Tyris Tours

Tyris Tours could be a great name for a travel agency but with the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions currently curtailing freedom of travel, a trip to Valencia is unfortunately out of the question. So, in a world exclusive, Mrs C and I bring to you Tyris Tours, a tour of Valencia brewer Cerveza Tyris' bottled beers (well, four of them, the supermarket didn't have any more) for our subjective assessment as to whether the beers live up to the claims of their excellent website at https://www.cervezatyris.com/. Now, I am no website whiz kid or guru but I like this website. Crisp, clear, easy to navigate and leaves you wanting more - let's hope that their beer can be similarly described. Tyris (Cerveza not Tours) appears to have emerged from a European voyage of beer discovery in the mid noughties by the brewery principals Gonzalo Abia and Dani Vara. Equally passionate about both craft beer and their home city of Valencia, the website refers to an authenticity, creativity and irreverence to their beers which sounds great but is it setting themselves up for a fall and Mrs C for disappointment? Notwithstanding these concerns, we are buoyed by their slogan "Great beer, no rubbish" and we're definitely approaching the tasting with an enthusiastic and positive attitude. 

In another first for the El Real Thing blog, the following comments will emerge in conjunction with the tasting itself AND with live updates via Twitter. You lucky buggers.

Under strict tasting conditions, we first sampled Tyris Original, a blonde ale with a 4.5% ABV. Described as having a soft flavour, with touches of malt and fruit, fresh and floral with a dry and bitter sweet final taste. We found it to be soft and inoffensive which initially makes it sound a bit boring but this is a beer which needs a chance to do itself justice and you become more aware of the delicate citrus tones as you sup it. Mrs C still to be convinced but it's a definite thumbs up from me. A perfect Spanish hot afternoon refreshment and a good start to this exercise.

Next we moved on to Tyris IPA, the strongest of the beers on test with a 6.0% ABV. Described as a powerful and tasty beer, super aromatic hops with citrus, herbal and resinous notes (not too sure what that last bit means though). Apparently it was a bronze medal winner in the Barcelona Beer Challenge 2019. So then, first mouthful and.............it's bloody lovely. Really lovely. Fruit and caramel hints immediately apparent. The label states "Deliciosa Mente Amarga" (basically "deliciously bitter") and it is. Mrs C is impressed. A perfect Spanish, any time, any day refreshment. Yep, this is going well.

The IPA is a hard act to follow. Next is the VIPA, a session English IPA with a flower aroma, citric notes, described as fruity and herbaceous. It has a 3.8% ABV but is actually more bitter in taste than the IPA and, as with Tyris Original, you need to give it a chance. But by sup number three I am won over. I could mistake this for a pale ale and that ain't no criticism. I like my session ales and would be hard pressed to choose between this and the IPA. Mrs C on the other hand gives it to the 6% IPA, but that's 'cos she's well hard. Who's idea was this? I really wanna give 'em a hug.

Finally we are tasting the Tyris Trigo wheat beer. This is an interesting beer as it emerged from a collaboration with Danish brewer People Like Us with workers with Aspergers and Autism. It is a solidarity beer with part of the profits utilised to finance charitable projects so the more you drink the more you're allowed to feel good about yourself and I certainly do. Described as sweet, fresh and with an intense aroma, the citrus, fruity (banana) and honey touches appear together, with the wheat base in the background. ABV 4.5% means that it's not to be messed with but the taste is really smooth. For me, the honey is most evident whilst Mrs C is picking up on the banana (no comment). In fact she reckons this is her favourite of the four beers tested. This is going really, really well. I love the world and you, dear reader, are almost certainly my best mate, apart from Mrs C who is really, really my really best mate but you know what I mean. Give us a kiss.

Great beer, no rubbish. That's what the https://www.cervezatyris.com/ website stated and they weren't wrong. Have I mentioned it's a great website? It's really great (really, really) with an English language version and they really, really want you to visit their brewery, and their pub and to join their club. And as soon as this bloody lockdown is bloody well over I am bloody well going to do all three. 

For the eagle eyed amongst you, that is indeed a bottle of 61 Deep at the back of the Tyris beers in the image. It is there as a tribute to the Cerveza Tyris beers because they did indeed leave us wanting more and as we didn't have any more we treated ourselves to the 61 Deep instead. Really.