Great NYT article on Italian craft beers

Savoring Italy, One Beer at a Time
http://travel.nytimes.com/2008/11/02/travel/02Beer.html


In other Italian beer news: MillerSAB just purchased a controlling stake in Peronni.

Within the next two or three years, I intend to emulate the author.

Here's the pull, courtesy of my friend Stan Hieronymus:

“Italian brewers have done a wonderful job of making it clear that they are the same sort of artisans as chefs and others involved in food,” said Stan Hieronymus, the author of “Brew Like a Monk,” who is making his own trip to the region this fall. “That makes a trip to Italy to find more of these beers and to experience them, along with local cuisine, particularly appealing.”

The B United importing company represents most of the breweries mentioned, and indeed, the explosion of choice is amazing. Earlier this summer, we did a draft focus on four more or less randomly selected Italian craft brews, and I've ordered a half-dozen or so kegs to be featured at the pub during the Saturnalia time before, during and after Christmas.

Todd Antz ... are you carrying these in bottles?

We are a bit shy on our Italian craft brews currently. After Roger's run of Italian kegged beer this summer, we sold through most of our stock, and unfortunately, our distributor will not keep any of these in stock on a permanent basis, so it all becomes a special order which is always based on what the importer has in stock at the moment the order is placed. Out of the 10 or so Italians I recently ordered, I only got one this past week, which was the Panil Bariquee. The 2005 vintage of this was one of the best versions of a Flemish sour ale that I had ever encountered. The first batch of the 2006 vintage had some serious carbonation issues, but this is a completely new batch, so I have to give a bottle a whirl and see how it is.

The Italian beer industry has been very interesting to watch over the past few years. Initially, the Italian beer industry seemed to start and stop with Peroni, a rather plain lager that I would compare with dishwater. It has grown considerably over the past 4-5 years. Moretti La Rossa was the first Italian beer that made me stand up and start to pay attention. To me, its one of the better dopplebocks made. Several others that I truly enjoyed was the Demon Hunter by Birrificio Montegioco, a tremendous Belgian-style strong ale, and Baladin Noel, one of the better Belgian-style winter ales on the market. The thing that stood out to me was their ability to take a style from another country and recreate it with subtle tweaks in to some of the best versions of those styles available. It looks like they are spreading their wings a bit more to create some styles that might be all their own.

I had always thought that a wine tour of Italy was a must do thing in life, but I am starting to rethink that a beer tour of Italy might happen before that wine tour for me.

Thanks, Todd. Since this came up, I decided to being sifting through my pre-orders for December to see which Italian kegs I ordered, and so far, here's the one that (a) stands out, and (b) seems to be the perfect example of what we're saying. The description is from B United's web site.

SHANGRILA

Shangrila was the first creation from Birrificio Troll. It is of dark amber color and has a persistent head and with its 8.5 alc./vol. it warms the palate and the heart.

Shangrila is brewed using malt, English hops and a mixture of spices from the Himalayas: tandori (Blend of coriander, cumin, garlic powder, paprika, ginger, cardamom, saffron), curry, pepper, anise. Shangrila is a complex full bodied beer with exotic scents and an intense flavor.

Shangrila is a perfect companion for meats of every type, especially ones grilled over charcoal. It also pairs very well with fine cheeses.

When I get the list completed, I'll report back.

there's hope for the Italian beer industry
let us hope that other countries known for their pale flavorless lagers (i'm thinking south of the border)
will follow the same example

shawn

I just tried a couple of beers from San Marino Italy. They are bottled under the name Amacord after the famous Federico Fellini film. I had a strong brown doube called la Tabbacheria at 10% ABV that was quite tasty and a red called La Putenne or something similar, wasn't quite as tasty as the brown...
Would love to try some of these others over at Rogers later this year...