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After a few days we’re back on new Italian beers that are popping up like mushrooms in the last period, especially with Christmas just around the corner. However, we will not only deal with seasonal specialties, since some should already begin to be saturated with Christmas beer. However, we can’t but begin from these productions…

Let’s start then with the 2009 version of the Birra di Natale (literally “Christmas Beer”) of Maltus Faber. Introduced in early November, is a Belgian Amber Ale, 8% ABV, available in 75cl and in Magnum 150cl bottles.

They introduce it on their site as follows:

Soft in the mouth, with a slight hint of “sweet” sufficiently balanced by hops. The various shades of caramel, biscuit and chocolate from malts follow each other without being cloying, with a pleasant “warming” finish.

The particularity of this creation is that, in the philosophy of Maltus Faber, is produced without the addition of spices, which is almost a contradiction for a Christmas beer! However, its lively and almost spicy character is given by the wise use of malt and hops.

Let’s proceed to Tuscany, introducing two news. The first concerns the Olmaia brewery which came out with the last folly of the brew master Moreno Ercolani: the ChriGhost, a beer aged in Brunello barrels. The “base beer” is the Christmas Duck, the Christmas of the house, which has undergone this peculiar treatment. Then Moreno decided not re-ferment in the bottle, so the result is a completely flat beer.

I had the pleasure to taste it during Birre sotto l’Albero and well … you can say that it’s a controversial but interesting experiment: you can barely call it beer but the aromas and flavors are simply breathtaking. Too bad for an ending that sets teeth on edge a bit. The presence of “Ghost” in the name means that this beer will not be produced again. It’s available in half-liter bottles in very limited quantities (800 bottles). If you want to know more visit the Moreno blog.

Still in Tuscany, the Conte di Campiglia company launched its Christmas Fra Natale in a very particular way. It was paired with Franettone, a fruit cake (Panettone) baked with the house Kerstbier. Dark both the beer and the panettone, for which were used Jerez raisins (Spain) and Modica chocolate drops. The two products can be purchased together in a single package.

As mentioned above, not just new Kerstbiers out there… There’s a new creation by Agostino Arioli of Birrificio Italiano called Amba: is a classic Anglo-Saxon style Bitter, which stems from the Cinnamon Bitter Ale, the renowned cinnamon beer of the Lombard brewer. Of course, the recipe has been slightly changed and the result is a 4.8% ABV amber Ale, brewed with Fuggle hops and strictly served hand-pu mped.

Mario Cipriano of the Campanian brewery Karma has celebrated its hundredth batch with a celebration beer, called precisely CentesimALE - sick that the English word “Ale” is such a flexible suffix in Italian. Besides the celebration of the important goal achieved, Mario has decided to pay homage to his land, using some local ingredients: apple jam (annurca variety) and Pallagrello grapes must.

We close with the latest creation of the La Piazza brewery, which introduced its new Turner. It’s a cocoa beans and vanilla flavored stout.