft breweries working along steadily, supporting local hop farms and bars. I have not heard of La Balluca, maybe if some of the old beer stores were still open they would have had a few bottles. As it is, a pack of three bottles was gifted to me by a friend who was taking a trip through Guadalajara. They all looked like pale ales at first, but on opening the package I saw that there was an English brown, a wheat, and, yes, one pale ale. The brown and the wheat seem to have had some mishap occur; both of them were missing some liquid and the brown had some residue around the cap where some leakage must have happened. In spite of the loss, it’s mostly there, and probably still perfectly fine, so into the shitty fridge with 5 Maltas brown!

Uh oh
Hmmmmm
Seems a little low, yep

It is certainly a brown ale, cloudy with an off-white head, and a sweet-and-sour aroma. It’s like a lemon glazed cinnamon roll. The head dies back pretty quickly, but not completely, leaving a little cap. It has a strong malty flavor, with a little bit of gritty texture. The sourness is also there, very light, just balancing the bready, grainy taste. It has the hallmarks of its style, the warm roundness, the tingles on the tongue, it hits high notes for summer and low notes for times of less oppressive temperatures. As expected, the shitty fridge did not cool this beer way down, even in a bottle over a couple of days, but it works well with the style. It’s a soothing beer for the evening, probably not one that would take center stage, but it’s a welcome accompaniment.

a toast, to the past and future

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Number two stout from my last foraging, Basqueland’s Seven Minute Siesta. It sounds more like some kind of IPA than the Imperial Pastry Stout is claims to be, but we’ll see if there isn’t a surprise in the can. It might be that an 11% beer is just the thing to knock you out for seven minutes. This is part of their 10th anniversary series, one of the two stouts in a sextet of other ales, including a black IPA. For some reason, it seems to me like Basqueland ought to be even older than 10, but we must remember that the 2010s was the high point of establishment of Spanish craft beer. 2015 is a solid year to be born. Actually, it’s my nephew’s birth year too, so it must have been a year for crazy creative things to come into the world.

Again, very appetizing going into the glass, with a very fluffy mocha colored head and more tiny bubbles than I was expecting. As the head dies back I take a whiff of a cakey, fruity, chocolate syrupy beer. It has the aroma of the best kind of pastry stout, the one that has sweetness but isn’t a sugar bomb. A deeper sniff brings up some toasty maltiness too. The mouthfeel is surprisingly thick, much more robust than I thought it was going to be. The sweetness is well-balanced, strong but not overwhelming. It’s something akin to dark chocolate, doing away with the bitterness of stouts without drowning the flavor in lactose or sucrose. While filling, it was not very sticky at first, although there is some build-up in the mouth over time. It doesn’t leave much of an aftertaste, just the sensation of having your tongue varnished. And not shitty cheap stuff either, high-class celebratory shine for the ages. Happy birthday to you, Basqueland, may you keep your quality and your market for decades to come.

Supplier: La Mundial
Price: €8

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