Alta Negra Stout

Name: Alta Negra Stout

Served at: Unknown bar, Popayán, Colombia

Brewer: Ciudad Blanca ("White City")

Type: (Style / mode of delivery) Oatmeal Stout; bottle poured into pint glass

ABV: 4%

Label (5): 3

Look-Cs (color, clarity, carbonation, cap, and constancy) (20): 14

Snout (15): 12

Texture (20): 14

Flavor (30): 21

X-Factor (10): 9

Total: 73

If this stout were a close call, then it would be an escape from the rain. 

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Black and white/dark and light seemed to be the running theme in Popáyan

After spending 14 hours on a bus veering around Colombian coffee country's gorgeous and precarious curves, I was in absolute awe when I spotted an empty bottle of "Alta Negra Stout" near the front desk of the hostel I would be calling home for the next two short days. I soon learned that Popayán, the first city of gastronomy according to UNESCO, boasted their own craft brewery.  I was too tired to hide my delight, but soon discovered that the stopover had run dry, and was directed to a liquor store around the corner. I set out despite the night rain, and traipsed from one pale street to the next searching for a liquor or corner store which stocked the brew. I finally gave up for the evening, comforting myself with the knowledge that an oatmeal stout is a perfectly appropriate breakfast drink.

Empanada de pipián

The following day provided ample magic and beauty to distract me from my beer quest, as I stumbled upon a parade in the main plaza and filled my afternoon with hikes to choice lookouts and the empanadas de pipián required to fuel them. While waiting out a late afternoon rainstorm, I chatted up a young Austrian lady and convinced her to join me in my quest to locate Alta brewery. 

Alta Negra Stout

The brewery was closed, but we managed to duck into a dark but friendly bar, where they happened to have Alta Negra by the bottle. My drinking companion was just as impressed by the stout as I was, noting its creamy texture. The beer had a floral almost stinging snout with hints of cinnamon and dark chocolate. The carbonation was near-perfect, and the cap maintained a thin ring of white foam throughout drinking. As the beer warmed slowly, its roasty coffee and vanilla flavors more fully expressed themselves leaving a fruitier lingering taste than most stouts. It was the creamiest, smoothest beer I have had in South America. 

The gastronomic capital of Colombia impressed on many levels, but the dark beer of the White City was the most magnificent highlight.