This post is a part of the 2015 New Beer Every Day Beer Diary Challenge, #ottbeerdiary. Over the course of 2015, I will be trying a new beer every day. Please read the background in the link above, and enjoy reading about the most recently tasted beers below. If you’d like to join the challenge as well, let me know in the comments below, and be sure to check out Grown-up Travel Guide and his #grownupbeerdiary, where Andy Higgs came up with the diary format in use below. You can catch up on all of our posts as part of the challenge under the tag ottbeerdiary.
Day 129: May 9, 2015
Diary entry:
Today we say good bye to Costa Brava for this journey. It was great two weeks!
Breakfast at the La Costa Golf & Beach Resort, and then the final outbound push of the road trip commences.
Today is the first of three long driving days. Pals to Madrid. Scheduled for seven hours according to the GPS. We have a 6:30 food tour with Devour Spain’s Madrid Food Tours, so we know we have a time constraint, so let the driving begin!
I must admit, I am surprised at how hilly, dare I say mountainous Spain is! Seems like we were always driving uphill the entire way! But the scenery was quite fabulous at times. And there was a lot of scenery. Once we passed Barcelona, aside from Zaragoza, and a little build-up around Lleida, there were basically no urban centers, and very few cars on the road as well. Seeing some of the tolls (I think I saw one for €36.50) I can understand why.
Based on the quiet roads, however, we made great time, and managed to hit Madrid before 4PM, where we had ample time to check into our hotel at the Hilton at the airport, and then take the train into town where we had the Madrid Food Tours: Tapas, Taverns & History tour.
https://instagram.com/p/2eAIIWEbT2/?taken-by=metsbwd
Such a great tour, and one I would definitely recommend to anyone visiting Madrid!
The Beer:
Name: Mahou Clásica
Style: Pale Lager
Producer: Mahou-San Miguel
Alcohol content: 4.8%
Bottle size: 0.25l Draft
Purchased from: Chocolatería San Ginés in Madrid, Spain
Approaching the end of a long day, and our final stop after the tour was for Churros con Chocolate at the best place for them in Madrid, Chocolatería San Ginés. After finishing mine, I decided to pop for the local beer, which, though pretty large in Spain, is one I had not had before.
The Mahou Clasica is a basic pale lager. Cold. Carbonated. Not a ton of flavor. Definitely did not pair well with the churros con chocolate.
