Italian craft beer buzz hits Sydney

Italiano SpecTAPular

The Local Taphouse in Darlinghurst, Sydney showcased an impressive lineup of craft beer last night. More impressive was the fact that this lineup was from Italy. Advertised as the "Italiano SpecTAPular" beer festival this event allowed craft beer aficionados to try some 20 different craft beers, 17 of which had never been tapped before in Australia. All levels of this vibrant venue were jam-packed full of people sampling the best that Italian craft beer breweries had to offer. 

To open the night, we took the opportunity to peruse the beer menu and start off with a pint. Our first choice turned out to be Croce di Malto 'Triticum'. It's a unfiltered wheat beer, and it was a good one at that. A lovely, pale golden straw colour that was cloudy, which is typical of the style. It had a sweetness to it that somehow pronounced itself just a little bit too much for my liking. Having said that, it was probably the quickest I ever drank a pint of beer and a great way to start off the night.

Second from Left: Birra del Borgo 'Anniversario 7'

That great start lent its way toward trying the tasting paddles. Well, I don't mean eating the paddles themselves, rather tasting the five beer samples of approximately 60ml provided on each paddle presented. As it turns out the first five choices were mine, so I chose the Pale Ales and IPA's. First up was the Scarampola 'IPA Italian Pale Ale'  at 7% alcohol by volume (abv). It was described as "...a beer with aromas from the added grapefruit and the bitter fruit hops. This beer is a classic Italian slant on the traditional IPA. Persistent with a lovely bitter aftertaste."

I enjoyed my very first Italian Pale Ale, but couldn't rate it just yet. I had to wait to drink the other four before I could do that. However, it certainly did have a grapefruit aroma and the balance between dryness and bitterness was exotic. Next up we had a beer from Brewfist called 'Burocracy' at 6% abv. An IPA that has been "brewed with a mixture of American and New Zealand hops. Citrus and exotic fruits on the nose. Well balanced with a bitter finish." I have to admit that I was impressed with the aroma, but for some reason this beer didn't quite hit the mark for me. Onward and upward we go.

The third installment was a San Paolo Birrifico 'IPE' at 6.5% abv. It's an American Pale Ale that "...uses American hops that give a citrus flavour and floral bouquet. The aromatic complexity of this beer will knock you out." Knock me out? Jesus! What, was Mike Tyson going to pop out of the beer and slap me silly? Thankfully I wasn't knocked out but I was glad to be sitting down while sampling these beers. I was almost tripping over myself (unlike the Italian Football team who tend to trip over themselves in penalty boxes. The round of 16 clash at the 2006 World Cup between Italy and Australia comes to mind!) with the range of hops used in the beers so far. It was a good, solid beer and it rated well.

Italy's like Mitt Romney?

Our next taste sensation was the Birra del Borgo 'Anniversario 7' at 6.5% abv. Another American Pale Ale in this lineup, but with a difference. It was described as '...a celebrative version of the Classic ReAle brewed every year for the brewery's birthday." Although I cannot confirm the validity of the spelling, what I can confirm is that this beer was absolutely fantastic. A beautiful balance of malt and hops that kept me wanting more. It had a "fluffy" feel, had great lacing, was light-medium bodied and had an almost light opaque colour. The aroma was fruity, the bitterness melted with the malt and it easily was crowned as best beer on the tasting paddle.

Birra del Borgo 'Anniversario 7'

And that tasting paddle had one more to go: Brewfist /Beer Here 'Caterpillar'. It is a collaboration brew by Brewfist "...with Danish brewery 'Beer Here'. Combing rye malt and New Zealand hops to deliver a bitter and dry beer with fruity and resinous aromas." My research tells me that Motueka and Columbus hops were used in this beer. OK, my "research" means I'm typing into Google and finding an "answer". It's not scientific research here, folks. Just me rambling on about beer. So take what I say with pinch of salt....and a handful of Apollo hops. For me,  this beer tended to lean toward a very bitter and dry finish. Not something I'm too keen on, but maybe others were? It somewhat overpowered the drinker with this excessive dryness.

Paddle #2, but I missed a taster!

Apart from the appalling picture taken by yours truly, (you can see four tasters, not five. Was I drunk already?!) thankfully for us when we were up beer creek we did have a paddle. The next paddle to arrive on our table was, dare I say, specTAPular. We were now hitting the heady heights of the abv spectrum. The Birricio Troll 'Shangri La' at 8.5% abv was our next taster. This barleywine had some kick, and even more kick than an angry mule at an angry mule convention! Based on the picture you see, the barleywine has disappeared from the right. But that's OK. I remember it being lightly coloured, had a sweet taste and packed a punch. It certainly classifies itself as a winter warmer.

