Table of Contents:
AMERICAN-STYLES.
BELGIUM-STYLES.
ENGLISH-STYLES.
GERMAN-STYLES.
OTHER-STYLES.
SUMMARY.
Italian Wines Italian Spirits
In the first place, Italian Artisan Beers get their inspiration from beers from other countries. For example, Belgium, Germany, and even the craft beers from the United States inspire the Italian brewmasters of today.
Certainly, lacking quality ingredients, such as locally grown hops, was not helping Italy in becoming a beer front-runner.
Also, two World Wars and some questionable leadership was hardly pushing beer development forward.
Furthermore, the big wine industry has always cast a long shadow over beer production in Italy. Excessive taxes on brewing being one of the results of this.
But, Italian beer has been a survivor and is growing in strength.
Again, the foundation of the beer may be from another country, but the final product is 100% Italian.
For this reason, you should give Italian beers a chance.
A pilsner lager. A what?
To clarify, let’s do a very general 101 on beer.
You have an ale, and you have a lager. After that, just about every beer falls under one of these. The big difference is how the beers go through fermentation.
Because of the different yeasts, ales (using top-fermenting yeast) tend to be fruitier, spicier.
The lagers (bottom-fermenting yeast) tend to be cleaner and crisper.
Equally important, lagers go through fermenting at lower temperatures. As this takes a longer time, it creates a more mellow, lower alcohol beer.
What about Pilsner?
Once again, you have an ale, and you have a lager. Pilsner is a lager where hops can be spicy and bitter or a spicy floral or grassy flavor. Crisp with a clean malty presence. In general, a strong malty beer with more robust hops, probably bitter.
It is a lager, originally from the town of Plzen (Pilsen) Bohemia. Nowadays, the Czech Republic.
The Italian Artisan Beer list.
First, this list is to give people an idea of the enormous amount of Italian craft beers there are.
Understand, it does not even begin to touch on the MANY different styles of beers available.
Also, this list is out of date five minutes after updating. THAT’S how fast the Italian beer industry is changing.
Moreover, new breweries and flavors keep popping up every day.
In general, these beers are in random order. Yes, they are favorites of beer drinkers, receiving high ratings. But different people have different tastes.
In other words, you need to look at the list. Get an idea of what sounds tasty to YOU. Then try it. Decide for YOUR self if it’s okay.
However, to give it some semblance of order, the beers are in groupings. Where possible, by the country, their “style” originates.
Key: Beer Name – Brewery – Town (Region)
American-Style Italian Artisan.
American-style Pale Ale.
By borrowing a style from the Brits, this American style ale is a reasonable balance between hops (bitter) and malt (sweet).
Nowadays, American ales tend to lean a little more to the hop side. In contrast, the Brits to the malty side.
- Pale Ale – Vento Forte. – From Bracciano in the Lazio region.
American IPA.
IPA – India Pale Ale Is a pale ale with a noticeable hop presence. The taste may be by accident.
It was taking three months or more for ale to reach British colonies in warm regions (including India). The Brits found that adding fresh hops to the barrels was helping preserve the beer. Naturally, the beers have more of a hop presence by the time they arrive.
The American IPA kicks the hops up a bit.
- Zona Cesarini – Birra Toccalmatto. – From Fidenza in the Parma, Emilia-Romagna region.
- Spaceman – Brewfest. – From Codogno in the Lombardy region.
American Double / Imperial IPA.
A quick history lesson. Imperial beers are strong beers the British borrow from the Russians. (Everyone borrows in beer).
Double is the American term for healthy as they don’t want to sound Russian. When you see “double,” think twice as many hops and extra malt to balance it.
- Breaking Hops – Birra MC – 77. – From Caccamo in the Marche region.
- Cal – Vento Forte. – From Bracciano in the Lazio region.
American Double / Imperial Pilsner.
- My Antonia (Birra Del Borgo & Dogfish Head) – Birra Del Borgo. – From Borgorose in the Lazio region.
American Double / Imperial Stout.
Stouts range from dark brown to black from aging in barrels. This aging helps create intense malty flavors from the roasting.
Accent flavors such as dark fruit, coffee, and chocolate may also be present. The bitterness is usually lower than you would think.
Then we double down and throw in Imperial. You get the idea. Stronger.
- Black Sheep – White Pony Microbrewery. – From Padova in the Veneto region.
- Imperial Stout Raven & Demise – Brasseria Della Fonte. – From Pienza in theToscana region.
American Wild Ale.
Starts like an ale but uses a wild yeast sometimes from a sour mash. As a result, this adds unusual yeasty (sour) flavors.
After that, just about anything goes. AWAs may be light, dark, hoppy, malty, and may have hints of fruit or spices.
- La Luna Rossa – Birrificio Del Ducato. – From Roncole Verdi di Busseto in the Parma, Emilia-Romagna region.
- Rubus – Birra Del Borgo. – From Borgorose in the Lazio region.
Belgium-Style Italian Artisan.
Belgian-style pale ale.
The Belgian Pale Ale varies from other pale ales by (traditionally) being less bitter.
This lighter taste comes from aging the hops, which give them a more delicate finish.
As a result, this allows the sweetish or toasty malt overtones to come out. Also, they may have a natural spice or the addition of spices.
