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stout

should i have studied judo?

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Beermad approaches! I went last year of course, although I did not have the spoons to write a review of it. But new opportunities! Before we get to that, though, there’s a lovely busy can of stout that needs seeing to. Another delight from La Mundial, it’s an imperial pastry stout from The White Dog. It’s a Dutch brewery, which I am not familiar with, but the label seems to be promising a lot. Like some other Dutch breweries, they are flamboyant with their names. This one is I See You Know Your Judo Well. Yeah. Isn’t that a movie quote?

Just black as night pouring out, with that little whiff of Hershey’s chocolate syrup that some modern stouts take on. Not a very heady beer, barely a ring of chocolate milk bubbles crowns the glass. If you stick your nose in the glass there’s a balancing breadiness that takes the edge of the sweet. The taste is unsurprising if you trust the aroma, although it does have a pretty noticeable floor of licorice, which I haven’t run into for a while. With practically no carbonation, it packs a punch as a mouthful of a beverage. It’s slick and thick feeling, makes itself known, but also goes down without much of a fight. Thankfully the licorice calms down after a while, and it doesn’t develop a heavy or syrupy sweetness after sitting around a little. While not the most typical refresher beer, it’s comforting and cozy, definitely a stout right up my alley.

decadence

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It’s the end of an era…about a year late. But better late than never, we must agree. Despite the remaining beers being very Belgian heavy on the fast-emptying shelves of Labirratorium, there were still some that fit my typical tastes – chocolate stout! This is Vocation’s Triple Truffle Naughty & Nice Chocolate Stout, in a tall can and a subtle but suitable label. It’s been chilling for quite a while so I let it sit on the table for a bit before even opening, trusting that chocolate beer won’t go off very fast. At 8.4% it’s strong, although not the strongest I’ve ever had. Sounds like the chocolatiest I’ll have had, though.

It has a definite chocolate aroma, with a touch of liquor, kind of like those cherry liquor bonbons. While not especially heady, a nice layer of thick and lasting foam forms on the top. The flavor does not deviate from the scent clues, piling on in fact. It’s not heavy on the alcohol feel, but the chocolate is thick and dark tasting, very much like Möser Roth’s truffle. Actually, I think it’s a little sweeter than that. It maintains a pleasant texture, not getting to syrupy or heavy, and the flavor also stays constant. It’s quite an easy drinking beer for what you might expect from the description. The wait certainly didn’t hurt it, although I’m sure it was delicious from day one.

waking up

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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.

Supplier: Labirratorium
Price: €7.65

all aboard

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Who needs a pastry stout on Saturday night? Me! Always! Every Saturday! I could do it too, I think, there’s always a new one out, but I do feel the need to sample something else at least some of the time. Not today, though, today is a pastry day. Today’s selection comes from Brouwerij Kees, apparently a whole chain of flavor experiences with Pastry Train. The can doesn’t actually have a train, oddly, instead there’s the promised focus of Black Forest cherry cake, in the moonlight, possibly around Halloween. That’s just the way that image strikes me, ok? It’s a strong one, almost 13%. Maybe that’s the kind of fuel you need to reach that goal of glory.

Oh waaaaait, the cake is on the train!

There’s only a hint of dessert in the aroma, but it’s right in line with the description. Maybe a little breadier than cakey, but there’s some clear cherry roaming around. It’s a little more candy flavored than I might ordinarily like, and an odd mix of fruit candy too. There’s some banana in there, less cherry and more lighter raspberry, but also notes of chocolate cake and donut glaze. Some pastry stouts don’t go all out on the sweetness, as I have recently discovered, and this one is not actually excessive on that account. While definitely an after-dinner sort of drink, it’s pretty clean drinking, and the sweetness does not weigh it down as much as you might expect. It’s not as solemn as dark chocolate or treasonous as less-sweet fruit (melons, I’m looking at you), but it is satisfying and pleasantly unsurprising after looking at the label.

Supplier: Labirratorium
Price: €5.70

sneaky sophistication

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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.

Supplier: Labirratorium
Price: €3.45

plainly labeled

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Despite the temperatures, I cannot contain my hankering for stouts. I got one from Más Que Cervezas, thinking I would hang onto it for lazy Saturday. This isn’t quite lazy, but it is the kind of day that I would rather take to sit with a drink than do most other things. This one does have some fruit content, so maybe I can convince myself that it’s a healthier choice than a more popular IPA or sour. Well, sours do tend to have some fruit too, so I guess my justification falls apart. Oh well, Imperial Chocolate & Cherry Liqueur Stout will be a joy to taste anyway, I predict. This collaboration from The Garden Brewery and Nerdbrewing definitely promises.

