I have been working the last few days at another homebrew shop, not in some ways unlike the one in Flagstaff but a different set of challenges. I won't get into detail but it's interesting to see the differences of two shops in the same business. There is a lot of work ahead but it's good to put my beer knowledge back to work.

Gary Vaynerchuk has a great episode on beer worth checking out. While they do get a few of their facts wrong in regards to how a double IPA is created. But it is a great lineup of brews worth checking out.

With Birra Bran Raven I immediately knew it was a beer that the brewers cared about the condition it reached it's customers. The paper wrapper around the bottle to protect it from light damage made that clear. But that wasn't the only wrapper about this beer as it also seemed to be wrapped in a bit of mystery. No one seemed to know much about this beer. Even after tracking down their website it was little help because frankly I don't speak Italian, they don't have the site in English yet, and translation sites are iffy at best, so all I really had to go by was my own senses.

I opened the cap with a sharp pop, much like a Belgian ale, but there was a lack of effervescent carbonation that usually accompany such a loud burst. The cap was a mix between a traditional bottle cap and a modified plastic cork as evidenced below. (Bran's cap on the left, more traditional cap on the right)


As I poured the beer the color was a black with little head retention but then when I put the beer to light a deep red-brown emerges.

The aroma had roasted and coffee notes with some dried fruit component. No evidences of bitterness but it did vaguely reminded me of Old Ale or a Russian Imperial Stout.

When tasting the chocolate malt dominated but I also immediately noticed slight alcoholic warmth, that seemed to increase over time. As I mentioned earlier the carbonation not excessive considering the strong pop of the bottlecap-cork device. There was a heavy sweetness in the flavor and a slickness on tongue.

The warm alcohol character did confuse me for a bit. If the beer was 8.5% as the label indicated then it hinted to a fermentation problem I suspected. But then on the website it says Bran is a 10% beer which fits the hot alcohol warmth and body of the beer far better. I can more forgive a 10% beer for being hot than 8.5% beer. I suspect some form of labelling error took place and the higher number is closer to the truth. From my homebrewing experience better control of their fermentation temperature would reign in some of that hot character, but given enough time it will age out. My problem with it is I am not sure the beer has enough IBUs to withstand long term ageing and may become too sweet.

I asked an old friend who speaks Italian to translate this page for me and he mentioned that it said "there should be the tasting notes of their friend nicknamed "Illu". But since he is no longer willing to do that, they expose him (through the pictures) to the "mockery" of the public (as a punishment)..." so these are definitely folk with a good sense of humor.

In the end I think it is a immature or young Old Ale. I'd like to get another couple of bottles and age them out respectively 6 months and another at least a year or two and see where they go. I think they would get only more fascinating with a bit of time.

In a word - Yum!

The first thing I noticed about this beer as it sat on the shelf was the blue bottle. Then I saw it was also Italian and I couldn't resist. Besides Redstone Meadery and Tenant water it is the only blue bottle I have seen on the market. In fact from my homebrew days I remember the one blue bottle manufacturer most shops used had a problem with his oven and they aren't really available in the US anymore.

The beer had a slightly haziness with a deep copper color. The was a definite noble hop aroma. When I moved on to tasting it I only noticed only noble hop flavor but with a high level of bitterness. There was some crystal malt sweetness and a bit of roasted character. After considering the beer I'd call it an amber more intense version of a traditional European lager. Perhaps the first European made Imperial Lager I have run across.

At the end there was bit of trub but not as heavy as Fleurette. The beer came in at 6.5% and according to the label it should be served between 50-55 degrees, which fits my lager suspicion, but then the importer calls the beer an Italian Amber ale so I am not sure where it goes style wise. Postscript: The bottle does in fact state the beer is an ale, the serving temperature and beer character threw me off.

Birrificio Barley was founded by Isidoro Mascia and Nicola Perra. It is a brewery is located on the island of Sardinia in the town of Maracalagonis. In addition to Sella del Diavolo Barley brews Friska and Toccadibo. They are try to use local Sardinia ingredients in the beers whenever possible. Their goal is to be "a small craft brewery with the creative idea of producing beers that would be served on tables in parallel to wine" according to their website.

From the taste of Sella Del Diavolo I'd say they are well on their way to reaching that goal.

When I first heard of Fleurette beer and learned it had rose, citrus honey and black pepper I was immediately intrigued. I started to read about it I think on Jay's site that Vinnie Cilurzo was brewing a version of it with Agostino Arioli owner of Birrificio Italiano. I had the chance to sample the beer at the Russian River brewery in June and it surpassed my expectations. So I was pleased by being able to find some of the original in Atlanta.

It is odd that the the beer doesn't appear on the Birrificio Italiano website, even though there was a tag with both email and website over the top of the stopper. But the tag was a great way to present the information I thought as I sampled.

Another funny thing is no one seems to know exactly how to categorize the beer. Beer Advocate lists it both as a Saison and as a Belgian Pale ale. Because of the 3.8% alcohol level well below the range for both those styles I would think the BJCP category Belgian Specialty Ale would be best fit.

