Birra Del Borgo Cortigiana

A

Alan Ball

Location
Bedford
330ml bottle-conditioned 5.2%

Aroma is quite hoppy and spicy with light citrus and honey notes. Taste has initial honey sweetness, becoming more bitter with light citrus, predominantly lemon I think, and spicy and herbal notes. Finish is quite bitter with more spicy and herbal flavours.

I got this in an Italian restaurant in Cambridge. It appears to be roughly in the style of a Belgian Blonde Ale. This is the first Italian bottle-conditioned beer I have tried. Pretty good; definitely better than Peroni.

They also do a porter with tobacco leaves added. Unfortunately, the restaurant had sold out of these.
 
Alan
I'd certainly recommend pursuing other Italian beers, but obviously avoiding the likes of peroni and other generic lagers. That said, if you ever see Menabrea on tap, then I'd recommend it, as although it might appear 'just another lager' it's got a bit more to it than that. Nowhere near as impressive in bottle.

Beyond that though, there is a very vibrant brewing scene in Italy, sometimes aping other styles, but sometimes producing quite unique beers (Baladin were early innovators). One common thread is how often they work well at the dining table, and quite a few restaurants in Italy have a small but decent beer selection to go with the food.

What was the Italian restaurant? I reckon the idea of a del Borgo beer with lunch might be a nice option when we next head over there.

regards
Ian
 
This was Carluccios. They also have one in Milton Keynes. The address is 1 Fisher Square, Grand Arcade. I think its quite near the Corn Exchange. The food is good too, but it gets pretty busy.

I have had Menabrea on tap some years ago in the Italian Lakes, and it is pretty good. I believe that M & S sell this as their Italian lager
 
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