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Sam Calagione and Kuaska

It’s not an every day opportunity to attend an event with Sam Calagione, founder of Dogfish Head and one of the most important beer personalities in the world – at least as far as brewing itself is concerned. So last week I seize the opportunity to participate the event organized at Open Baladin, which had starring the aforementioned U.S. brewer and the two landlords: Teo Musso of Baladin and Leonardo Di Vincenzo of Birra del Borgo. Leading the dance a lively as ever Lorenzo “Kuaska” Dabove, a perfect compere.

Obviously, the spotlight was aimed mainly at Calagione. That he is a real star of the international brewing movement was clear from the very beginning, when in one of the alleys adjacent the premises a television crew was interviewing him before the event started. Things that we can only fancy in Italy, but on the agenda for a personality like Calagione. The naturalness with which he juggles in front of the camera – later proved by the ability to enchant the entire audience of the Open – leaves no doubt about his great communication skills: as to fellow Americans, this aspect is essential and in my opinion is one of the gripping elements of the U.S. beer turmoil.

Despite Sam lives his work almost like a rock star, the second thing you notice is his humility, his easygoing attitude. While describing his beer and his brewery, it seemed like a child… it was not difficult to understand that passion and joy arising from his words were absolutely true. As is the enthusiasm for projects developed in collaboration with other brewers, including Teo Musso and Leonardo Di Vincenzo.

About collaborations, the evening focused often on this topic. One of the issues was the anticipated presentation of Eataly brewery, which will open soon in New York. But there was also the opportunity to taste collaborative beers, especially Namaste and My Antonia, both produced by Calagione with Leonardo Di Vincenzo.

Nora and matching

The evening opened with Namaste. This is a duet production brewed with the intent to help Armand Debelder of 3 Fonteinen after the incident which caused the loss of about 100,000 bottles. It’s definitely a summer beer: a sui generis Blanche which uses variants of the classic ingredients of this style. Besides the inevitable coriander, is brewed using lemon grass and dried orange, which provide resolved scents and aromas, but without losing an overall elegance. Too bad for the tasting amount. I’d rather tried it in a nice big full glass, especially in this period. In short, this Namaste is a nice surprise.

Then we had a Baladin Nora, renowned for being brewed with kamut and a special blend of spices that make it unique. It’s an exceptional beer: by far my favorite in the evening. Nora was paired with a very spicy Italian-Moroccan inspired dish. In my opinion an excellent result, with food and beer matching perfectly.

The two My Antonia paired with a salad with citrus

The evening went on with a “double dose” of My Antonia. This beer is considered an Imperial Pils and was born from a collaboration between Sam Calagione and Leonardo Di Vincenzo. The two brewed the beer in Italy about two years ago and then continued to produce it in their own brewery, according to their own interpretation. So we had the opportunity to compare the two versions of My Antonia, discovering that they differ more than one might expect. Paradoxically, the Italian My Antonia is more American than the American counterpart: both versions are very hoppy, but in the Leonardo’s hop is at its maximum. In Sam’s hops seems “trapped” from the malt that is used to achieve balance. Matter of taste but I liked more that made in Italy.

My Antonia has been paired with a citrus salad, with the intention of accompanying the sharp citrus notes of the hop added in beer. An unusual attempt, with mixed results. I personally didn’t like that much.

Then we had Genziana from Birra del Borgo, brewed with gentian root. Is a classic, well-suited to summer days. Pairing it an audacious, at the very least, choice: a dessert. Hazelnut and gentian mousse, pineapple, lime and sugar cookie. It not suited the beer, although the hazelnut goes well with the Gentian.

Baladin Xyauyù

The evening went by with two other beers without pairings: the Baladin Xyauyù and the Dogfish Head Raison d’Etre. There is little to add to the thousand words spent in recent years on the former: is a fantastic and crazy creation, a new limit to the concept of beer itself. The Raison d’Etre is a Belgian-style Brown Ale, brewed with raisins and beet sugar. A very special production, but has suffered a bit, to put it mildly, so I hope to have the chance to taste it again in the future in better conditions.

During the event there was also an opportunity to present the EurHop! guide. Early comments are really enthusiastic.

The long night ended with that. The brewers avoided overstay because of other commitments. The morning after they got up early (including Kuaska, which was not very happy with what ) and headed for Borgorose, accompanied by a crew from the Discovery Channel. Who knows what will emerge from this brewers gathering…