Malasaña Lager
Cerveza Malasaña

neat little lager here from madrid, single malt and single hop apparently, and i have to guess this is pils malt based, it almost drinks like a czech type pils, a little more grain character than most of the pale lagers floating around spain, and a little more hoppy too, to me decently bitter to finish yes, but also with a nice little herbal taste running through most of it, more dynamic than most, pure and simple beer really, but quite well made, a bit of structure too, some body makes it not just a guzzler, and it worked well in a food context, had this at a cool little vegan cafe, and it seemed right on with well seasoned starchy foods. some minerality coming out as it warms up, approaching some late palate metallics, but it remains clean in the aftertaste, perhaps just a little oxidation on the fringes. i like the slightly spicy hop complexion and the bit of greenness it has, and i think the bitterness is spot on, again this leans more pils than euro pale at times. cool local brew, glad i got the chance to have one, among the better straight up lagers we encountered over there, but not quite as light or as refreshing as it seems to be trying to be...