Microbrewed Adventures - Charles Papazian [71]
Noel—Teo’s wonderfully complex creation that defies categorizing. Bottle conditioned at 9 percent alcohol, it presents a complex and interwoven balance of cocoa and fruitiness, while maintaining its relative dryness on the palate. This is a very special brew with very special packaging. Remember: this is strong brown ale with English ale yeast.
Birrificio Italiano
JUST EAST of Turin (Torino), in Marinone outside of Como, Agostino Arioli and his brother Stefano founded the Birrificio Italiano brewpub and restaurant in 1997 with eight other partners. In two years, production grew from 400 hectoliters to 700 hectoliters. All beers are sold only from the pub and restaurant. Most are bottom-fermented. Agostino designed and had his original 3 hectoliter brewhouse built locally. A new 6 hectoliter system has been installed since then. All his beers are uniquely Italian—they are variations on traditional themes. Most beers at Birrificio Italiano are lagers with nicknames and a story, served on draft or bottled (some bottle-conditioned).
Agostino Arioli (back) with brewers at Birrificio Italiano brewpub and restaurant, Marinone, Italy
The Beers of Birrificio Italiano
Prima— (L’ ingannatrice—the cheater, “who is like a woman who is a liar—beware”) This beer has a mild taste, so you may think it is light, but it is 6 percent alcohol. A soft caramel personality dominates this popular brown lager. At first you might think of it as German Dunkel style, but a sweet twist of crème caramel is often used to describe its qualities, so close to butterscotch but most definitely not. The beer does have caramel malts, but Agostino knows that it is the extra boil time that gives this heady lager its special character. Caramunich, carapils, Munich and pils malts are used to brew this complex, well-balanced beer.
Amber Shock— (L’ impevedible—“that which is unexpected”) At 7 percent alcohol, this beer is lager fermented and lager bottle-conditioned. It’s available only in elegant 1-liter bottle-conditioned packages for the customer who comes to the brewery. It is considered the brewery’s most special beer and the most “mythical,” because it isn’t always available. A full-malt and toffeelike flavor creates the overture, followed by a complementary fruity rose, apricot and cherry aroma and flavor. The beer has a slight sulfur note in the aroma, but within a few minutes of breathing after opening, the sulfur notes dissipate. The result is a remarkably playful and complex beer that is light on the palate. It is a lager, yet because of its higher alcohol and bottle conditioning it develops nontypical fruit character.
Tipo Pils— (Autoconscienza—“the self-consciousness; when you finish drinking it you will have reached a state of self-consciousness”) With a rich, dense head, this is every bit in the clean, crisp, refreshing and flavorful tradition of a Bavarian-style pilsener—brewed south of the Alps, leaving you wondering if you’ve gone to another heaven.
Bibock— (La Prepotenza—“strength and power as from a goat; enabling one to do what they want to do” Agostino encourages you to “get in touch with the Bibock”) This is an Italian creation, an amber “Italian bock.” It’s 6.2 percent alcohol, with more hops than a traditional bock, along with the rich maltiness usually evident in the stronger German version. You wouldn’t be able to call it a bock in Germany, but then again, this is Italy. Its aroma is reminiscent of fresh rising bread dough, and its maltiness is complemented with a unique apricot character in both flavor and aroma. German Hallertau and Perle hops are used for aroma.
Weiss Beer— (L’ Mirage—“a dream of a woman taking a bath in a tub of Weiss beer,” explains Agostino.) This seasonal brew was not available when I was there.
Dunkel Weizen— (Voo Du—L’ Originia—“the original because all original styles were dark”) This seasonal brew was not available when I was there.
2000— (La Birra Terzo Millennio—“the beer of the third