Microbrewed Adventures - Charles Papazian [70]
Italy, a country that seems forever planted to the horizon with vineyards, enjoys a beverage culture deeply immersed in wine and food. However, Italians are drinking a lot more beer these days than one would imagine. More than 25 percent of the beer consumed in Italy is imported from all over the world. Brewpubs and microbrewery numbers have increased from six to more than 50 in less than two years. Estimates in 2004 reveal the numbers of microbrewers has grown to more than 120. On a trip I made in 2000, I discovered a new world of beer and a small but growing number of Italian craft beers.
I traveled with members of Unionbirrai Microbirrifici (Italy’s microbrewery association) through north-central Italy to visit five microbreweries and brewpubs. There I learned that the poets of the beer world have coalesced and emerged, expressing the traditions of Italian food and beverage. Through their creative combination of American, German, Belgian and British beer traditions, they poetically express themselves with uniquely Italian beers worthy of all beer enthusiasts’ attention. They have truly immersed themselves in their own microbrewed adventures.
La Baladin
THE BEERS I tasted at La Baladin (http://www.birreria.com) in the tiny hilltop medieval village of Piozzo were nothing short of magnificent. Teo Musso, owner, troubadour, world music producer and brewmaster, blends his knowledge of Belgian brewing techniques with Italian creativity to skillfully brew a balanced selection of top-fermented beers. His knowledge of brewing, he says, comes from watching. Having spent more than a year working at the Silly Brewery in Belgium, not as a brewer or even as an assistant brewer, he intently observed and digested all he experienced.
Teo Musso with son Isaac and beer
La Baladin opened in 1985 as a non-brewing café. The brewery, Teo’s brainchild, was installed in 1996, and beer sales increased 40 percent once his beer was on tap. In his 5-hectoliter brewhouse, Teo continues to provide draft beer for his pub and bottled specialties for fortunate beer sellers around the world.
The Beers of La Baladin
Isaac—Birra Bianca, a Belgian-style wheat beer made with unmalted wheat grown by Teo’s mother and father, with the unique addition of whole sweet oranges and coriander. It’s well-balanced, with low hop flavor and a refreshing lemon-orange-citrus theme complemented by a lively yet subtle coriander aroma and flavor. Bottle-conditioned in uniquely styled champagne bottles, Isaac is named after Teo’s then two-year old. What makes this beer uniquely Teo’s is homegrown unmalted wheat, whole sweet oranges, English ale yeast and bottle conditioning.
Super Baladin—The brewpub’s strongest seller. Beer sales jumped 300 percent after its introduction. At 8 percent alcohol, this bottle-conditioned ale is reminiscent of a Belgian-style Dubbel, but as all Teo’s beers are made with English-style ale yeasts, Belgian fruitiness is minimal, resulting in a smooth, clean taste with accents on malt and hops rather than on fermentation esters and fruity alcohols.
Niña—On draft, this brew has a similar profile to an English-style bitter, with a twist—the hop aroma is floral and German in origin! It is dispensed with nitrogen. The result represents an extraordinary combination of traditions.
La Blonde du Baladin—A well-attenuated golden ale with high drinkability and the inviting floral character of German Hersbrucker Hallertau and Spalt hops. The wort is caramelized by a very long boiling time, resulting in a rich, caramel-like malt character that is suggestive of butterscotch but is rather toffeelike. A beer judge could easily mistake this toffee character for diacetyl, but it isn’t so. Travel the world and you’d be hard pressed to find this light ale’s equal.
Brune du Baladin—Actually, what I might call “Italian Stout.” It has a profile similar to that of Guinness but, as Teo emphasized, with milder intentions. Deep, dark and complex, it’s brewed with a combination of five different