Armenia 1447 (between Gorriti and Jose A. Cabrera), Palermo Viejo

Following on from my recent review of the Buller Brewing Company bar in Recoleta, here comes the hotly awaited (by me!) second post in my Great Buenos Aires Beer Hunt series: my visit to the fairly new Antares Cerveza Pub in Palermo Viejo.

As you can see from the (possibly sight damaging) photo to the right, I also happened to go along to Antares on St Patrick’s Day, always an excellent excuse for beer drinking. A little bit more about such Irish shenanigans will follow the main event, as ever, the beer… (didn’t you know that beer is the new wine?)

Antares Pub: The Beer

Along for the beer drinking fun at Antares were fellow Buenos Aires bloggers Ken and Yanqui Mike, both of their lovely wives, and my good friend Agustin, who will no doubt be extremely unhappy with the picture I will post of him, in a silly hat, near the end of this page (if you don’t like beer, you should probably just scroll down for it).
Part of the reason for my series of beer related reviews at the moment is that I like the idea of being pictured with as many cute little beer samplers, that you find in the brewpubs here, as possible. A worthy and valiant quest you cannot deny. Here’s sampler number two, with the seven different beers to be found at Antares:

For all you facial hair haters out there, I can report that the silly beard has now been removed. I hope you’re happy now Of course, the eagle-eyed beer fans among you won’t have noticed the beard anyway… I’m sure the terrible green-tinged monstrosity in a glass to the right of shot will have drawn your your attention far more. Well, I guess that’s St Patrick’s day for you…

Green beer… Antares, I thought you were better than that! And replacing their Imperial Stout for the night too… a strange swap when you consider that stout really is a very Irish beer (and yes, I know that Imperial Stout was first produced for export to the Czars of Russia, but that’s a moot point). Anyway, I’ll forgive Antares a few slips, because they have some very good other beers, and anyway their Imperial Stout is not one of my favorites.

So, here goes a beer by beer summary, as discussed by Ken, Agustin and myself from our combined tasting notes at Antares (thanks to Ken for taking these down on his notepad and passing them to me), and some comparisons with similar beers available at Buller (see Ken’s notes on our trip there), for those keeping score. Before we start, here’s another quick look at the hopeful competitors, lined up before the judging panel of experts:

Running through these beers, left to right as you view them…

Kolsch

[5% alcohol, 8 pesos per pint]

This is a pilsner lager made after a style pioneered in Cologne, Germany. However, the Germans would probably not be too proud of this effort. The Kolsch at Antares is clean, transparent, and completely lacking in character. Without wanting to offend any PC folk out there, we did mention that it’s like a thin blond with no personality. The aroma, if anything, had a slight whiff of mixed herbs. All in all, not a great beer, but as far as lagers in Buenos Aires go, it is still at least 1000 times better than Quilmes.

Antares Kolsch can be compared to it’s fizzier cousin, the Light Lager at the Buller Brewing Company. However, the effervescent Light Lager has the personality the match it’s looks. 1-0 Buller.

Scotch Ale

[6% alcohol, 8 pesos per pint]

The Scotch Ale at Antares is simply fantastic. Possibly my favorite all round beer that I have tasted so far in Buenos Aires, and amazingly drinkable. It has a sweet aroma somewhat reminiscent of butterscotch, accompanied by an appropriately pleasing caramel color. The flavor is initially so smooth on the palette that you will be lulled into a false sense of security, but it soon moves about the mouth in a complex fashion that leads to an oh-so-welcome pleasantly hoppy finish. After you finish one pint, almost certainly quickly, you’ll want another.

Antares Scotch Ale, although in a league of it’s own, can be likened to the Oktoberfest at Buller, as both have tones of caramel and finish more tartly. However, the exceptional Antares effort scores two quick goals against Buller in quick succession, edging them into a 2-1 lead but with all still to play for.

Porter

[5.5% alcohol, 8 pesos per pint]

At first, the Antares version appears quite thin for a porter. However, it turns out to have hidden depths. At first, you are hit by a definite smell of molasses, which soon tempts you to dive in and taste the brew. And when you do, a welcoming committee of roasted malt and chestnut flavors make you feel at home, and continue to linger until you have taken your shoes off and have your feet up on the coffee table. But while you might indeed some expect coffee or chocolate tones to appear at any point, they fail to turn up for the party. But then Porter is a beer for the masses, and rightly so there should be no place for such bourgeois luxuries.

Antares Porter: A proletarian beer that certainly goes down a treat. There is no competing beer at Buller, so Antares knocks in two more goals to come in at half-time with a commanding 4-1 lead. Let’s hope they don’t get too complacent in the second period…

Cream Stout

[7% alcohol, 10 pesos per pint]

This cream stout arrives as expected, with a decent white creamy head and an opaque dark brown body, but it also was already settled… no enjoyable ‘Guinness’ effect to watch as the nitrogen does its work. I was feeling a herbal aroma here, quite possibly thyme, which is interesting for a stout. In the mouth a lovely creamy start dissipates all too quickly into something of a disappointment… not a whole lot going on here in the taste stakes.

