{"id":262588,"date":"2025-05-29T13:03:07","date_gmt":"2025-05-29T13:03:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/recipes\/category-a-b\/beer\/beer-there-drunk-that-ilunica-pale-ale-6-1\/"},"modified":"2025-05-29T13:03:07","modified_gmt":"2025-05-29T13:03:07","slug":"beer-there-drunk-that-ilunica-pale-ale-6-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=262588","title":{"rendered":"Beer There, Drunk That: Il\u00fanica Pale Ale (6.1%)"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\nThe clocks have sprung forward and the sun has started beating down with quite some vigour on my corner of southeast Spain. We all know there’s only one way to\u00a0<\/span>adequately<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>refresh yourself on such increasingly warm and sunny days, and what perfect timing it was for my local craft beer shop, Beer Shooter Murcia, to host a beer presentation<\/b> and\u00a0meet the brewers<\/b>\u00a0session on a splendidly sunlit Friday after work.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Hell\u00edn’s province of Albacete
within Spain<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

On offer was a pale ale born in December 2016 that goes by the name of\u00a0<\/span>Il\u00fanica, <\/i>the very first craft beer to hail from the small central Spanish town of\u00a0Hell\u00edn<\/a>\u00a0– another little guy rising up in the face of the all-too-common mass-produced tastelessness that surrounds us all, with the mission of bringing character and flavour to people’s beer glasses.<\/span><\/div>\n

\n<\/a>The label features a mystical red-haired female adorned with beer ingredients with the backdrop of a moonlit night sky – a nod to the town’s ancient history as the Spanish word for “moon” and the town’s name both share the same root. How romantic!\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n

\nMy 2\u20ac golden amber half-pint poured fresh from the barrel immediately showed signs of promise with fragrant, tropical notes on the nose which had my chops watering before the beer came anywhere near them.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Juan Carlos and Armentario started brewing
at home a few years ago before becoming
fully-fledged master brewers\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Using four different hop varieties<\/b> it imparts j<\/span>uicy, tropical New World flavours of mango and pineapple along with some pine resin and a hint of citrus, complemented by a clean malty base. While it’s packed mainly with New World hops it manages to remain easy-going, <\/span>something that’s well suited to the Spanish climate by being clean and refreshing but at the same time brimming with flavour and depth.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n

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Tapas prepared by\u00a0David L\u00f3pez Carre\u00f1o<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

In fact,\u00a0Il\u00fanica’s\u00a0<\/i>quenching but laid-back character make it very drinkable despite its high ABV, which I only realised a number of glasses in when my legs were slightly wobblier than expected. As the brewers themselves noted endearingly on the night, we Brits like to drink a lot of low-strength beer – and fast – but it was hard not to knock these juicy 6.1%\u00a0ca\u00f1as\u00a0<\/i>back.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n

\nLuckily on hand to soak up some liquid, in true Spanish style,<\/span>\u00a0was a selection of gourmet tapas prepared on site which were a source of intrigue in their own right for me: m<\/span>ince and broccoli p\u00e2t\u00e9 tartlets, c<\/span>ouscous with cream cheese and crushed cashews, and t<\/span>oasted bread topped with salmon tartare and a drizzle of squid ink and mustard mayonnaise. That’s how these guys roll.<\/span>
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\nIl\u00fanica <\/i>pale ale is the first and so far only brew of these two Hellineros\u00a0<\/i>that’s available, but I’m told they have a number of exciting ideas in the pipeline. Watch this space!<\/span>
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\nCervezas Il\u00fanica on Facebook<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n