Son Pampa

Origin: Spain

Type: Amber ale

Color: Reddish brown 

Alcohol content: 5%

Recommended serving temperature: 10ºC/50ºF

Brewery: Cerveza Son

Webpage: http://www.cervezason.com/

I have decided to write today about an amber ale, since 'tis the season.

In that frame of mind, I have decided to write on one of my favorite amber ales which are brewed in Spain, the Son Pampa.

This craft brewery from Córdoba is responsible, aside from great beers (and a pretty unhelpful webpage if you are looking for information on said beers), for one of the most original and colorful labels in the craft beer industry.

The beer itself, as I have already unveiled, is an amber ale, but its color is slightly darker with a reddish brown tone. The beer in fact is pretty thick, so much so that light barely passes through it. It has a vast amount of foam of a creamy color and a soapy consistency, which lasts for a more than average period of time.

I find that its smell is mainly sweet, reminding me of chocolate and maybe caramel. I say mainly because there are some other smells, deriving from toasted malts which give it a fuller smell and add a coffee-like touch. This also keeps it from being overly sweet in the nose.

Nevertheless, this is one of those beers to which the smell does not fully do justice. This is not really because it is not a nice or enjoyable smell -it is-, but because it does not reveal all that you will come to taste when you take your first mouthful.

When you take your first gulp of this beer, the toasted malt flavors become more readily apparent. A taste closer to coffee comes up and significantly reduces the sweetness and the chocolate and caramel flavors. This makes the beer slightly more bitter and dry than you would have first expected judging from its smell.

Once this first wave of toasted flavor passes and you start to appreciate the underlying flavors you find the sweeter things in this beer have not disappeared completely. They were simply overshadowed by the all engulfing toasted coffee.

But even then, this beer has not yet finished exposing itself to you, revealing its goods, so to speak. It is not only, furthermore, that the caramel and chocolate have not disappeared, but they are in addition joined by some soft tropical fruit flavors, which despite their delicateness in comparison to the other tastes described, somehow manage to get through. This comes as quite a pleasant surprise and balances out the slight dryness, making this beer a little bit more refreshing.

So to sum up, this beer gives you a little bit of everything. It gives you sweetness, it gives you toastiness, it has body, but it is also dry, fruity, and refreshing. Something which makes it easy to enjoy in all seasons but especially in in-between seasons such as spring and autumn. It also makes it relatively straightforward to pair food with, given the many flavors which can be downplayed or up-played  depending on the food that accompanies it. I would however stick to entrees rather than deserts, but within those, anything from savory seafood to roasted meats, to flavorful pasta dishes can do well with this beer. Between this versatility and the pretty label, this beer is a real catch.