- Quarta Runa – Birrificio Montegioco. – From Val Grue in the Piedmont region.
- Pink Pepper Italian Pale – Almond 22. – From Spoltore in the Abruzzo region.
Belgium Strong Pale Ale.
A much higher alcohol content that you may or may not sense. Hop and malt levels can vary. But in general, they are in balance.
- Super – Birrificio Le Baladin. – From Piozzo, Italy in the Piedmont region.
Belgium Strong Dark Ale.
Add deeper, more “dark” flavors to the Dark Ale. Many are spicy, alcoholic, and less hoppy.
- Demon Hunter – Birrificio Montegioco. – FromVal Grue in the Piedmont region.
- Kerst Reserva (2017) – Extraomnes. – From Marnate in the Lombardy region.
Saison / Farmhouse Ale.
Saison means “season” in French. Initially, this was a light ale to cool down farmhands at the end of the day. Therefore, it is low in alcohol and is pale in color.
- Duchessic Ale – Birra Del Borgo. – From Borgorose in the Lazio region.
- Seson – Piccolo Birrificio. – From Apricale in the Liguria region.
Quadrupel.
First, you have a traditional ale (level one).
Then comes Dubbel (double), Tripel, and then Quadrupel. Therefore, with each level, you have more body and richer malty taste. More “sweet” than bitter.
- The Oracle – White Pony Microbrewery. – From Padova in the Veneto Region.
Flanders Oud Bruin.
A sour brown ale. The Oud Bruin is the more traditional ale of Flanders (Northern Belgium).
It usually includes a second go at fermenting as well as bottle aging. Also, aging in barrels (usually oak) produces intense, rich malty flavors that are tart.
- Madamin – LoverBeer. – From Marentino in the Piedmont region.
Flanders Red Ale – Sour.
The red ales (really reddish-brown) tend to have a lighter body with sharp, fruity, sour, and tart flavors. Also, they often blend new and old beers, which adds additional characters.
English-Style Italian Artisan.
Porter, English style.
Porters (the name coming from the traditional consumers?) are a blend of three different styles of ale. In other words, old, new, and weak.
While some put in more of the first, others use more of the second. Consequently, the resulting taste is not old or new. Was this to extend the shelf life of the not so fresh ales?
- Zumbi – White Pony Microbrewery. – From Padova in the Veneto Region.
English Barley Wine.
Barley Wine is top-fermenting ale. Therefore, expect it strong. In comparison, hops may or may not be noticeable.
- Xyauyù Barrel – Birrificio Le Baladin. – From Piozzo in the Piedmont region .
- Strongest Than Ever – White Pony Microbrewery. – From Padova in the Veneto region.
German-Style Italian Artisan.
Pilsner-like.
Different from the Bohemian-style pilsner, the German-style is lighter in color and body. Also, slightly more of malty sweetness and hop bitterness than the Czech pilsner.
- Tipo Pils – Birrificio Italiano. – From Lurago Marinone in the Lombardy region.
Dunkelweizen.
Banana bread meets beer. WHAT? Surely you jest.
Dunkel (dark), weizen (wheat), is originally from southern Germany. Most are murky brown (from the yeast during the fermentation). They have complex malts, and the balancing bitterness is low.
Also, there are additional flavors that may include caramel, toffee, vanilla, or nutty traits. Thus, depending on the blend of ingredients, it can make some taste similar to banana bread.
- Vùdù – Birrificio Italiano. – From Lurago Marinone in the Lombardy region.
Gose.
Gose is from an old German beer style for a wheat beer containing 50-60% malt wheat. In this case, it does not go through filtering. Therefore, it ends as a cloudy yellow birra with a crisp flavor with a twang. Also, it has low bitterness. Coriander adds a dry and spicy flavor. Finishing off the beer may also include adding flavors.
- Baciami Lipsia (Kiss My Lips) – Birrificio Del Ducato. – From Roncole Verdi di Busseto in the Parma, Emilia-Romagna region.
Other Italian Artisan.
Fruit / Vegetable Beer.
Although similar to the Flanders sour ales, their fermenting, aging may differ.
- Prunus – Birra Del Borgo. – From Borgorose in the Lazio region.
Herbed / Spiced Beer.
This style is a very complex beer following the Egyptian method of brewing.
Indeed, they did not have modern malting or fermenting processes. They did not have hops use ginger, myrrh, honey, and orange peel for flavoring.
- Baladin Nora – Birrificio Le Baladin. – From Piozzo in the Piedmont region.
Italian Artisan round-up.
To repeat, this is ONLY a handful of the craft beers in Italy. In other words, it’s only an introduction.
Did you see how many were the same but different? And then some were different but familiar. Also, they come from soo many regions.
New breweries and new flavors keep popping up every day. Therefore, there is no way to keep up with them. Also, several of the beers above may be out of production as they are seasonal.
Also, beers that are favorites now may not be next season. Artesian beers, like wines, have good years and bad years. Just because it was great last year does not guarantee it will be as exceptional this year. In contrast, it may be even better.
And finally, all people do not like the same beer. Or pizza, or wine or.
For this reason, a good bartender or server is probably necessary to point you towards the right birra artigianale.
Then, YOU need to decide on YOUR OWN if it’s acceptable.