Beer Thirty with Ernia

Ernia

On the other side of the side of the pond, resides a band called Ernia. This December past, they released their first full length album, simply entitled Ernia.

If you're into that death grind written by weirdos telling dumb jokes, you should probably take a look into that record.

All of the metal you're looking for is available at BANDCAMP and you really should learn to be friends with them over at FACEBOOK.

I really enjoy getting into the heads of the bands I cover here and this one is going to be a fun one I think. Ernia is the first band from Spain that's done one of our beer columns.

Let's see how they're drinking in Logroño.

1. My personal favorite beer style is the might Double India Pale Ale. The best DIPA in the world is STLIPA by Urban Chestnut. Tell me about your favorite style.

(Adrián) Ever since I started drinking beer I've always enjoyed red ales. Murphy’s Irish Red was a big one for me, then I started to look for different types and now my two favorites are Arriaca Season IPA and Hoegaarden White.

(Daniel E.) I usually drink IPAs and I have a thing for black IPAs especially. Some white German beers can also do the trick.

2. Many international people have laughed at me for this, but American Beer is the best in the world. Not American Lagers, that piss water is best used for drinking 15 of them while you're at the karaoke bar, but American Craft Beer. Which nation is pumping out the best beer?

(Adrián) I don’t think the place of origin matters as long as the brewery works hard on the beer, but pretty much any European small-ish brewery puts out a lot of decent beers.

(Daniel E.) You can't really get real foreign craft beers in a bar or pub in Spain, and I don't drink at home, so I couldn't tell you. 

That being said my favorite local beers use American hops.

3. Even though I'm a giant beer snob, I'll drink beers that break the Bavarian Purity Laws. My personal favorite is Schalfly's Bourbon Barrel Imperial Stout. It's a might 22oz of 10% ABV Stout aged in bourbon barrels. It'll warm your heart and soul.

What beers do you love that break Reinheitsgebot?  

(Adrián) I'm a big fan of cider-like beers, fruity and fresh, but the one that got me hooked despite not really being “beer” was the Australian Bundaberg Ginger Beer. 

It doesn’t have any alcohol and the taste is amazing.

(Daniel E.) I don't care about the German beer laws. There are too many restrictions like those when it comes to wine in our region and it bores me, so I don't pay any attention to that. I'm a big fan of imperial stouts for example, I like almost anything that is toasted now that I think of it.

4. Right now, you couldn't pin me down and get me to give my favorite St. Louis Brewery, though Urban Chestnut's STLIPA does put them in the lead...but if you put a gun to my head,it's Schlafly Brewing. What do you think of your local brewers?

(Adrián) One of my favorites is Arriaca, which isn't really local to us, but it's Spanish. I haven’t tried a lot of local beers nor do I know that many breweries.

(Daniel E.) Local brewers are becoming a thing just now in our region, but the companies are small and don't get that much attention. 

I'm indebted to Rivvo de Ogga, a pretty small local brewery, because they've been broadening my taste in beers.

5. Hops or Malt? Personally, I feel like a jerk for asking the question. Give me a malty Scottish/Scotch Ale or a hoppy DIPA...and I'm happy...but you gotta pick one.

(Adrián) Malt all day long, but once in a while hops are welcome.

(Daniel E.) If I have to make a choice I'll pick Hops.

6. Whenever I'm road tripping. I'm always bringing back beers. Ohio, Great Lakes Brewing. East Coast, Yuengling. Western New  York. Genessee. What do you bring home? 

(Adrián) I don’t usually bring beers home, I just drink them wherever I am, but the few times I brought something back it was just random beer that looked appealing to me. 

I like to try a lot of different ones that I probably won’t buy again because I won’t be able to find them close by.

(Daniel E.) I haven't touched any of the beers I bought when I visited a brewery two years ago, so I refuse to buy another bottle.

I just try to drink local beers when I'm abroad, which isn't always easy!