Santa Espuma Yana "Negra" Porter

Name: Yana Porter ("Negra")

Served at: Santa Espuma 

Brewer: Santa Espuma

Type: (Style / mode of delivery) English style porter, draft

ABV: 4.5%

Label (5): label not available, 2 based on branding of bar

Look-Cs (color, clarity, carbonation, cap, and constancy) (20): 12

Snout (15): 11

Texture (20): 17

Flavor (30): 20

X-Factor (10): 6

Total: 68

If this beer were a saint, it would be Saint Arnold of Metz -- known for ending a plague when he dunked his crucifix in a brew kettle, called it "blessed" and persuaded the masses to drink only from that kettle.

Ya gotta have faith

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"Don't drink the water, drink beer."

-Saint Arnold of Metz (580 - 640 AD)

"But would you really want a Guinness on the beach?" is the common refrain I hear when discussing my love for dark beer and disdain for the cheap mass-produced lagers typical of South America. I am usually midway through my fantasy of sipping a Bell's Expedition Stout while watching the sun glide into the Pacific, so I mumble in agreement, adding that when served very cold and michelada* these beers are indeed a refreshing substitute for water.

No hot surfers here

In order to avoid further interrupting my daydream, I fail to point out what is conspicuously missing from their line of argument-- South America is not one big beach. There are many sizeable cities and towns where much of the year can be quite chilly and rainy. My two week return to Quito was a reminder of this simple fact. 

My gracious hostess suggested Santa Espuma as a step up from the Turtle's Head, so on a drizzly night we hopped a short cab ride to the neighborhood of La Floresta to imbibe. Positioning ourselves strategically between a vista of dusky downtown Quito and the illuminated kegs showcased behind paned glass, we listened to our charmless server unenthusiastically list the three beer options: a negra (porter), rubia (wheat) and roja (amber).

While the foam on my negra lasted, it was not quite as heavenly as the name implies. However, the thick mouthfeel of the beer was the most divine phenomenon in the entire restaurant. 

The chocolately stout served as a much needed antidote to the rain and to too many days ended with lukewarm Pilsener. The beer was dark and dense, flashing a mahogany hue through the candlelight. The nose was milk chocolately sweet with some roast. The taste was a bit less sweet than the nose, and while the mocha like flavors hit hard in the beginning, they did not linger or evolve as much as I would have liked. 

Perhaps it was the surly service, or the nearly empty dining room, but the ambiance of the place was a bit lacking. While the beautiful views, fireplace, and visible brewing system offered a solid aesthetic base, the bar exuded a sense of confusion or lost direction. To be fair, Santa Espuma would not be the last place where I felt  the texture of an otherwise lovely room in Quito dominated by a sense of bewilderment. 

*Michelada has different meanings based on region. The most basic take, and that which I've seen most often served in the Andean region of South America simply means beer with lime juice and salt. Tabasco, clamato juice, and Worcestershire are all popular additions as well. 

Cerveza Negra (according to Quito)

Name: Cerveza Negra

Served at: Turtle's Head Pub, Quito, Ecuador

Brewer: House brew

Type: (Style / mode of delivery) English Stout; draft served in pint glass

ABV: 5%

Label (5): n/a -- not marketed in bottles -- 3 (based on aesthetics of menu and bar)

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

Snout (15): 12

Texture (20): 12

Flavor (30): 17

X-Factor (10): 8

Total: 66

If this beer were a turtle, it would be Lonesome George-- a little too aloof for everyone's good.

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My ongoing quest for new dark beers in South America has forced me to swallow just as much pride as bad lager, and push anything resembling Tom Friedman-esque thoughts deep into the Jersey Shore of my brain, also known as my misguided subconscious ("I am drinking an English-style brew in a Scottish-style bar in Quito served to me by a young Russian, sitting on a stool made in China while listening to a hopelessly sincere Sri Lankan sing avant-garde electro-pop, and eavesdropping on an Australian's opinions on Uganda. Ouch, the stool just broke due to my uniquely American obesity and weighty observations on globalization. Yay NAFTA!").

I had heard from a friend that deep in Gringolandia (La Mariscal) near the Marriott hotel, there was a "British" (Scottish) bar (now Ecuadorean-owned) by the name of "The Turtle's Head" which had fine craft beers, futbol on the TVs, a fireplace to warm up from Quito's rains, and a solid expat crowd to relax with. I figured this would be the ideal spot to watch the Tea Party stick some old wrinkly sticky ideas in the drooling mouths of the sleeping American public during the November 2010 midterm elections. While the election turned out pretty much as I expected, the existence of a cerveza negra or stout, on the menu was a welcome surprise. 

Cerveza Negra at the Turtle's Head

The snout on this stout may have been its biggest wonder-- it was delightfully roasty with notes resembling popcorn. The carbonation was lacking a smidge, and the cap quickly dissipated into a ring clinging to the edges of the glass. The beer had staying power though, like a 9-minute long James Brown song, and continued to please and enlighten throughout the heartbreak that was the midterms. 

It was a dark amber, and was easily translucent through a bit of candlelight, or held next to the fireplace. The texture was average, and there was not much to be gleamed from the beer warming up. It was definitely a stout: bitter and dry. There was nothing wildly different or new about this stout compared to others I've tried in South America. It seemed very basic. Technically sound but stylistically lacking. It fit the profile well, but did not seem to be trying to do much more than fulfill my craving for a dark beer. 

Finding a craft dark beer in Quito was certainly unexpected, but much like one of Lonesome George's suitors, I was left wanting a bit more.