Beer review: Estrella Damm Inedit (AM)

A few years ago Ferran Adria was in Melbourne for some Food and Wine Festival thing and I went to see him talk. He made me think and feel a lot of things including, but not limited to: he is adorable; I want to eat his food; I can't believe I'll probably never get to eat his food; shit, life can be unfair.

And then, last weekend I was at the bottle shop and I saw this:

Estrella Damm Inedit. The beer of Ferran Adria! Close enough is near enough I sometimes say!

So I bought it. Of course I did.

 

After a little internet research I learned that this beer has been created by Ferran Adria, Juli Soler and elBulli's sommelier's team to "fill a gap in drinking."   It was perceived by team elBulli that there is not a beer that is great to eat with, so they made one. Me, I've never percieved this lack, but who the hell am I?! Just a beer lover who'll take what I can get!
 

Team elBulli

After a little more research (reading the side of the box) I learned that this beer should compliment any dish, even "challenging foods such as asparagus or cheese". Um, ok.

Whoopsee

I also learned, after pouring it into beer glasses that I should drink it from a white wine glass. Um, ok.

Aaaahh, that's better

Then I learned that it is a "unique coupage of barley malt, wheat, hop, coriander, orange peel, yeast and water." And then I learned coupage means blend of wine.

Finally I drank it. According to the box the beer is:

• Slightly cloudy in appearance. Check!
• Fruity and floral to the nose. Check!
• Has a yeasty sensation and sweet spices reminiscences. Kinda.
• Creamy and fresh texture. Not really.
• Soft volume and delicate carbonic. Oh, come off it. 
• Long aftertaste. Absolutely not. That taste disappeared seconds after the beer was drunk.
• Pleasant memory. Sure, pleasant enough.

Basically that beer tasted like a lot of boutique beers. And does beer really need to come in a box? A box for a bottle that holds 2.8 standard drinks?! It seems a little unneccessary. 

But maybe I wasn't doing it right. Maybe I should have been drinking it with some challenging food.

It was nice. Don't get me wrong. But mind blowing? Really, it was just a beer. Still, I would do anything, ANYTHING to get to eat the food of Ferran Adria. So all I have learnt from this experience is that I probably won't spend $9 on a box of beer again. Maybe once more just to check. And then probably not again. Probably.