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stout

what season?

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It took only seconds to see Ostara on the shelf and see that it was a blessed stout, so that went right into my metaphorical basket. I only buy a few beers at a time, I don’t normally need a real basket. This is a Galway Bay beer, so it is promising, although the back gives some information that makes me pause. Ostara, it says, is the Irish name for spring (not what Duolingo says, but what would you expect), and is meant as a push to celebrate the change of seasons. Well, it’s either late or early for spring, but I guess I am about at the cusp of a season change. Hopefully no old gods will be offended.

The can seems extra full, burgeoning like a coming spring, and it also produces another lavish head. This beer is even more chocolatey looking than fossil fuely, but has a sharp and slightly seawater aroma. They taste is malty, rounded and somewhat vegetal. A thin layer of smoke lies over it like a wreath. While light in feel, there is a slight dustiness as well, like a piece of dark chocolate that has been sitting around just a little too long. It has a pleasant, convivial experience to it, definitely the kind of beer you drink in pints at the bar while hours slip by in conversation. It isn’t actually a session stout, but it does have that feel to it, being solid and and reliable in its flavor and feel from beginning to end. It’s smooth enough to suck down with some speed, but also tasty enough to savor for a while. While it isn’t a flavor explosion or surprise, it’s a beer well worth spending some time with.

Supplier: Lambeer
Price: €4.90

warmer upper

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I was pointed to a number of almost experimental stouts on the shelves of Más Que Cervezas, it’s so hard to choose! In the end I went with a whisky barrel aged stout. It felt better than the bourbon barrel one, and it seems like both a less complicated and an extra packed choice. I have partaken of Kees before, and probably a stout, since that where I see them most represented on these shelves. This is a promising Caramel Fudge Stout, lovingly (I’m sure) aged in Craigellachie whisky barrels, and canned in standard yet playful design. I hope I don’t regret having a light lunch.

A little sparse where head is concerned, but good color and aroma. It has a deep, rich caramel smell with a toasted edge. It’s resonant where others can be thin and shrill. The flavor is not quite as substantial, although it does deliver on stout, caramel and a drop of whiskey. While the beer looks opaque and thick, it’s rather thin on the tongue and slides down the throat without complaint. Even the whiskey doesn’t give much resistance. It doesn’t feel like it’s 11.5% with all the smoothness, but it doesn’t take long for a little buzz to kick in. Strong it is, after all. There’s a feeling of relaxation about it, like it should be poured in a snifter and sipped in front of a fire, or in a mug to go with a terrible comedy. I don’t know why it feels more like a bad comedy than a good one; maybe the good one would be too distracting.

Supplier: Más Que Cervezas
Price: €7.18

right name for the times

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It’s a crazy time we’re living in, and good beer does much to steady the pulse. While I’m always open to a new possibility, I also tend to rely on old standards. You can only take so many surprises. Oso Brew is a reliable choice, if more focused on lighter beers. This is an oatmeal stout, one I might have had during a Sunday chat, with a mildly dizzying label and a fitting name: Delulu.

Much more subdued than Affogato, so it’s been unmolested in the fridge. Not as impressive headwise, but respectable. There’s more earth and nature in the aroma, no hint of sweetness. It carries over into the taste, although there is also a milky balance to it. Like other oatmeal stouts, it’s smooth and with a touch of breakfasty grain. I’m getting kind of a medicinal taste, something almost cola-like, which is a surprise. Not altogether unpleasat, though. It is a bit surprising how robust the beer is, given its relatively modest alcohol content. Oso has always seemed like a maker of tasty but delicate beers, even their IPAs have a lightness and fleeting quality that you don’t find often, but Delulu really holds its own. It’s well-balanced, certainly, a centerpiece of a drink. Oso, you’ve done it again!

Supplier: Be Hoppy
Price: €4.50

is there a mug on amazon?

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We’re waiting for the shitty fridge to be moved out to the balcony so the cooling system can be cool. How can that be the solution? Why not replace it with a fridge that works in the space that was constructed? Why not buy an appropriate appliance in the first place? In the meantime, beer! My imperial stout seems to be cold enough, although it looks like it did get knocked over today. Hopefully this morning so it’s had some time to relax. It’s a promising one too, from Garage, very trustworthy. It is a coffee stout, which can be a little overwhelming, but I’m willing to give it a shot with its vanilla essence. I hope Affogato Tears doesn’t leave me in tears…nah, like I said, it’s Garage.

