As above, so below

I'm absolutely loving the variety of beer provenance we've started getting here of late -- breweries of all manner of exotic nationalities. I've been trying to make a point of trying a couple from each new one as they arrive. Today it's Argentina.

Both are based in Buenos Aires, though neither were around when I visited back in 2011. First it's the "lost toys", Juguetes Perdidos. Semilla De Maldad is described simply as an American IPA and is pleasingly pale and clear, with just a slight fogging to indicate it has been left unfiltered. The aroma is a lovely mix of sweet citrus -- mandarin and satsuma -- with denser resinous dankness. The flavour goes exactly the same way: a mouthwatering burst of orangey spritz, then a lasting happy buzz of grapefruit pith and pine sap. As befits the name, it's 6.66% ABV and that gives it just the right amount of malt weight to carry the hop bang. And here comes the cheeky bit: the beer isn't really from Argentina, and states "Made in Spain" on the can. I don't mind, because you wouldn't get banging freshness like this if it had really crossed a quarter of the globe to get here.

My guess is that La Pirata of Barcelona is the host brewery. They certainly produced the next one, a three-way collaboration between themselves, Jugetes Perdidos and a Barcelona nanobrewery called Animus. The name is Brewer in Flames and it's a double IPA of 8% ABV with Mosaic and Enigma. And lactose. They state this on the can but it's also extremely apparent from the cloying and sickly aroma. Thankfully that doesn't follow through to the flavour, though the texture is certainly thick and slick and even a little chewy. There's a certain sense of creamy fruit yoghurt about it; bits of strawberry and peach in with the more typical lemon and grapefruit. The can was marked as being a month away from expiry so I suspect there may have been a more assertive hop flavour originally but which has sadly passed now. It's still perfectly drinkable, but I'd say it's a different experience to fresh. I found myself actually enjoying the weighty, chewy side and the dessert-like fruit. If you haven't already abandoned all notions of "IPA" meaning something, here's a beer to finally set you free.

We finish up with an Argentinian take on *rattles the style dice* Flanders red ale. Todo Nuevo Bajo El Sol has a label which says it's brewed for Strange Brewing of Argentina but doesn't say where so I'm guessing that this, too, has never been west of the Azores. It's a bit of a murky one but is otherwise a perfect imitation. In particular there's a lovely oaky, flinty spice complementing the sourness, never spilling into vinegar or any kind of harshness. The soft cherry notes of the best examples are prominent too, while 7% ABV is enough to give it substance without going overboard. I always think that the longevity of Belgian breweries is the reason they're able to do beers like this so accessibly -- practice making perfect -- so it's particularly interesting to find a newcomer getting it more or less bang on. I guess the only thing I have left to criticise is the €13 price tag: Rodenbach does this for a fraction of that. It's still worth it, though: Belgian-grade fruity tartness perfectly executed is something for which I'll happily pay a premium.

Perhaps it was naive of me to believe that these had actually been shipped across the Atlantic. What I got were perfectly cromulent examples of European craft brewing. I hope they have stuff like this in Argentina.