TOPIC:

Definitely a ton of light lagers everywhere but I was still able to find some craft beer.

Stopped in an organic grocer and found:
1. Neumarkter Lammsbrau Dunkel
2. Pinkus Honig Malz

The dunkel was pretty good; slighly more roasty than most Bavarian Dunkels I've tried but a great alternative to light lager.
The Pinkus Honig Malz was... cloyingly sweet, VERY "worty" tasting and the 4th beer I've been unable/unwilling to finish. It seems like they killed the yeast and back sweetened with fresh wort; just not a good idea. I've loved every other Pinkus beer I've tried; especially the Alt, but this didn't do it for me.

I also managed to pickup a 4 pack of "Cervesa Del Montseny beers:
Christmas beer, "+Lupus" (hoppy, cloudy pale ale; really tasty), +MALTA supposed to be the most malt-forward beer which is WAS but it was fermented way down and still had little mouthfeel (it was also cloudy), +NEGRA another light-bodied beer this time a stout.

The Christmas beer I've saved for tomorrow, but I tried "S.A. Damm" with dinner and it was better than I expected.
(I've heard Damm is making a bock now and I hope to track it down over the next two weeks.)

Adam

Just to point out that Pinkus Honig Malz is a soft drink, or Malzbier. My son (who is 5) drinks this kinda stuff. Actually, the Pinkus Malz is pretty good, haven't tried the Honig (honey) version.

"Barry M":15oustyc wrote: Just to point out that Pinkus Honig Malz is a soft drink, or Malzbier. My son (who is 5) drinks this kinda stuff. Actually, the Pinkus Malz is pretty good, haven't tried the Honig (honey) version.[/quote:15oustyc]

Wow, I'm really glad you said that I was starting to wonder because all the other Pinkus stuff was really good. I'd give a pretty strong recommendation against the Honig Malz, but it's your funeral. <!-- s:) --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_smile.gif" alt="" title="Smile" /><!-- s:) -->

Adam

As long as I go into it knowing it's a malt drink, and not a beer, that's ok <!-- s;) --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_wink.gif" alt="" title="Wink" /><!-- s;) -->

Last week I found a fantastic beer locale right in the heart of downtown Barcelona: "George and Dragon" <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="www.georgeanddragon-bcn.com/">www.georgeanddragon-bcn.com/. They have a great selection of American, German, English and especially difficult-to-find smaller Belgian brews.

The owner is a Brit and a craft beer enthusiast, I overheard him talking to a few friends/patrons last week trying to convince them to try craft beers and convert them; he gave away several craft beers to them trying to win them over. (Flying Dog Wheat & Meantime Coffee Porter that I saw.) He's got all the proper beer glasses and I get the distinct feeling that one of his primary reasons for carrying all of the beers that he does is for his own consumption. -The guy seems to be a lone craft beer enthusiast in a land of tasteless light lager.


I managed to pickup a Nogne Imperial Stout (the single closest thing to Great Divide Yeti Imperial Stout), a Fullers London Porter, Smisje Belgian Double IPA (the darkest yeast I've ever seen in the bottom of the bottle), and Stouterik Brussels Stout.
-I WILL be back this week as they've got some new Meantime brews and several more Belgian Brews I've never had. I should also mention that the place right next door has FANTASTIC tapas and gets insanely busy with the locals starting around 8:30pm. (They have an Iberico Ham, Black Truffel, and Mozerella tappas and the "McFoie Burger" -a burger with Foie Gras and truffle mayonnaise just as a couple examples.)

I believe I've managed to try every Estrella Damm beer since I've been here too including Voll Damm (Marzean/Oktoberfeast style), Bock Damm, and A.K. Damm all of which qualify as three of the 4 best Spanish beers I've had; they really have a thing for German-style lager in Barcelona and they do it suprisingly well (these 3 Estrella beers, anyway).

The bad news has been "Moritz Epidor Cerveza Extra" which is a 7.2% abomination... REALLY boozy with alcohol burn and some strange and unpleasant raisin flavors; the 5th beer I've ever dumped.

Last week I managed to track down a 4 pack of the local craft brewer's wares (Cervesa del Montseny); "+Lupulus" (a hoppy, cloudy pale ale), "Hivernale" (a holiday ale), "+Malty" a slightly malt copper/brown colored ale, and "+Negra" (light bodied, lightly roasty stout); all four beers were fermented basically all the way down and left very little in the way of mouth feel; also slightly over carbonated across the board. All of the beers were very cloudy. Lupulus and the Hivernale were my favorites mainly because the light body was appropriate in the Lupulus and the Hivernale had a bit more body than the other beers; it's still great to be able to find and support craft beer. (Few things beat a hoppy craft brewed, fresh beer in my book.)

I'll also add that if you find yourself in the NW section of the city (in the "Sants" area) on Numancia you should stop by "Casa Martelo"$$ they carry Guiness, the big Belgian brands, Franzikaner, Budwar, and 7 various Spanish beers. (Including the half lemonade/half lager mix on tap.)



Adam