Category Archives: Italy

Baladin Xyauyù Barrel

Brewery: Birra Baladin
Country: Italy
ABV: 14%
Style: Barleywine – English
Other Notes: 2014 vintage, bottle #0402

Brewer Description: (from Untappd) It represents the complex expression of Teo’s mind in the creation of his couch beers. An high fermented beer after a macro oxidation process and 12 month aging in rhum barrels, which give a natural and turbid aroma. In the glass is without cream and gas.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 500ml waxed and corked bottle, 2014 vintage, bottle #0402. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Dark brown in colour with no head and no lacing.
Aroma: Dark fruit, raisin, dates, rum, molasses, caramel, toffee, and a touch boozy.
Taste: Like the aroma, sweet, dark fruit, raisin, dates, rum, brown sugar, molasses, caramel, toffee.
Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied, a touch syrupy, no carbonation.
Overall: Definitely a sipper as it was almost too sweet for me. Just not as balanced as the Fumé.

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Baladin Xyauyù Fumé (Islay Whisky)

Brewery: Birra Baladin
Country: Italy
ABV: 14%
Style: Barleywine – English
Other Notes: 2014 vintage, bottle #1762

Brewer Description: (from Untappd) It represents the complex expression of Teo’s mind in the creation of his couch beers. An high fermented beer after a macro oxidation process and 12 month aging in Scottish whisky barrels from Islay, which give a natural and turbid aroma. The color is deep dark brown with copper notes, in the glass is without cream and gas.

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.68
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.5

Intro: A 500ml waxed and corked bottle, 2014 vintage, bottle #1762. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: A copper bronze colour, almost syrupy with no head and no lacing.
Aroma: Peat, leather, dark fruit, whisky.
Taste: Moderately sweet, dark fruit, brown sugar, toffee, caramel, light peat, and smoky notes.
Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied, a touch syrupy, and no carbonation.
Overall: An excellent sipper with good balanced sweetness. Admittedly, there was a worry on my part that this would be overly sweet like the Xyauyù Barrel, but no, it was really enjoyable.

Ca’ del Brado Nessun Dorma

Brewery: Ca’ del Brado
Country: Italy
ABV: 6.4%
Style: Sour Ale

Brewer Description: (from bottle in Italian) Nessun Dorma è una Vieille Saison, stile tradizionale dell’Hainaut, provincia della Vallonia. Il mosto, realizzato con buona percentuale di frumento non maltato e avena, riceve una luppolatura delicata di luppoli nobili. A seguito di una fermentazione in acciaio attraverso Saccharomyces, la birra affina da 6 a 8 mesi in tonneaux e barriques (che precedentemente contenevano vino), con contaminazione di brettanomiceti e batteri lattici. Il blend finale produce una bevuta rustica e dalla marcata presenza acidula. Note citriche, speziate e di frutta bianca sono ingentilite da sentori floreali e dalla complessità conferita dal legno. Nessun Dorma è una birra rinfrescante con una profondità selvaggia, che potrà certamente godere di un ulteriore invecchiamento nella vostra cantina.

(translated to English) Nessun Dorma is a Vieille Saison, a traditional style from Hainaut, a province of Wallonia. The must, made with a good percentage of unmalted wheat and oats, receives a delicate hopping of noble hops. Following a fermentation in steel with Saccharomyces, the beer ages from 6 to 8 months in tonneaux and barriques (which previously contained wine), with contamination of brettanomycetes and lactic bacteria. The final blend produces a rustic drink with a marked acidic presence. Citric, spicy and white fruit notes are softened by floral scents and the complexity given by the wood. Nessun Dorma is a refreshing beer with a wild depth, which will certainly enjoy further aging in your cellar.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.8
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.6

Intro: A 375ml bottle with a best before date of December 2024. Poured into a Holy Mountain tulip glass.
Appearance: A hazy pale orange colour with a thin white head that dissipated quickly, while leaving some decent lacing.
Aroma: Lightly tart, white wine grapes, light funk, lime peel, and slight wood notes.
Taste: Sour, tart, lemon, white wine grapes, green apple, oak, with light funkiness.
Mouthfeel: Medium to light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Balanced and easy to drink. Would love to try more from this brewery.

Birra del Borgo Vecchia Ducale

Brewery: Birra del Borgo
Country: Italy
ABV: 8.5%
Style: Belgian Flanders Oud Bruin

Brewer Description: (from website) Inspired by the Oud Bruin, we left our Ducale rest in barrel for over a year and then we bottled it with extra young beer. The result is a sweet and bitter beer, with wine hints and an astringent finish.

My rating: 2
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.12
My ratebeer.com rating: 2.9

Intro: A 330ml bottle with a best before date of February 2020. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: Dark brown in colour with a bronze ruby hue and pretty much no head or lacing.
Aroma: Tart-ish, balsamic vinegar, cherry, prunes, vinous and lightly woody.
Taste: Oak, woody, sour, balsamic, cherry, vinous with hints of light toffee and astringency.
Mouthfeel: Acetic harshness, light to medium bodied with extremely low carbonation.
Overall: This was on and off for me. At times it seemed ok, but perhaps it was the combination of acetic harshness and the lack of carbonation that ultimately led me to lean on the lower end. Just didn’t work for me when compared to the classic Oud Bruin’s.

Birra del Borgo Duchessic

Brewery: Birra del Borgo
Country: Italy
ABV: 5.3%
Style: Belgian Saison
Other Notes: Duchessa spelt beer cut with 20% of one year old lambic from Brasserie Cantillon

Brewer Description: (from website) A sort of “collaboration brew” with the famous Belgian brewery Brasserie Cantillon: an interesting experiment about spontaneous fermentations. Our traditional Duchessa – spelt beer – has been cut with a 20% of one year old lambic from Brasserie Cantillon. The result is a unique beer that extraordinarily merges the lambic sharp and sour characteristics with the gentle notes of Duchessa. A real gem not to be missed, as the former version’s great success confirms. Try it with different kinds of cheese, especially with blue cheese.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.44
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.3

Intro: A 330ml bottle with a nice unique bottle shape and a best before date of April 2017, poured into a Cantillon ballon glass.
Appearance: It poured a nice clear golden colour with a one finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly but leaves nice lacing.
Aroma: Tart, lemon peel and oak with a hint of apple and funkiness.
Taste: Tart and funky with fruity lemon and apple. Not overly sour, and in fact I got a lightly sweet apple cider finish.
Mouthfeel: Dry, light bodied with high spritzy carbonation.
Overall: This was nice and refreshing. I am lucky to have one more bottle, which is a good thing considering Birra del Borgo is now under AB InBev and seeing the lengths that Cantillon have gone to, it appears that, even if this beer is produced again, that it will NOT be with lambic from Cantillon. Therefore if you can still find this, it’s definitely worth a try, even possibly a last try!

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