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Today we take a look at the latest beer news from Italy. We start from what can be considered the most important Italian islander brewery, namely Barley of Maracalagonis, in Sardinia. Here the talented brewer Nicola Perra has recently launched a new beer, called Tùvi Tùvi. The name is based on a typical Sardinian dialectal expression that indicates a sudden and disastrous forward fall. The connection is with the extreme drinkability of Tùvi Tùvi that just slips easily down the throat.

The new Nicola’s creature is a Blond Ale brewed with two strongly characterizing hops, the British Challenger and the Polish Marynka both grown in the Belgian region of Poperinge (famous for its extensive cultivation of the noble vine). Here’s how Kuaska presents Tùvi Tùvi on the Barley’s web site:

With a charming appearance, thanks to a creamy and lacing foam, the Tùvi Tùvi strikes our nose with marked notes, that start with a pronounced citrus cedar aroma developing in a spicy aroma reminiscent of oriental perfumes such as cardamom and sandal, all punctuated with clear scents of earth and licorice root, elder flowers, chamomile and woodruff. You’ll be finally conquered by sensual flavors of elderberry honey, apricot and ripe tropical fruits before the attack in the aftertaste of imposing bitter notes, herbaceous, citrusy, resinous and balsamic, which give the feeling of thirst that makes you longingly desire a further urgent sip.

Very refreshing, thanks to good attenuation and subsequent dryness which cleans the mouth, can be appreciated with food too. Try to pair it with fatty meats like lamb or a leaner meat like kid, strictly Sardinian. Thanks to its medium body and to a fresh flowery that melts that very strong bitterness, you may, daring a little more, pair it to sweet-sour Thai dishes or with surprisingly delicate Indian dishes as chicken Moghul and sweet chutney as well.

We move from the province of Cagliari to Milan, where the renowned Lambrate brewery on Sunday, April 11 will present its latest creation, the Beccamort. This is the Milanese dialect word indicating the undertaker… another folly from that bunch of crazies! The Beccamort is an Oatmeal Stout, which is an ancient variation of Stout, providing the use of oats in high percentages. The history of these beers is quite curious, once so popular and then fell into disfavor until their total disappearance, at least until the eighties, when the English Samuel Smith brushed up the recipe. Today Oatmeal Stouts are in good health and are fairly widespread throughout the world.

If you want to try the Lambrate’s Oatmeal Stout the date is next Sunday, as said, in 5, Adelchi. A folk group will play a gig in the evening. If you want to know more about the beer and the event, check out the blog Hoppy Hour of our friend Leo.

Move from Milan to Turin, where the brewery La Piazza announced a new beer as well. It’s a Pils and the name is… well… Pils&Love. A funny wordplay, but isn’t it familiar? Many will grasp the obvious similarity with the slogan of Pils Pride, the event dedicated to this particular beer style organized every year by Birrificio Italiano since 2007. Apparently, the Turin brewery knew nothing and the staff immediately contact Agostino (Italiano’s founder and head-brewer) to get out of this predicament. Who knows… perhaps the new beer will change name soon…

We know little more than this, except the alcohol content (4.5% ABV) and the fact that is the first creation of Enrico Ponza, who joined the team a few weeks ago.

We end our tour in Tuscany, introducing a news from L’Olmaia brewery. In this case it is not a new beer, but a new bottle size. Following the recent example of other colleagues, Moreno Ercolani has launched 33cl bottles , which for now will be limited only to the LA 5. They are in regular trading since the end of March. Apparently the “reduced size” is one of the most characterizing trends in the 2010 Italian brewing scenario.