Gina
La Birreria

Gina (by The Birreira Brothers)

Had at Birreria, the Eataly NYC rooftop brewery and bar on Tuesday 7/26/2011. Listed on the beer menu as Gina, Thyme Pale Ale. "A traditional American Pale Ale with fresh thyme from the hills of Borgorose, Italy. A twist on a classic."

Pours cloudy orange with a massive 2 finger creamy tan head that faded slowly, leaving great lacing with rings as it went down.

Smells of light malt and herbs, and basically nothing else; it's very strange that there is no aroma to discuss.

Tastes of sweet malt, grass, hay, piney hops or pine cones, herbs, light spices like pepper, coriander and cinnamon; strange herbal taste, which must be the thyme. Interesting, but not as flavorful as I expected.

Mouthfeel is very creamy with zero carbonation, a medium body and zero aftertaste. Decent drinkability, this was good but a little on the dull side. Perhaps my expectations were too high since this was part Dogfish Head, but either way this beer just seemed a tad bit basic.

BEER NOTES: this was listed under House Brews as Gina, a cask ale by Birreira Brothers that’s a Thyme Pale Ale. Birreira Brothers is a group made up of Brewmasters Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head, Leonardo Di Vincenzo of Del Borgo and Teo Musso of Baladin. La Birreria di Eataly puts their collective years of experience and of “off-centeredness” to the test with three cask-conditioned ales exclusively brewed on the Eataly rooftop brewery. In the spirit of Eataly, La Birreria’s in-house ales are inspired by ingredients and by Italian character. They are made with the finest raw materials like American and European malted barley, the freshest hops and unique spices. Each beer is traditionally brewed and served through a hand pump at the perfect temperature to capture its full flavor.

Cask ale. Pours (pumps) to a sudsy big bubble but permanent head. Hazy orange. No lacing. Aroma is APA with a hint of thyme. Smells somewhat like original Listerine, which has thymol as an ingredient. Flavor is a mild , slightly toasty pale ale kissed with thyme spice. Mouthfeel is good. Goes great with Italian food.

A-Pours an amber color with a nice head and lacing
A-Aroma has hop and malt hints
T-The taste follows the nose with a hop and malt flavor flavor
M-A medium bodied decently carbonated beer
O-A good beer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Draught @ Birreria: This one poured a hazy, orangish color. There was a small off white head on it that didn’t linger too long, or leave much lacing. Interesting nose. I can smell a bit of the thyme. Light malts, a hint of pine and grain also. The taste is OK. Very subtle flavors. The thyme is there, but not overdone. Malts, hint of bitterness. It is a little hard to describe but it is good. A nice, unique beer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Had this brew "Gina" a half dozen times since the rooftop bar was opened last spring. My first few times, I remember thinking the spicy thyme aroma worked nicely as a strong component of the nose but was glad its presence was more subtle in the taste.

The flavor profile from today's pour is WAY off from my previous experiences; unreal amounts of thyme overpower everything else. The beer currently in front of me deserves a 1.5, but I'm rating this based on an average of my multiple experiences. When done properly, this is a balanced and tasty beer. But today, it's a crazy mess worthy of a drain pour.

All that aside, mouthfeel is huge and creamy. Love cask beers. Perfect example of a beer you should sample before buying a full pint.

I had this on-tap at Lord Hobo during the pre EBF throwdown.

Appearance: Pours a clear amber color with a layer of off white head that fades to a ring around the edge of the glass.

Smell: Very herbal, which is to be expected. Not very sweet, but I'm picking up the bread like grain.

Taste: Some herbal malt flavors up front with bitterness showing up after a bit. The finish is where you can really tell this beer was brewed with thyme.

Mouthfeel: Medium body with tingly carbonation and a slick finish.

Overall: This beer was a bit weird if you ask me. The herbs and hops didn't do real well together. Would have preferred if they let the herbs do more of their thing.

 

Not impressed here. Paid $10 for this with tip after waiting over an hour. What I got was a below average beer that did mot even resemble anything like craft. Beer came hazy and reeked like a medicine cabinet. Flavors did not go together at all. Tasted Minty not like a beer. Save the thyme for the food please. No real hop flavor and who wants to drink a $10 warm flat beer when it is 95 degrees on a rooftop? No thanks I will take a nice Allagash White or ice cold pilsner instead. No value here and a very mediocre beer at best.

EPIC FAIL HERE

Nothing really jumped out at me from this beer it wasn't anything crazy.

Served from a cask into a pint. Golden yellow seethrough. Head was very minimal and dissapeared rather quickly

Smell was very minimal. No smell of thyme coming through the nose. There is some slight grassyness but not specific to thyme

Taste . Very average pale ale not much bite, malt was prevalent as well with some piney hops but very minimal. The grassyness was apparent on the finish but it didn't stand out enough to call advertise it as a thyme "fused" beer

Mouthfeel was average. Medium carbonation a little bit slick and a little watery.

Overall: not very impressed to tell you the truth especially for it's ridiculous price. My friend ordered their IPA which was better but that's a different review.