It pours out like an otter after its favorite toy and hides under a pretty substantial, dark mocha head. It has mostly a toasty aroma, but there are notes of fruit, not as tart as I would expect a strawberry to be but still identifiable. It makes me think of the old Strawberry Shortcake toys, actually. The beer is stouty and bitter, with a good serving of toast, but also a touch of strawberry whipped cream. The pastry stout maintains its body, but it isn’t as sticky as some of them can get, and the strawberries have been tamed into something smooth and very comfortable in the throat. Even after warming up some, it’s a pleasant weight without going weird in sweetness/tartness/other odd flavors, and while it’s not the best choice (for most) for a seat in the sun, I’m very happy with it in the shade.

Supplier: Más Que Cervezas
Price: €6.05

dark dreams

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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.

Supplier: La Buena Cerveza
Price: €6.95

across the water

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Although it seems like an American celebration with its consumption, loudness and flashy tradition, it’s the feast day of the patron of a completely different country. Sure, there are many millions of Irish-Americans, and when the world thinks of St. Patrick’s Day it’s the American style parade and green beer that come to mind. Even in Spain you find some examples of pubs and promotions for the occasion. Typically, it goes along with Guinness, but since I am consistently disappointed by that particular beer, I have myself another, more promising Irish stout – Galway Bay’s Ostara.

Very heady, cappuccino froth, and a touch of smoke and dirt in the aroma. Although dark, it isn’t a deep, deep black stout, or the purported ruby red of Guinness, more of an extra coffee color. The head vanishes within minutes, leaving practically nothing on top, even a little layer of foam. There is a lot of coffee in the flavor, very toasty and slightly dusty. There’s a touch of milkiness, but it’s more of a hint of lactose sweetness than a smoothness or creaminess in texture. It is actually a bit of a rough beer on the throat, although certainly drinkable. It’s stronger and more evocative than Guinness ever is for me, making me think of imagined Irish wind and landscape. Of course, if I ever I might find out that Galway Bay was exaggerating the experience.

Supplier: La Mundial
Price: €3.60

diva in a can

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Nothing like a stout on a potentially rainy day, and nothing like a pastry stout for a relaxing weekend. Attik’s Soprano sings out to me with promises of delights and joys on the tongue. The cacao is pretty standard at this point, but I don’t recall seeing hazelnut in a pastry stout, although there was a Black Velvet version a few years ago. There’s something vaguely art deco about the design on the can, which is another plus for me, although I can’t quite make a connection with the song and the art. Maybe the beer is so good it makes you squeal those high notes.

It lives up to its style perfectly, oozing out of the can and trailing chocolate, vanilla and some kind of liquor through the air. It doesn’t build up a thick head, but looks almost jelly-like in the glass. A couple more careful whiffs tilt my perception more to chocolate syrup than anything else. It’s oddly not sweet at first, sort of a mild dark chocolate taste, but then fingers of orange and red berry grab at your tongue. It doesn’t quite go sweet, but more fruity-tangy. The pastry part becomes more and more apparent, sort of a raspberry pie drenched in chocolate. I may not be hitting high Cs, but I was always more in the alto range anyway.

Supplier: La Mundial
Price: €7.70

kernel of joy

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Still winter, technically, but the temperatures might cause you to doubt just a little. Or at least doubt where you are. But I still have the hankering for the dark beers, so I can’t refuse a stout when it comes my way. It’s a little different from most that catch my eye, a so-called Imperial Brown Stout, but it comes from The Kernel, which has its fame and its fans. A simple brown rather than a more profound black should be welcome once in a while anyway.

It’s a good dark brown, not the lightest purported stout I’ve ever seen. It releases just a whiff of toasty malt aroma as it pours and produces a neat and not too thick beige head. In the glass, it has a little more of a grainy sharp scent, a little lighter than some stouts, to go with the color I suppose. It’s very toasty in flavor, and much heavier than I was expecting. In spite of the evident smoke on the palate, it’s a smooth and easy beer for drinking. It seems to have a tiny bite of hop, like a hoppy lager or a really laid-back black IPA. Despite its subdued feel, it’s quite a strong beer at over 9%, but it doesn’t quite drink so strongly. The overall feel might be what knocks people out first.

Supplier: La Mundial
Price: €7.40

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