Tuesday 21 July 2015

#14th Instalment of the Beer Tour of the World


Beer, Food & Liquor Reviews

 
#14th  Instalment of the Beer Tour of the World


 Franziskaner Weissbeer Dunkel

Not a great fan of Weissbeer but this is Dunkel – Dark – and richer than the sharp bitey wheat beers I am not fond of.  Part of the Spaten brewery of Munich (they combined some years ago).


I like it a lot, but it is for drinking with a winter meal, not around a summer BBQ.  Latest convert is my mate Robbie.

 
Prinz Brau

Not all that flash.  Waste of good tin actually; probably could have made a whistle from it instead.

 
Warsteiner.

Nice.  Available in LIDL for about 59c per 500ml bottle.  Very common in supermarkets all over Italy.  Decent drop, although the bottles tend to be a bit sweet occasionally – perhaps this stuff ages differently?  Not sure but cold it’s good.

 
Badger Champion, Badger Tanglefoot and Badger First Gold.

My friend Bernard is a Badger devotee.  I didn’t like the First Gold as I thought it too fruity.  The Champion is heading that way with Elderflower in it but it’s only a hint and is not a bad drop.  The Tanglefoot is sharp and bitter.  Haven’t made my mind up about it yet.  Need more to go on.  Bernard, open some more.

 

Oro Tari

This is a Sicilian craft beer from a very new micro brewery.  The website is a bit difficult to navigate but it is quite rich in detail (no language flag for English but the En at the end of the bar will do it)

Another artisan beer.  A bit sourish, with not as much head, but nice enough.  They do a reasonable range and also have a tasting room.  Be worth a visit if you’re in the vicinity
 
 
They make about 9 beers and the Oro is what you might call a standard.  It is very much like the lager style beers we have in WA and is very nice indeed.  Comes in 750ml bottles, no small ones so they’re good to share.  Or not.  These guys are only about 5 years old and they are doing a great job.  Can’t remember the price but it is worth it.  A rich lager with, thankfully, no attempt to flower it up.  It is a real pity that I found this on our last night in Licata before heading north, instead of the first night when we could have organized a tour to the brewery, which is not all that far from Licata.  Found it again in an Enoteca/restaurant in Cefalu.

Wonder if they’re related to the Conti’s in Western Australia (Wanneroo)




Trapani beers

A newish brewery that seems to be part of a wine-making enterprise.  Can’t exactly identify it on the net.  Had two of their very limited production beers, a simple Classico lager and a Weiss.  Both were expensive, at least on the main drag in Trapani, but both were big bottles for €8 and very nice indeed, and I don’t normally like Weiss beers.  Made by Donnadicoppe, which is the wine concern, and each with its distinctive beer coaster, it would be worth trying at least these two if you ever find yourself in the glorious city of Trapani.  p.s. I could live in Trapani.
 

86 Red.

Had an 86 before, called Bavaria 86 but it is from Holland.  It was 7.9% and I liked it a lot, though cautioned one and all about overindulgence at this level of Alc. 

This one is disgusting.  Tastes like it has been sweetened with saccharine.  Without a doubt it’s worse than XXXX or that SA Southwark thing or VB.  Had a couple of sips, Carol had a couple of sips, rest down the sink.
 
And I’ve taken to Reds lately, too.  Not this one.  Just goes to prove that life as a beer taster is (sorry, gross metaphor coming) “not all beer and skittles”.  Had to say that.

 
Birra Messina

Not sure of the history of this but it is a standard sharpish nice lager.  Then I saw that it was made by Heineken.  Surprised me as it’s not their usual rubbish.  Maybe they bought this brewery and then left it to run itself?  Unlike them, but there must be a reason why it tastes OK.

Not expensive, either.  Got it in a small supermarket in Trapani for about €1.20 for a 500ml bottle.

 
Birra Vittoria Grazie Mille.


 No website found – the above link takes you to a single page.  An artisan beer from Sicily.  8% but doesn’t taste all that strong.  Very nice – strong golden colour, with the usual bottle-fermented sediment.  Strong head – mine came with a narrowed-neck glass and overflowed instantly.  Perhaps an open glass would be better.

 
 
Semedorato


Big bottle for €1.10.  Premium lager.  Ok but nothing special. Better value around if you look but I wouldn’t hand it back if I was offered one.

 
G..Marabrea e Figli.


 I’ve had the Strong before but this time was offered the blonde in La Piazzeta in Scario.

Was very nice indeed, from a family that has been brewing since the 1840s,  To give a better picture of the offering, it almost qualifies as a major brewery and can be found in great numbers of restaurants and cafes.  Easy to find so no excuse not to try it.
Two Risottos by the King of Risotto - the Marabrea is out of focus because the two risottos are more important.


La Piazzetta - The King of Risotto and his wife.


 
Rainer Pils

Not to be confused with the Rainier beer of Washington state, which has Mt Rainier in it.  You would be surprised at the enormous number of Americans who can’t spell Rainier.  How do I know this?  Because searching for Rainer on Google throws up entry after entry of what is obviously Rainier beer, but badly spelled.

I said all that because I really can’t write anything nice about this beer.  It was in the closest restaurant to our boat in Roma.  The Affligem Red had run out (pity, I am a big fan of Affligem) and I was assured that the Heineken tap did not contain Heineken.  I should have known that Heineken would not allow one of their taps to be used for a competitor’s beer and sure enough, this Rainer is brewed by Heineken in France.  Tastes about as good as 1664 or perhaps not even as good as that.   A large glass of not much at all.  Waste of money.
 

Affligem Rouge.  (Affligem Double)

www.affligembeer.com

Yes, back in Bistrot and the Affligem has been restocked.  Nice red beer, not as in-your-face as stuff like the McFarland Red that Robbie and I had in Rome last night.*  A bit understated and subtle and very pleasant indeed.  Referred to as Affligem Double, not strictly as Affligem Red  (*not a criticism of McFarland Red, reviewed before.)
 


Alta Quota Principessa.


A Latium beer, artiginiale. #1 in their lists.   Quite nice if a little foamy.  Maybe the fact that it is about 110° in the waterbag has affected it.  Made with Spelt, not Malt (con Farro).  I liked this one a lot.


 Alta Quota Giovio

The red version.  A little sweet for me.  #5 of the Alta Quota offerings.

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