Don Quixote de la Munchies, by Miguel Cerveza Sangrias

It's amazing what a little publicity will do. Last week, we're listed again in Intake Weekly (three times actually). This time, our next gathering is also publicized. We arrive at Barcelona, a new tapas bar in downtown Indianapolis, and the five Knights of the Beer Roundtable are joined by 9 squires, all of them very fit to fill the roll as our Sancho Panzas. And our Dulcinea? Good beer.

Because it is the mission of each true knight... their duty... nay, their privilege! To dream the impossible dream, to face the unbeatable foam, to beat the unbearable sobriety, to run where the drunk dare not go.

To right the undrinkable beers. To love hops and malts at the bar. To try, when your arms are too weary, to reach for a better beer! This is my Quest to follow that beer, no matter how hopeless, no matter how far, to fight for the right without question or pause, to be willing to march into hell for a heavenly brew!

Whoa, excuse me. I must be suffering from delirium tremens. Was that what Alonso Quixano suffered from? I don't normally break into Broadway musical numbers. Ask anybody who knows me.

A-hem.

Speaking of delirium tremens...

The beer of the evening was Delirium Tremens, a Belgian Strong Pale Ale from Brouwerij Huyghe in Belgium. You may have seen signs for Delirium at some of the better bars. Their logo is pink elephants. How appropriate!

It's a very nice Belgian beer, with sweet and dry flavors and aromas of apples and citrus. It is cloudy with a light orange color. The best part about this beer is that it gets sweeter with time. If you let it sit and warm up, more sugary notes begin to appear. Enough to make you stop singing Man of La Mancha songs and switch to Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory songs (the Gene Wilder version, not the Capt. Jack Sparrow version)...

If you want to drink paradise, simply pour a bottle and drink it...

Sorry, I'll try to make that the last musical number of this posting.

Delirium Tremens is similar to Unibroue's La Fin du Monde. I like it better than La Fin because the flavors are better layered and finished in Tremens. Having said that, I'd have to give Delirium Tremens a 3.5 mug rating. It is not my favorite beer out there, but it is one of my favorites in this category of beer.

A few quick words about Barcelona... Last night, there were quite a few patrons enjoying themselves in groups small and large. Some questioned if they would do well being right next door to the Wheeler Mission. It seems to be doing fine from that respect. The food is very tasty, though they come in small portions that this steak and potatoes guy is not used to. But that's suppose to be the idea, they tell me. The wait staff was very friendly, though still a little green. But I think that will improve with age.

They have six or eight beers on tap, though mostly the standard mega-brews. The beer list had twenty or so bottled beers, including craft brews from Indiana and beyond, including imports. The beer list was out-dated when handed to us, which is a little frustrating. It would be nice if they could keep it updated. But I'm sure that will also improve with time, given that this joint is still in its infancy. Nevertheless, you will find a beer here to fit your tastes. I mean, Bell's Oberon was on tap, and that is always nice.

I'm going to finish by saying thanks to the our esteemed guests for joining us. These three fine fellows were also in Intake's beer guide and it was great to be introduced to them (or re-introduced in my case...I went to college with two of them). They have elected to use their inner beer geek to make good beers as their hobby and, hopefully one day, their profession. Yes, they've tried each and ev'ry beer recipe on the information superhighway. But more, much more that, they brewed it their way.

Sorry, couldn't help myself...