The Cream Stout was a decent enough beer to toast St Patrick’s day with, but not one I will return to often, especially with the superior (and less expensive) Porter already on offer at Antares. The Dry Stout at Buller, with it’s deliciously strong chocolate coffee flavors, beats Antares here to pull the score back to 4-2.

Honey Beer

[7.5% alcohol, 10 pesos per pint]

The Honey beer arrived with a clear yellow appearance, similar to lager. However, upon closer inspection you will see that the beer is in fact slightly syrupy in texture… thicker than a lager beer. There certainly is a lot of honey present in the aroma, but unfortunately not a whole lot of it in the taste. And so, it did not live up to our high expectations.

Maybe the Antares Honey Beer would have rated higher if we had not tried the excellent Buller version first. All the same, Antares are now holding on to a tight lead having let Buller back in the game at 4-3.

Barley Wine

[10% alcohol, 8 pesos per pint]

Not going to say too much about this one. If the honey beer was syrupy, this is simply viscous. Not my idea of a good quality in a beer. We were promised a bitter flavor and tones of licorice and fruit, however all we got was a sour taste and a beer that does not hide its high alcohol content very well at all. Antares suggests their Barley Wine as an after dinner drink with a cigar. Not being cigar smokers ourselves, we decided to pass.

Although not to our taste at all, Barley Wine is a unique beer that will not be enjoyed by many people. And as Buller do not have any close equivalent, the score remains 4-3 to Antares, going in to added time…

Cerveza de Treboles (Green ‘Shamrock’ Beer)

[This was a guest beer. The usual Imperial Stout, which it replaced for the night, is fairly nice, and packs a punch at 8.5% alcohol, costing 10 pesos per pint]

Damnations, why if it isn’t the Kolsch coming back to haunt us, along with some green food coloring in the hope that we would give it a second chance. Your ploy failed miserably Kolsch, and even worse, you’ve just scored an own goal to peg Antares back to an unsatisfactory (but all the same enjoyable) 4-4 draw.

So, which place is better for a lover of beer, Antares or Buller? To be honest, both places are great if you stick to their strengths. At Buller try the refreshing Light Lager, or their strong and flavorsome Honey Beer. At Antares you have a quite remarkable Scotch Ale, alongside the almost as enjoyable and equally drinkable Porter. To be honest, if it were to go down to a penalty shoot-out, Antares would edge it, because of those two fantastic beers… Buller may have a more consistent level of quality, but Antares has two surefire match winners up it’s sleeve.

And yes, my extreme apologies for the silly soccer metaphor thread running through this post. I guess beer and soccer will always be inextricably linked in my simple beer-addled English mind:)

Antares Bar – The Place and the Prices

Antares is a very nicely done, brand spanking new bar that fits in very well with the other stylish locations found around it in Palermo Viejo. From the large shiny beer dispensers to the several pieces of beer related memorabilia, and especially the extremely long bar, there is something for every serious ale drinker. And for those more interested in the ambiance and design of the place, it is beautifully done in a very modern way, and the place does get buzzing fairly early, so Antares does not disappointed on these scores either.

Finally, in terms of prices, it’s a steal. Pints are either 8 or 10 pesos each, which is decent enough for good quality beer like this, but with a daily 7pm-9pm happy ‘hour’, when pints are two for the price of one, 4 to 5 pesos for a pint is top value. Let’s just hope they can keep the prices and happy hour this way, and not cave in to the spiraling prices we are seeing across the rest of the city.

A Little St Patrick’s Day Fun

Finally, here’s a few annotated pics from a fun and interesting night at Antares, for your viewing pleasure …

(Bagpipes and kilts on St Patrick’s day… haven’t we got the wrong Celtic country here, Antares?)

(Now that’s better. The bagpipes were soon followed by a traditional Irish three-piece band playing good old fashioned Irish folk tunes. Enough to get us into the spirit of the night…?…)

(The Irish music worked. Soon we were all under the St Patrick’s day spell and wearing silly shamrock hats. In the case of the above picture of my friend, silly certainly is the operative word! Please don’t kill me for posting this Agustin! )

Anyway, enough of the silliness, and onto the serious business of rating this bar…

Antares: The Verdict

• Bar Rating: (4/5) A couple of excellent ales at decent prices, which can be drunk in a very well appointed, shiny new bar. A winning combination.
• BA Authenticity: (3/5) As I have said before, beer is not a particularly Buenos Aires kind of thing, but some authenticity marks are picked up by the very BA like stylish interior.
• Value: (4/5) Antares would certainly get 5/5 during the 7pm-9pm happy ‘hour’ – 4 pesos for a pint of some of the best beer in Buenos Aires is a steal. And even at 8 pesos per pint the rest of the time, you are getting great value at Antares.

Buenos Aires Argentina Guide Special Tip

Go along for the happy ‘hour’ from 7 to 9pm. Sit at the lovely, long, shiny inviting bar. Drink 2 pints of Scotch Ale, followed by two pints of porter, a perfectly achievable and enjoyable feat during a period of about two hours. At this point you should be happy, satisfied, and, even if you didn’t speak Spanish before, conversing fluently with the amiable bar staff at Antares. Nothing like a little alcohol to help grease the language skills!

And after all that, you’ll only be down 16 pesos, or around 5 US Dollars. Sounds like a bargain to me! Say hello if you see me there