Duchessa
Birra Del Borgo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the first Birra del Borgo that I've rated above average. I tend to be hard on Italian ales as they are pricey and are not a good value, let's say, 90% of the time. I'm glad with Duchessa that I found another of my 10%.

Looks are average. But Smell, Taste and Feel present an integrated ale that uses different grains (spelt and probably wheat) and a yeast that almost takes it the level of the Belgian masters (but not quite.) The yeast works the grain into a feast of flavor that is interesting; although too different to make me really excited this first time around.

Del Borgo's "Retkinking Ale" is a great motto and, frankly, its results take an open-mind to judge; which I wish I could say I have most of the time, but I doubt I do. An open-mind to changing conventional tastes takes work thinking about what the brewer is trying to achieve. But after looking through Del Borgo's website, I can see they have done inventive thinking. It also is no small feat to persist for a decade brewing ale in wine country. And for that, I give them a very big OA hug.

Amber orange color with a thin head with short retention and with a constant plate.
Aroma with lots of medicine piney notes, white wine, orange marmalade and musk.
Flavor with note of pepper, mild cloves, herbal medicine, malt sweetness, orange tartness, white grapes, soap, hay, banana, musk, salt, grains, flowers and pineapple. Dry aftertaste with a mild to medium bitterness.
Light to medium body with slightly effervescent carbonation.
Decent Saison with friendly notes but still with good complexity. It mixes fruit, spices, funk-tartness, medicinal and grainy (spelt?) notes.

 

 

 

 

Poured from a bottle into a tulip glass

L: Cloudy amber/copper pour. Thin white head... no significant lacing.

S: Slightly tart... citrus and fruit.

T/F: Very light bodied... toasted grains... citrus flavor... sweet up front with a bit of tart/funk. Grassy. Minimal complexity. Very light bodied... poor carbonation, felt nearly flat. Finish is sweet grains.

O: Pretty uninspired. Not one I'd have again.

It pours yellowish amber with a lot of floaties. The aroma is indicative of a bitter brew and it expresses a mild floral-ness. The taste is bitter upfront with some malts and yeasty flavors later on. It finishes with more bitterness of the quinine-like variety.

A-Straw yellow with no head to speak of
S-Musky, earthy and grassy
M-Very low carbonation, medium mouthfeel
T-Sweet upfront with the standard farmhouse funk that comes into play and lingers on the palate and around the gums for a while. I didn't get any distinct farro, as advertised...
O-A decent farmhouse Ale, I'm usually not a huge fan...

Color is fine. Aroma has some hay / grass but very heavy on the loam smell. Flavor follows suit with a little lemon and grass but lots of soap / loam, pretty watery too

Birra Del Borgo "Duchessa"
on tap @ Open Baladin, Roma, Italia on 29 November 2015
€5 / glass

Notes: Mostly clear (it's unfiltered) golden-amber beneath a short head of creamy white. Good retention with better than average lacing. Aroma is yeasty, fruity (lemon, apricot, orange), and gently floral and spicy. The flavor displays sweetish malt with brighter citrus and a stronger spiciness that includes black pepper and some herbal character. This is a spelt beer but I don't really find that. It's bready, and sweetish, and perhaps a bit honeyish and then subtly tart and slightly woody but it's hard to tell what's coming from where. It's firmly bitter and the malt over-rides it at first, but the spice and subtle acidity help to balance it and bring it to a dry, peppery, and herbal finish. Medium to medium-light in body with a very fine-bubbled, delicately effervescent carbonation. Pleasant and enjoyable, it's actually more basic than it sounds here.

On-tap served in a stemmed glass at Mikkeller Bangkok.

L:
Slight hazy golden orange in color, it tops with thick creamy head that stays with decent retention before sinking to some bubble film atop and leaving lots of lacing patch on the glass-side.

S:
Funky, peppery, floral, light honey, fruity yeast in kind of banana, pineapple, orange, and tropical fruit. Bread and biscuit malt in the background.

T:
Some sourness and tartness in the lead, then it is some funkiness and fruitiness of lime, orange, and pineapple. Some peppery spice in the middle together with a little sweet bready malt undertone. Hop is a bit hidden with some earthy touch.

F:
Medium body, crisp with lively carbonation, rather smooth mouthfeel, very dry finish.

O:
Pretty good Saison, no ground-breaking.

Poured from a recently purchased 11.2 oz undated bottle into the modified tulip glass.
A - Satin wood yellow, huge carbonation, aggressive, cap is white and towering.
S - Musty, lemon rind, and dusty basement. Cut flowers and a bit of honey. Really nice.
T - Semi sweet grains, a bit of cheese rind, and again hints of must, calcium and salinity.
M - Stays in a narrow band, cheese rind, and marmalade.
O - So glad to have tried this, Similar to Blaugies spelt saison.
Worth seeking out

 

 

 

 

 

 

11.1 oz (33cl)Bottle from Boise Co-op. Poured into Duvel tulip, lazy carbonation, suspended particulates, thickish body. Deep golden cloudy pour, smallest of heads. Floral herbal aroma, some cheese, some mustiness. Graininess in the taste, close to a witbier, but I think it is the alternate grain (spelt) which is driving this beer's character. I've had this style before in Germany. spelt is an ancient food grain.

 

 

Love this funky, earthy but quaffable beer. It's nose is filled with spice and straw and the initial taste hints at yeast and farmyard. Fruit comes through in a subtle but pleasant finish.