When will this sentence end?

Next on the agenda was an Extraomnes Tripel at 8.6% abv. This Abbey Tripel (above, far right) really amazed me.  "Lightly golden with a creamy foam, this beer has delicious floral but spicy aromas persistent with the delicious warm sensation of alcohol but well balanced with a lovely dry mouth that cleanses the palate and leaves you ready for more." Phew! I almost drowned reading that sentence! Heard of punctuation, beer writer extraordinaire?! Probably not! Now that my exclamation mark awareness program has ended, I couldn't help but notice the taste and aroma similar to that of Apricot? Either way this was a cracker of a beer.

Continuing on the taste testing journey, up come the Croce di Malto 'Triple XXX' at 5.8% abv. This Belgian Strong Ale was a "winner of 'Mondial de la Biere'" and was "inspired by the traditional Belgium Strong Ales produced by the Abbey monks." I grew up wanting to be somebody, but when I tasted this beer I wanted to be a monk so I could brew this beer. It was that good. It had spicy notes and, in my opinion, hints of orange zest. It was a goddamn beauty of a beer that made me shiver with excitement every time I took a sip of this gorgeous drop. It certainly ranked highly from all the tastings so far.

Cascadian Dark Ale. Meow!

The next taster in line was the Birra del Borgo 'Hoppy Cat'. Personally, I was half expecting a cat to jump out and scratch me with its wild claws. What I got was a fantastically smooth and hoppy beer. It was the first time I had ever tried a Cascadian Dark Ale, which I think has only been recently declared a beer style. Strangely, it was described as "a brown, coffee coloured Dark IPA (aka Black IPA)..." I used to be indecisive, now I'm not so sure. What type of beer is this, anyway? I'm confused. Meanwhile, back at the ranch.....

Again, it was the balance between malt and hops which made this beer one of my favourites. The final beer in this paddle was another from Brewfist: 'Fear Milk Chocolate'. "Fear" Milk Chocolate? Well, I don't drink milk so should I fear it? Possibly. I have to admit that this was one of two surprise beers for me. I didn't expect to like it as my memory of Young's Double Choc Stout rings in my brain since I'm not a fan of it.

But I was a fan of this one. This stout had a roasty aroma, was silky smooth but wasn't heavy, rather lighter bodied. It's officially described as "sweet, complex and with its own unique taste. The lactose and cocoa beans give it a fantastic hint of chocolate." Well, I couldn't detect the chocolate but it certainly was roasty and I could easily tell the silky smoothness was due to the lactose. Overall, it was a solid representation for a beer I wasn't expecting to like whatsoever. Don't you just love surprises? There was still yet more surprises as we continue our drunken...sorry, drinking journey at Italiano SpecTAPular.

Paddle #3

Our third paddle provides the story for the day. Not that I can tell stories, though. I mean, if you're this far into my blog I must be doing OK? We enjoyed our first beer of the night so much that we included it in our third paddle tasting. So, that was first up.....again. The Croce di Malto 'Triticum' (far left in paddle #3) probably doesn't do itself any justice with my photographic skills but it is a good beer nonetheless. What surprised me was the next beer: Another collaboration beer, this time Birra del Borgo and Dogfish Head came together to brew 'My Antonia' at 7.5% abv.

You see, I'm a fan of Dogfish Head. When I began home brewing three years ago I came across Dogfish Head on the Internet. I was immediately hooked and wanted desperately to try their beers. I was lucky enough to experience that while in the USA back in 2010, which you can read all about on my other blog under the 'United Beers of America' tag line. My first beer from Dogfish Head that I tried was their 60 minute IPA in San Francisco. Although a little disappointed, I was still stoked at drinking their beer. I also drank their Midas Touch beer, which is "somewhere between wine and mead." So, to see this type of collaboration and knowing that it has never been tapped in Australia brought a tear to a grown man's eye. Seriously.

Back to 'My Antonia', this beer is an Imperial Pilsner and has "...a highly perfumed nose combined with floral and resinous notes that blend harmoniously. The honeyed malt and peppery hops blend with a bitter end taste to make an extremely elegant beer." I almost wet my pants drinking this beer. Not because I had to go to the toilet, but the fact that this beer was really, really good. I know a few of the boys didn't like it but I must admit that this beer made my day. One, the fact that I'm drinking a collaborative beer from Dogfish Head and, two, the fact that I'm actually brewing a Bohemian Pilsner myself that I can match this against. This beer certainly made the top two of the tastings so far.

