No Rec commendations

A new brewery for me today: the abruptly named Rec, from Barcelona. The first tranche of beers included a variety of styles but I picked just two to give me an impression of how they go about their business. 

First, and appropriately for the Friday evening on which I drank it, comes After Work. They've called it an American pilsner, which explains the Strata and Chinook hops, though I don't think haze need be part of the spec. This is quite hazy. It smells bitter and mineral-like, in a way that does resemble both American pale ale and hop-forward European pils. The texture is smooth and it's not particularly fizzy, having a medium, balanced, sort of sparkle. It's in the flavour that it really turns exotic. Strata's fruity side is strongly in evidence, appearing both pithy and juicy, but definitely citric. I get a hint of coconut too, while on the non-hop side, the haze has given it a slight grittiness, so it's not as cleanly pristine as I think a pilsner should be. I guess "American kellerbier" isn't something you can put on a Catalan beer label, yet. There's a modicum of crispness -- a dry grain effect from the malt -- but I found myself reaching for ways in which it fits into the pilsner paradigm, and it mostly doesn't. It's a cheery little fellow, using the combination of hops nicely. It might have worked better on a clean pale ale chassis, however.

I was wary of the next one before I opened it, finding the can worryingly squashy to the touch. Sure enough, Rubik plopped lazily into the glass and I made every effort to coax a head onto it, for the sake of the photo. It doesn't have one really, though. There's a faint sparkle, so it's not actually flat, but this is allegedly a "West Coast IPA", and fizz should be an important component of that. What else did they get wrong? Well, funny you ask. I was taken aback by both the aroma and flavour, which are highly perfumed, starting on lavender and moving on to resinous balsam and spicy incense. There was a brief moment of confusion before my International Beer Judge Sense kicked in. This is Brettanomyces, in its most floral and twinkly mood, simultaneously sparking and funking, with never a dull moment. There's a little hop bitterness in the background, but that's pretty much identical to the sort you get in fresh Orval: zing does not feature, nor pine nor citrus. To say it's "not to style" is a massive understatement. I had my fun, but came away with the impression that this brewery doesn't have its quality assurance up to code, and next time I may not be so lucky.

Knowing me, there will still be a next time, eventually. It's unlikely to be soon, however.