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From time to time I love to publish a post about new Italian beers! Let’s start with something completely new, coming from Birra Amiata. It’s called Gincana, a name which is the union of the two special ingredients with which is brewed: ginepro (juniper) and canapa (hemp). The recipe provides the use of malted barley, wheat and hops, as well as hemp leaves (no THC of course) and Maremma juniper berries.

The Gincana has a dense and persistent foam, a distinctive herbaceous aroma while the palate is characterized by malt notes covered by hops and then by the typical hemp taste. It is still an experimental brew, currently available only at the Roman premises bir&fud, so don’t look for it elsewhere. The Gincana will become a standard production if Roman customers will appreciate it. We will talk definitely about Birra Amiata again in the future.

Among the breweries present at the recent Birra della Merla there was Revelation Cat. For the occasion they introduced three “goliardic” beers designed specially to fit the spirit of the festival. They are all alcohol-bombs – designed to warm up the participants facing the polar January temperatures – and brewed with the traditional method of Eisbock (the beer is frozen to concentrate alcohol).

The first is Freeze the Penguin, a “condensed” 35% ABV Barley Wine. The reference to Brewdog Tactical Nuclear Penguin, the most alcoholic beer in the world, is obvious. The other two are different versions of a blend of “Eisbocked” Lambic… a gratuitous violence to an amazing product . The name is Blue Quasar and was there in a basic version and with an Amarillo dry-hopping. Simply put: a rare Belgian brew, produced with a German technique and flavored with American hops… creepy! The beers are part of the Blackbird Series, referring to the blackbird (which is the “mascot” of this unique beer festival).

Among the new beer of 2010 we must cite Birrificio Italiano Sultana, a Belgian Blonde Ale, which represents almost an exception for the bottom fermentation specialized producer of Lurago Marinone. If you want to know more, I suggest you read the opinion of Leo on his Hoppy-Hour (in Italian). Still in Lombardy I recently heard about Lambrate Imperial Ghisa, an “extra” version of the dark smoked beer that made the brewery famed. Anyone who sampled it say it’s very good, but knowing the beers of Lambrate it was to be expected.

We now turn to older news. In December, the Birrificio Hibu announced that it had changed its recipe of Qoh, which can be considered a Scotch Ale sui generis. These are the tasting notes:

A hazy and amber beer with a persistent foam. Nose is dominated by the aroma of hops, followed by floral and malty notes. The palate is very intense and is full bodied. The malt sweetness is perfectly balanced by a sharp bitter end. 5.5% ABV.

In December Birra del Borgo introduced in Florence a new beer as well: Birra d’Artista (Artist’s Beer) whose labels are hand made, one by one, by the Roman artist Giovanni Trimani. This is a seasonal beer:

Birra d’Artista is perfect for the winter, warm and fascinating, with a nose full of honey, dried fruit and roasted notes. Elegant and complex, it’s perfect to warm a winter evening (9.5% ABV) or paired with Christmas cakes.