So, after having written about the Spanish beer scene a week or so ago, I thought I'd probably better follow up on my promise to write about some of my favourite Iberian brews. It's a difficult task obviously, tasting and championing cracking beer, but I feel a deep sense of commitment to the readers of this blog (and also as today's Thursday, and Thursday's the new Friday - or so I'm told - it would be rude not to) so chin chin and on with it, as they possibly say.
Spanish beer takes a lot of inspiration from the US and its craft beer scene, although there are plenty of nods to Blighty as well. IPAs are pretty ubiquitous amongst Spanish brewers as well as a good smattering of dark beers and most have a "Rubia" which can be anything from a Blond-style Ale to something more lagerish. They also tend to recommend that you serve the beer hazy and that you drink the yeast as well rather than leave it in the bottle. Hence a lot of descriptions of Spanish beer tend to be along the lines of "Hazy golden colour...".
Happily for me, there is also a determination amongst many of the brewers to make more unique, "Spanish" beer; so experimentation - as mentioned previously on the blog - is a key word here. Smoked malts, fruits and twists on familiar styles are all in evidence as brewers embrace the spirit of adventure.
So, to the tasting...
First up is Paqui Brown from the Tyris brewery. It's a 5.4% Brown Ale and my bottle had a best before date of March 2014. It's a single varietal beer using Simcoe hops only. It's nice to see such information on a Spanish beer as on quite a few the I've tried it's been hard enough to identify the brewery and beer name let alone see any insight into malts and hops used.
Tyris is a local brewery from Valencia (happily, where I'm living) which seems to be having a decent amount of success. You can find their beers now not just in speciality delis and bottle shops, but also in mainstream supermarkets and even - say it quietly - in some bars. Having tried their whole range, I can honestly say that they deserve their success as they are making beers that Spain can be rightly proud of. They have got a line up of pretty classic styles (IPA, Porter, American Pale, Brown Ale) but all have a Spanish twist which takes them beyond mere facsimiles of their British or US cousins. I was actually intending to write about 3 Tyris beers for this blog but when I went to the shop they'd completely sold out of the fantastic Smoky Porter. Still, gives me an excuse to go back next week. For the sake of completeness, obviously.
Paqui Brown pours a deep coppery-orange colour with a small, dirty-white head. It smells surprisingly fruity for a brown ale although there is a wholesome, malty note there too. First taste is quite a surprise - I was expecting the classic nutty, sweet flavour so common to British brown ales but here the Simcoe hops jump out at you straight away. After the hops there is a good deal of sweetness and then a sweet finish with a nice kick of bitterness at the end as the Simcoe says "Adios" (although to be honest, it's more likely to be "Hasta Luego"). It's actually a very refreshing beer and it would go fantastically well with a barbecue; the sweetness completing those caramelized flavours perfectly.
I really like this beer. Maybe you could complain that it's not perhaps a brown ale in the strictest sense, but I think you'd have to be having a pretty miserable day to do so. And after all, they don't say that it's a British Brown Ale, so who's to say what a Spanish Brown Ale should taste like? The important thing is that it tastes great. The good news is that it should soon be easier to get hold of in the UK too. After chatting with a chap from the brewery at a craft fair, he said that they were launching soon through a distributor there so keep an eye out and taste with open mind (and mouth, to avoid mess). You won't be disappointed.
My second Tyris beer of the night was VIPA - Valencian India Pale Ale. It's an IPA (had you guessed?) weighing in at a solid IPA-grade 6.1%. On the bottle (which had a best before date of May 2014) it's described as an homage to George Hodgson which is nice, as I imagine hordes of Spanish drinkers rushing off to Wikipedia to find out who they should be thanking for the style they seem to be whole-heartedly adopting. The Tyris website say that they use Pale Ale and Pilsen malts with Northern Brewer, Styrian Goldings and Citra hops. It's also made with a touch of bitter orange peel - that Spanish twist again.
VIPA pours a hazy orange colour with a small, frothy white head. Nose in and it smells very fruity with the orange there as promised. It tastes very fruity too, and the orange peel is there although it's not too overpowering, more sitting in the mix and popping up now and again to assert its presence. The finish is dry, bitter and orangey and you can tell its alcoholic strength.
This was one of the first craft beers that I tried in Spain and I loved it immediately. I loved the fact that it's a tribute to, but not a copy of, a style we're so familiar with. It's different enough to distinguish itself in a pretty crowded IPA market place. It's definitely worth seeking out although again, as with the Paqui Brown, try with an open mind and don't expect an American or British IPA.
Lastly I went for Sagra Premium. This is described by the brewery as a Blond Ale and clocks in at 5.4%. My bottle had a best before date of September 2015. Sagra is an interesting brewery from the Toledo region which seems to be doing a good job of getting its beers sold further afield.
Sagra Premium pours a clear, pale copper/golden colour and has a thin white head which doesn't hang around for too long. When I first smelt it, I was reminded of a light, British style bitter as it had a nice balance of fruity hops and sweet malt on the nose. Deeper sniffing brings more fruitiness - some peach, perhaps - and a further sense of impending malty sweetness.
My first swig had that fruit at the fore followed by a slight bitterness and an almost honeyish finish. The hoppiness comes through on the palate really nicely and is well balanced by the sweetness of the malt. The overall result is extremely refreshing and moreish - as I suppose anything labelled as a Blond Ale should be. It's a great example of a Spanish beer from a brewery which seems to be doing a lot to further the cause of Spanish beer in general. I've tried a couple of theirs now and have been suitably impressed. Looking on their website, it seems they do quite a few different styles including an IPA (as mentioned, a popular style in Spain) and a wonderful looking special porter and blond triple which I've made a mental (and now digital) note to seek out as soon as possible.
And so round one of my Spanish tasting is complete. Fortunately there is now enough good Spanish beer to merit a round two. And three. And... well; you get the fuzzily drawn picture.
No comments:
Post a Comment