Beer #8 Estrella Dam Inedit

Today we venture off to Spain to indulge in a beer that was created for drinking with food. Estrella Inedit from the Damm brewery in Barcelona www.estrelladamm.com/en was created by the master brewers in conjuction with Chef Ferran Adrià and his restaurant, El Bulli’s, sommelier team. Who is Ferran Adrià you ask? Ferran Adrià is considered the father of Molecular Gastronomy (although he will not say so himself) the crazy wave of food science that swept the globe at the end of the 2000's. Molecular gastronomy is about stripping down food and presenting it in its purest form. It began with the term "deconstruction" where chefs would take a very classic and recognizable dish and separate the components for you on the plate. That would allow the diner the opportunity to combine the dish in different ways and taste each flavour as an individual or the dish as a whole. This also led people to ask "why am I paying $35 for an appetiser I have to finish making myself?" After that chefs began to examine the boundries of food science like making something look blue and taste orange, freezing ice cream a la minute at the table with liquid nitrogen, making caviar our of fruit juices and squid ink and vegetable purees. Smell and taste became everything and combining items in new and interesting ways was the goal. Enter a beer designed by a Chef to go specifically with food.

Estrella Inedit comes in a 750 ml champagne bottle with a minimalist label (not unlike a high end water). It has an ABV of 4.8% which is good for food as high alcohols tend to dull the palate quickly. It pours pale to clear gold with a white head with large, quickly dispersing bubbles. The nose very light and faint citrus and coriander some sweetness and a touch of malt.

The first sip is light and refreshing very food friendly, the coriander and orange are present but muted. Aeration develops the grainy, malt and a little wet dog. Licorice is on the finish, grape and lychee follows. The finish is very long and not unlike a fine white wine.

Overall results: (Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional)

Taste: Exceptional
Cost: Pass ($6.95 for 750 ml)
Colour: Exceptional
Beer Style: Exceptional
Re-order: Pass
Experience: Exceptional


Final thought: the beer is quite good, however I didn't taste it with food so I imagine that there is a better way to experience this beer. And somehow... I don't think a trip to Barcelona to eat at El Bulli's is in the Pint Jockey budget right now...


Cheers
CJT