So, number 3 of paddle 3 was from Brewfist again. This time we had the pleasure entering 'Jale'. No, not Jail but 'Jale'. Either these Italians cannot spell or it's a play on words. I'd take the latter approach. An Extra Special Bitter at 5.6% abv (third from left in above picture) describes itself as a "deep red colour with notes of roasted caramel accompanied by the aromas of traditional English hops and a bitter well balanced finish." Although the puncuation police have already booked and fined the editor, needless to say that I didn't get much of anything from this beer. I do believe the phrase "this tastes like nothing" came from one of the boys.

Next was the Extraomnes 'Zest' at 5.3% abv. This Belgian Pale Ale reminded me of the time I tried to do a Pale Ale with lemon rind. Problem was I put too much lemon rind in the mix and the beer turned out to be more sour than an actual sour lemon itself. Thankfully, this had a hint of it and blended in quite well, although the description didn't show any signs that it purported to be. I admit that my tongue felt like it had helped lick a shaggy dog's balls.  My taste buds weren't the best, admittedly. Nonetheless, we soldered on and moved onto our last offering in this paddle.

Croce di Malto 'Temporis' at 6% abv had been labelled a Speciality Seasonal Ale. Quite frankly, it was sour despite it being described as "a special seasonal beer produced and dedicated to the spring, offering an explosion of flavours ranging from fruits to herbaceous notes. Contains a mixture of special herbs and spices developed after long nights of research." Herbs and spices? This isn't KFC, you know....and it wasn't SO GOOD after tasting it. Heck, those shaggy dog's balls were kinda tasting nice after this one. 

Paddle #4. Kaching!

Our final paddle, number 4, saw yours truly lose the plot. Not only were my tasting notes unreadable, they were unreadable from an iPhone notepad application. WTF?! Seriously, it disappoints me to say that the next in line, the Croce di Malto 'Hauria' at 5% abv, had the word "nice" in my tasting notes. As Kolsch's go, it was damn nice indeed but, sadly, that's about as much as I can say about that beer. I do recall, however, that it was one of the better Kolsch-style beers I had tasted. Next was Birra del Borgo 'Duchessa' at 5.8% abv. This Saison-style beer was "lemony". Yeah, my notes aren't worth a cent but the description of this beer puts it in a much better light saying it is "brewed with barley and spelt flour traditionally grown in the mountain region of the Duchess Regional Park. Golden, with a rich and creamy foam. Fruity, floral and with a peppery nose."

Although I hadn't been aware that beers had pepper-like objects for noses, it's nice to know that this description far outweighs mine. Sure, the punctuation and spelling police have now officially locked up the editor (now wearing orange overalls at Long Bay Correctional Centre) it is nice to read a more eloquent approach to tasting notes. And though there were five samplers in this paddle, only three were unique. The last two were beers we had already tried. So, onto our last unique beer sampler for the night. Birra del Borgo 'Keto Reporter' is a tobacco porter at 5.2% abv. Since yours truly cannot read the tasting notes on his iPhone, let our beloved editor of these brew notes described this beer.

The 'Keto Reporter' starts by "adding 'King Porter' Kentucky tobacco leaves 'Toscano' (the same ones used for production of the famous cigars). The result is a dark beer with an extremely rich nose of tobacco scents mixed with spices and a hint of toasted hazelnut." I'm guessing that the nose bought some lottery tickets if it's that rich, but I can assure you that when I tried this beer there was no hint of hazelnut. A great beer, but it was more of a roasty aroma with a light to medium body. Sadly, after all the excitement of trying all this beer we managed to miss one. To my disappointment, the one we missed was the Maibock by San Paolo Birrifico 'Buxus'. And, for those counting, there was one other beer that we couldn't get our hands on  since it was sold out quite early. The Honey Ale by Sao Paolo Birrifico 'Robinia' had been drank fairly quickly by the fans, so this, too, didn't make our list.

Beer of the night

To end the short night that I had there was only one way to complete it. That was to buy a pint of my favourite beer of the night, which was the Birra del Borgo 'Anniversario 7'. In second place was the collaboration betweeen Birra del Borgo/Dogfish Head that brewed the Imperial Pilsner called 'My Antonia'. To wrap up the ratings, third place went to Croce di Malto for the 'Triple XXX' Belgian Strong Ale. All in all we had an array of fantastic beers (apart from the shaggy dog's balls comments) and were greatly impressed by the variety these Italians could deliver.

Being at The Local Taphouse and tasting all those craft beers was a great way to experience the best of Italy. It was noteworthy to mention that Dogfish Head played a part in this event. It was a perfect way to enjoy a very cool night in Sydney, drinking craft beer and enjoying the different flavours, textures and aromas these beers had to offer. Thanks to The Local Taphouse for putting on a fantastic night of craft beer tasting. We shall return for more!

PS: I'm sure the punctuation and spelling police are after me, too. For now, read this 'as is' and enjoy.