With a trip to Barcelona only a few days away, the perfectly timed arrival of a couple of Spanish craft beers hailing from Barcelona, what better thing to do to prepare then drink some decent Spanish beer.
I'd heard of Edge Brewing in passing conversations with brewers and beer geeks but hadn't come across any, let alone tried some. Until now.
We'd recently added a couple to the shops assortment. The two were; 'Hoptimista' an American IPA and 'Flor de la Vida', an American Pale Ale. I picked a bottle of each to try after work.
I was going to a BBQ at a friends so thought it'd be wise to pick up a few more beers.
Being a cyclist, there's nothing I hate more than wind. Especially when it is a head wind that never lets up and always seems to be blowing against you. A wind so fierce and powerful it makes the simplest and shortest ride a leg destroying marathon of a cycle. That night happened to be a windy one. Riding over 11 miles from the shop to the party destination, I was shattered and thirsty.
The more regularly drunk beer went first, Beavertown's 'Gamma Ray'. Once I was finished with that, I was handed a bottle of Stella. Not wanting to offend I bit my tongue and took the beer. I don't like Stella and given any other options I might have gone for something else. What could I have done though, the bloke who handed it to me was the hosts brother-in-law. I couldn't refuse, it was have been very rude of me. Instead I imagined a happy place, a fictional land filled attractive people, good music and even better beer pouring out of fountains and springs, the sun shining and the cold beer flowing, ah... heaven. A small part of me died as I sank every last drop in a quick as time as possible.
I went to my bag and opened it up, there they were, the two Spanish gems. Eni Meni Mini Mo wasn't necessary for me to make a decision of which one to choose. I went for the lighter, less boozy 'Flor de la Vida' American Pale. Then onto the IPA.
Flor de la Vida is a lighter and lower abv American style Pale Ale. Slightly darker than some other new world style pales. I don't know if the name confused me but it wasn't as floral as I was expecting. For some reason I was imagining being slapped in the face by a bouquet of citrussy and floral hops. A similar kind of sensation one might get walking past a Jasmine bush in full bloom. It was a decent Pale but in comparison to its big brother (or sister) 'Hoptimista', it was a wee baby.
Hoptimista is a gorgeous IPA and very easy to drink. Not too high in alcohol and with intense hop aromas that keep giving. If these are the kind of beers that Spain and Barcelona has to offer then that just makes me even more excited.
When I saw that the beers had been put in the USA Beers section at the shop, I wondered what ever possessed my colleague to do that. It makes perfect sense now. Not only was there any space in the German/Italian/Other European section but... but the brewery was founded by two Americans and both beers are of the American style.
edgebrewing
look out for the Edge Brewing beers in the USA Beers section
realale
No comments:
Post a Comment