The ingredients list on the bottle are water, hops, barley, wheat and rye malts, roses, violets, elderberry, citrus honey and black pepper. Those alone indicate you are not in for an ordinary beer experience.

As I poured the beer it was highly aromatic and carbonated with a bit of haze from the unfiltered nature of the beer. The beer had a mellow coppery hue with the initial aroma of rose, citrus aroma with some honey character.

The beer had an almost champagne like qualities from the dry character to the effervescent character. But with more of a darker color and cloudiness than you would find in any champagne. As I drank it a lot of things in suspension became apparent as evidenced below.


It was refreshing, palette cleansing in a different way than yesterday's two beers. The beer had a wonderful complexity that really defies the current system of categories. I was pleased I had the chance to try it again.

I started off with these because to show where the craft beer in Italy is going you first have to see where Italian beer has been. Peroni and Moretti are the beers that your average Italian restaurant or pizza joint in the United States will have if they want to have a beer variety without taking any risks.

Peroni is brewed by Birra Peroni Industriale S.p.A. and Moretti or offically known as Birra Moretti is brewed by Birra Moretti owned by Heineken. They both fit into the BJCP Premium American Lager category.

The first thing I noticed about Peroni golden-yellow, very light color and highly carbonated. Next was a hop aroma with apparent light damage from green bottle. It was a musky skunked character and I took a bottle halfway back on the shelf when purchasing to try to avoid any potential light damage. The flavor was a light slightly sweet, grainy character left the palette very cleanly. A slight bitterness but it did not dominate the beer. Other than the skunking it was a clean beer and light on the palette but not much else there.

The Birra Moretti was also highly carbonated but had a golden yellow a bit darker in color. The beer had less aroma, ever so slight hop character, but not nearly as present as the skunk aroma in Peroni. I didn't have a side by side tasting but it seemed slightly heavier gravity than the Peroni. This one did have a slight lingering aftertaste perhaps from adjuncts being used in the beer. There was also a lingering carbonic bite on the underside of the tongue.

Overall if I had to pick one over the other unskunked I'd rather have the Peroni over the Moretti, with the skunking I'd take Moretti. Ultimately I'd rather have something more interesting entirely which is what I shall be enjoying next.

One of the things I have wanted to do for a while but haven't had the time nor opportunity is helping at a brewery. While brewing a batch of beer is the more glamorous job when Big Boss offered the chance to spend a day helping on bottling I leaped at the chance.

It was as much as I expected about six of the staff worked at various points on their bottling line and I helped along the way. Two guys made sure a constant stream of bottles were being feed to the system and kept an eye on the washing system. Another two made sure the bottles were being filled and capped properly. One person quality checked the bottles fill level and ensured the labeling machine did it's job. Last another person and myself grabbed the bottles and put them into cases as quickly as possible.

There would be runs as long as an hour of constant bottling until a minor adjustment issue would slow activity to a crawl and give us a chance to make sure we had all the equipment we needed close at hand. Because I was new to the process I was slower at boxing than the person I was working with but it didn't seem I was so slow to get in anyone's way. Occasionally someone would help us at the end of the process making sure the full boxes got on the pallet, but otherwise I think I held my own.

What was the work like? It was hard work, the room was warm and humid and we had the repetitive motion of moving around four bottles into a box until full then moving the box down to the pallets. Four bottles of beer don't sound like much to move, but when you do it a few thousand times it is quite a workout.

I walked away tired, sweaty, and thirsty for a beer or two. But it also provided me an insight into how much hard work goes into those bottles of craft beer in our refrigerators. That craft beers are very much a labor intensive work place for a smaller craft brewer and not just that but they are ultimately a labor of love.

Last, now that Big Boss has announced it's on tap I got to sample the Black Diamond Express before it went to tavern. This new beer is a light Belgian ale brewed with lemon and orange peel, and aged on blackberries. It had a light berry aroma and the flavor was light on the palette too not overwhelming as some fruit beers can be. As my sample warmed I noticed a bit of clove character become apparent as well which was a great counter point to the berry character. So head down to Horniblows Tavern if you are in the Raleigh area and check it out, you won't be disappointed.

After the move I have been busy with two main tasks finding work and the 2008 Parsec Awards. Now that the Parsec Awards were presented at Dragon*Con, it's back to your regular scheduled blogging.

One thing I have noted in the past was the growth in Italian craft beer. While I was in Atlanta this week I found a number of great examples of this new source of craft brewing at Green's Discount Beverage Store. They are a shop any beergeek will find their wallet a fair more empty after visiting, so I took advantage of the opportunity to pick some of the more unique examples.

The beer week will take off with more well known beers like Peroni and Moretti. Then four more unique offerings just starting to make the American shores. What I suspect they will show is that the new Italian beers will be the next beer center that will be on the lips and taste buds of beergeeks across the nation.