The Good Stuff - Cerveza Tramuntana, Mallorca

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http://goodfoodgoodbeer.files.wordpr...pg?w=204&h=273Seeing these beers lined up in Quina Creu was a pleasant surprise. After a week of drinking lager, they provided a tasty diversion, and it’s a shame they weren’t advertised much more prominently – when I ordered them the waitress apologetically confirmed that I knew it was beer, right?
Yes, I did, and they were local, at that. Cerveza Tramuntana (named after the mountain range that sits on the north coast on the Island) are based in Selva, and I only saw their beers in Quina Creu and Ca La Seu. Their website doesn’t have much info on it, but over three nights I tasted them all. All three were bottle-conditioned – and done so very well, I might add.
Rossahttp://goodfoodgoodbeer.files.wordpr...pg?w=224&h=300 (4.8%abv) pours straw-gold and retains a fine, tight white head. The nose has plenty of herbal hop notes going on; peppery, minty and grassy. Underneath all that sits a vanilla-jam-sponge sweetness, which initally comes over in the body as sweet malt but quickly dissipates as a fine, spritzy lightness takes over. It’s short in the finish, and probably could do with having a little more length as it’s a perfectly refreshing beer, but this does it no disservice. It’s a light, summery ale that probably benefitted from being served a little colder.
Rotja (5%abv) was probably my favourite of the lot. Assuming ‘Red’, I wasn’t far off : Candy Apple-red, with slight sourness in the nose alongside cherry-skin and a hint of wood coming through as well. It tasted as light as the Rossa, but with much more complexity at the finish; subtle raisin and figgy notes appearing. Finishing slightly tart with raspberry overtones. Imagine a Flemish red with a bit of Framboise swirled through it and you’re on the right track. Given the heat outside, it was supremely refreshing. (
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Negra (6%abv) rounded off the trio and happily (seeing as though I was expecting a dreaded Black IPA – which, frankly, I wasn’t in the mood for), turned out to be more in line with a dark lager. Jet-black, it retained its crema-hued head for a long time. It had the least pungent of aromas; just roasted coffee-bean and an ever-so-slightly oily pine note filling the glass. Like its brothers, it had a slightly grainy, light, lively body and finished dry with flourishes of bitter chocolate and red wine-like notes as it did.
Tramuntana’s beers are certainly worth seeking out if in Palma, so give them a try – as above, I particularly enjoyed the Rotja. As far as I know it’s the only brewery on the island too, so they deserve a pat on the back for elbowing some barspace amongst those massive Spanish lager brands. There’s a full list of stockists on their site, and a few pictures of their tidy set-up.

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