A little jumpy, so maybe not felled too long ago. No disasters, just a few drops over the edge. Although extra-bubbly on the side of the glass, the bubbles appear static and the head maintains itself well. It’s a chocolate milk kind of head, mostly creamy with a few intruding bigger bubbles. The liquid is going for dark coffee colored rather than black, but that makes sense with its development. There is a good whiff of coffee too it, although it’s not as roasty as most coffee. Maybe cold brew leaves the aroma a little watered down. The first sip rushes in with the coffee flavor, but some vanilla creamer is right on its tail. Given the alcohol content it’s not a surprisingly heavy beer; while not syrupy it lies heavy on the tongue and slurps its way down the throat. The chill and vanilla really solidify the connection to iced coffee or frappuccino for me, more than simple cold brew.

Supplier: Be Hoppy
Price: €8

true names

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Now is the time to delve into the darkness (as if it’s never that time for me), since the stores are stocking a greater variety of stouts and similar beers. A lot of them are fancy pastry and barrel aged stouts, with a few classic examples mixed in. How can I resist those flavor bombs, though? I can’t, that’s the answer. Which brings me to tonight and Yanawa, double vanilla imperial stout, in a can that looks like Big Cat Rescue might sponser it. Well, maybe not, they lean heavily into AI these days. I am almost fooled into thinking it’s a northern Spanish beer with the Basque coming first on the label, but it turns out to be French. True, Anglet is part of the French Basque Country, but I don’t really know how much Basque is present there. They certainly think highly of themselves and their product if the name is any indication. Who wouldn’t want their business to be known as La Superbe? Let’s see if it lives up to the presentation.

It’s a little floofy, coating the side of the glass in tiny bubbles and supporting a kingly crown of dark mocha foam. There’s not a huge aroma coming off it, but there is a hint of quality chocolate, which is due to the vanilla I guess. The taste is weighty, with a good load of vanilla and an undercurrent of toast or coffee. It starts out smooth, but builds up a tickly body over time. There’s a wink of high-falutin’ bonbons, with the sweetness, the smoothness, the feel of luxury treats. Although it starts off easy and light in feel, it develops some stickiness and grabbiness. It doesn’t have the complexity or surprises that some other beers have had, but it’s definitely tasty and satisfying, after so long without indulging in my stouts (who am I kidding, I had some at the bar last weekend), BY WHICH I MEAN my Saturday special in my own space. A fine choice to curl up with a good book or movie!

Supplier: Más Que Cervezas
Price: €7.37

counted

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Officially fall and no excuses to not have a black beer. I’m not exactly enamored of oatmeal stouts, they are often a little too soft for my demanding tastes, but they can be a pleasant evening unwinder. This one comes from Garage, so we can be sure that it will be delicious. It’s also an Imperial Oatmeal Stout, so any concerns about lightness are probably in vain. The label makes me wonder if I should be working to put this beer together with a good meal, but I just can’t be bothered. Yambic Pentameter will have to do on its own, and going by the name it’s one that would be put off by a heavy meal anyway. It could very well want to have center stage to itself.

The can is quite full and spits out a little on opening. It looks fizzy although not too thick, just oozing out onto the top. A good pour produces a good, mocha colored, fluffy head, but little aroma. I have to really get my nose in there to find that fine stoutiness. It has some dusty sweet oats and a touch of malt. The flavor and feel are a surprise compared to the scent; I was expecting something lightly sweet, not exceptionally thick, a mild and calming evening drink. Instead, it’s bold and thick, full of body, and real oatmeal feel. There’s kind of a licorice aftertaste that I wasn’t expecting either. After a while I get something kind of appley, like apple cinnamon oatmeal. Well, actually not as sweet as that tends to be, just a nice level of inviting snackiness. It bridges the summery desire for sugar and relaxation with the fall feeling of warmth and energy.

Supplier: Lambeer
Price: €9.40

mine!

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It’s a almost a new month, with old tastes. Sure, there will be some surprises later on, but for now, my old reliable stouts. There’s something both ancestral and futuristic about this label. That animal could easily be some kind of heraldic symbol, but it could also be a modern fever dream. The website for Stigbergets does not provide much history, so I’m guessing they aren’t some off-shoot of a traditional brewery. Fever dream seagull it is. The name Batch 1000 gives the impression of some kind of experiment, although it could also be that they’re just counting their production closely. 1000 is a big number, but with a number of beers going on, it could also be fairly soon after founding. Let’s see if it lives up to the aura of the big, round number.

Extra dark and heady, with almost a milk chocolate foam crowning this beast. The aroma is subtle, peeking out from under a bush, just light touches of malt. Somehow I smell more forest than field, it’s interesting. It’s quite a thick and heavy stout, oozy yet smooth body. Even the earthy bitterness is mild and muted, leaving the mouthfeel to do all the work of making you work at drinking it. It has a sophisticated and classic taste, leaning on tradition and history rather than any sort of experimental surprise. After some time it develops a warmer, woodier, toastier flavor, while maintaining a good amount of body without falling into stickiness. It’s not dazzling with bells and whistles, but it’s a beer you might fight off a seagull to keep.

