{"id":794,"date":"2010-09-18T00:01:59","date_gmt":"2010-09-17T12:01:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/?p=794"},"modified":"2011-03-02T15:17:36","modified_gmt":"2011-03-02T02:17:36","slug":"cucapa-chupacabras","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/2010\/09\/18\/cucapa-chupacabras\/","title":{"rendered":"Cucap\u00e1 ‘Chupacabras’"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Cucapa<\/a>
Cucapa 'Chupacabras' Pale Ale<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

So, goatsucker<\/em>. Really. That’s what “Chupacabras” literally means. Chupar<\/em> is “to suck”, and cabra<\/em> is “goat”. Strange name for a beer, you might think.<\/p>\n

Wait; it gets stranger. The Chupacabra<\/a> is a piece of South American cryptozoology, like an Australian Bunyip, or a North American Bigfoot. But unlike those, this one doesn’t have the ‘virtue’ of being old-timey nonsense; these are a pretty recent popular delusion — quite-possibly wholly derived from the awesomely-awful movie Species<\/em>, which the original ‘eyewitness’ apparently thought depicted real events taking place in Peurto Rico.<\/p>\n

But anyway, the beer. I write about beer, right? Well, first things first, it doesn’t suck (at least, not goats). It’s billed as American Pale Ale, but isn’t a typical one, if it’s one at all. The colour tends to the reddish end, there’s not a whole lot of aroma going on, and the fruity flavours are in the sweeter modes than the usual bitter-citrussy ones. Style aside, though, those factors combine into something not inherently bad and the bigger body does bury some of the familiar Cucap\u00e1 metal flavour.<\/p>\n

\"Cupaca<\/a>
Diary II entry #9, Cupaca 'Chupacabras' Pale Ale<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Verbatim:<\/strong> Cucapa ‘Chupacabras’ APA 18\/9\/10 5.8% 355ml $4 from Reg. Very reddish ruddy amber. Attractive, but atypical for style, I’d have thought. Not massively aromatic, and with quite a nice big rounded sweet fruity middle bit. Apricotty, perhaps. Very much like something I’ve had, but I’m struggling to recall. Amelia says there’s a not-in-a-bad-way burnt grass aspect; as if she were a really classy cow. How strange. Hints of the metal, but more buried.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

So, goatsucker. Really. That’s what “Chupacabras” literally means. Chupar is “to suck”, and cabra is “goat”. Strange name for a beer, you might think. Wait; it gets stranger. The Chupacabra is a piece of South American cryptozoology, like an Australian Bunyip, or a North American Bigfoot. But unlike those, this one doesn’t have the ‘virtue’ … Continue reading Cucap\u00e1 ‘Chupacabras’<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[6,32,12],"class_list":["post-794","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-diary","tag-pages","tag-mexico","tag-pale-ale"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":799,"url":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/2010\/09\/18\/cucapa-obscura\/","url_meta":{"origin":794,"position":0},"title":"Cucap\u00e1 ‘Obscura’","author":"Phil","date":"September 18, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"The last of my trio of Cucap\u00e1 beers, and certainly the pick of the bunch. Which is a little surprising, since you might fairly assume that a Mexican brewer would do the Light & Refreshing better than they do the Bigger & Sippier, given climate and whatnot. (The nerds on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Actual Diary entries"","block_context":{"text":"Actual Diary entries","link":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/category\/diary\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Cucapa 'Obscura'","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/Cucapa-Obscura-225x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":789,"url":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/2010\/09\/17\/cucapa-clasica\/","url_meta":{"origin":794,"position":1},"title":"Cucap\u00e1 ‘Clasica’","author":"Phil","date":"September 17, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Mexican beer does get a bad rap in nerdy circles. But you always have to be skeptical of bad reputations where far-flung places are concerned; it's usually not the Good Stuff that gets famous elsewhere, first. Think Fosters, think Budweiser -- think Steinlager, if it comes to that. And hey,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Actual Diary entries"","block_context":{"text":"Actual Diary entries","link":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/category\/diary\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Cucapa 'Clasica'","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/Cucapa-Clasica-225x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":152,"url":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/2004\/11\/06\/goose-island-honkers-ale\/","url_meta":{"origin":794,"position":2},"title":"Goose Island \u2018Honker\u2019s Ale\u2019","author":"Phil","date":"November 6, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Verbatim: Goose Island Honker's Ale. $?, 12oz, @home, Nov 6. More West Wing, so a Chicago ale with burgers. Darkish, but hints of orange again. Bubbles not so enduring, no haze. Lighter taste + smell, still flat, muted ale-ish. More an afternoon beer. Perfectly respectable + tasty. Great everyday stuff;\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Actual Diary entries"","block_context":{"text":"Actual Diary entries","link":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/category\/diary\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Goose Island 'Honker's Ale'","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/Diary-1016-Goose-Island-Honkers-1-300x138.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7154,"url":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/2014\/04\/25\/monteiths-american-pale-ale\/","url_meta":{"origin":794,"position":3},"title":"Monteith’s “American Pale Ale”","author":"Phil","date":"April 25, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Over the decade I've been taking handwritten notes of my beer-drinking experiences, I have inevitably developed an idiosyncratic Style Guide.1\u00a0Broadly \u2014 though there are exceptions early on as the pattern developed, and sporadically throughout as I either forgot my own practice or thought of\u00a0some now-lost rationalisation for a variance in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Actual Diary entries"","block_context":{"text":"Actual Diary entries","link":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/category\/diary\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Monteith's \"American Pale Ale\" (My house, 18 March 2014)","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/Monteiths-American-Pale-Ale.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/Monteiths-American-Pale-Ale.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/Monteiths-American-Pale-Ale.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":520,"url":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/2008\/10\/07\/3-ravens-55\/","url_meta":{"origin":794,"position":4},"title":"3 Ravens 55","author":"Phil","date":"October 7, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"3 Ravens 55 American Pale Ale. \u201c55\u201d because of five hops and five grains, apparently -- and first made for the occasion of their fifth birthday as a brewery. It's made from barley, corn, wheat, oats and rye -- which makes me want to say that it feels more \"American\"\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Actual Diary entries"","block_context":{"text":"Actual Diary entries","link":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/category\/diary\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"3 Ravens 55","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/3-Ravens-55-APA-225x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":403,"url":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/2008\/08\/28\/croucher-pale-ale\/","url_meta":{"origin":794,"position":5},"title":"Croucher Pale Ale","author":"Phil","date":"August 28, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Verbatim: Croucher Pale Ale, from Rotorua, but with none of that city's usual aromatic downsides. An after-work drink, and a pretty damn good one. It's a little bit Little-Creatures-esque, what with being a pale ale, but not being a thwack in the head with a fistful of hops. More just\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Actual Diary entries"","block_context":{"text":"Actual Diary entries","link":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/category\/diary\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Croucher Pale Ale","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/Croucher-Pale-Ale-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/794","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=794"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/794\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1661,"href":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/794\/revisions\/1661"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=794"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=794"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=794"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}