Supplier: La Mundial
Price: €9

carved out

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This was the first beer I grabbed off Más Que Cerveza’s shelf, with that luscious cake on the can and the promise of a dessert stout in the name. It certainly looks promising, this Black Forest Gateau. It’s an imperial milk stout with cherry puree and aged on oak chips, which makes it sound all fancy. I assumed Soul Fire was an English brewery, but the price should have tipped me off; you don’t often find big cans under €5 anymore, and an imported one would be absolutely unheard of. It is, in fact, a Spanish brewery, based in Jerez de la Frontera. The contact with wine-making was a benefit for a lot of the early craft breweries in the center of Spain, so maybe sherry will have a similar effect.

Finally a blacker stout, not so heady as recent ones though. There’s chocolate in the aroma, but with some kind of rubber. It smells more like a chocolate toy than real chocolate. Keep sniffing and the cherries will also come out to greet you shyly. Not as sweet as the name implies, and a little rubbery in flavor too. I wonder if it’s some reaction in the oak that brings that out. Eventually the fruit essence goes more banana than cherry but it never really gets sweeter. The woodiness comes out more and gets a little rougher, which is something different. Although the flavor is unignorable, the beer itself has a very light feel and a certain smoothness in spite of the up-front oak presence. I think this one would really benefit from some dessert along with it, just so you don’t feel like you’re chewing on wood chips through the whole can. It starts to pick up some smokiness after a while, is the wood doing something special in there? I can’t say that this is my favorite of any recent beers, or even one I would recommend. Somebody probably likes it, but I wouldn’t want to presume.

Supplier: Más Que Cervezas
Price: €4.89

don’t get salty

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Can I ever get enough stouts? Nope! At least this is a little bit of a change with the country of origin. Who wants a fancy French beer? That’s right, Fauve Sensation Pure a chocolate and caramel beer, comes from the land of wine. The beer stores are still well stocked with stouts, but I notice that the bars don’t have all that many on tap or in bottles/cans. I thought this was the year of the stout! Maybe I’ll just have to wait a little longer.

This one is also more brown than black, and a little thinner brown that yesterday’s. Still good head. The aroma is packed with caramel, with a touch of chocolate and salt. It’s a dark chocolate caramel filled snack bar. Again, it isn’t as sweet as expected, but there is a hint of sweetness that slips through the middle of the suckerpunch of bitterness. It’s almost old IPA bitter, since the beer is not exceptionally weighty. It feels sneaky, like it has something it’s hiding from you, waiting to spring it when you least expect it. The dark chocolate bitterness is almost overwhelming, but it does keep you from sucking it down too fast, at its 12%. It starts out a little rough around the edges, but smooths out with some time. I wasn’t feeling the pastry side of it at first, but eventually it comes around.

Supplier: Más Que Cervezas
Price: €6.50

looking for friends

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Still on my chocolate kick, here’s a Double Chocolate Stout from Rogue. At first I thought its name was “Share Me”, but that seems to be an instruction. It’s a one pint can though, and I can easily drink one pint all on my own. It’s brewed with “natural flavor” too, although it doesn’t specify what flavor on the front. There’s a flavor star on the back promising full chocolate flavor, no increase possible. We’ll see about that. Also high in roast and malt, and a balance of bitter and sweet. They recommend pairing with Brie, Porterhouse steak or Baked Alaska. That’s a versatile beer, it seems to me.

Head’s looking good this time around! As a chocolate stout it makes sense for the beer to be more dark brown than black, and the head has a coffee ice cream look. The aroma is chocolate at first, but quickly starts to remind me of graham crackers. The beer is weirdly dry for all the chocolate hanging around it, with a taste of unsweetened chocolate powder. It isn’t unpalatable, but it is surprising. It definitely feels cooked, roasted, pulled from the fire, but there’s no smoke to speak of and it isn’t in any way burned. I’m on the lookout (tasteout?) for toast, but it’s chocolate through and through. Is it the very top of chocolate? Eh, not really. But, I will allow that if it’s only natural flavors and real cacao nibs or something, it’s hard to get that saturated knock-you-on-your-ass flavor. Being a more subtle beer, it would be a good pairing with more than one dish. And at 9%, it’s a beer you might protect yourself from with a little something extra in your stomach, or by following instructions and sharing with a friend. Could have been a Valentine’s beer!

Supplier: Más Que Cervezas
Price: €6.24

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