La Zia Ale
Birradamare SRL

 

330ml bottle from Beers of Europe (£2.99):
Hazy golden with a thin, bubbly white surface lacing for a head. Floral & yeasty with some sweet notes & fruity hops then citrus further on. It's fresh & lively with earthy & pale malts carrying through to the taste, citrus hops & a strong floral taste with grassy touches, yeast & light spices at the end. It's medium bodied, surprisingly sweet & fresh with a smooth, moderately carbonated mouthfeel & a crisp finish.

Birradamare SRL "La Zia Ale"
33 cl green glass flask shaped bottle, "Da consumarsi preferibilmente entro la fine di 12 2019 Lotto 0053"

Notes via stream of consciousness: So, it's got nice packaging, I like that. It pours an amber body beneath a short head of white foam that holds OK. The aroma is clean and pleasant but I'm not getting the artichoke, and just a bit of the rosemary. It's pleasant though, and welcoming. Moving on to the flavor... well, it's similar. I'm still not finding the artichoke but to be honest although I've eaten artichokes basically raw and uncooked, and also cooked in several ways, I'm still a little unsure of what exactly their flavor is. So are they there? Are they not? I don't know, but some herbal character from the rosemary is. It's sweetish but not sweet with a light herbal character. Had I not known that the rosemary was there would I have figured it out? Probably not. Still, it's a good beer. I'm always for subtlety. Medium bodied and gently crisp. Overall an OK beer but nothing special, especially considering the ingredients.
Review# 6,120

A 330ml bottle with a BB of Dec 2018. Purchased a little while back from Booths. The label describes it as an ale featuring agricultural products from Latium, in this case artichokes and rosemary. Intriguing.

A: Poured into a tulip. Bottle conditioned. A deep, hazy amber colour with plentiful fine sediment and intense carbonation. Yields a massive head of fluffy white foam that lasts for a few minutes before settling as a persistent surface layer. Slight lacing.

S: Aroma of rosemary and herbs with hints of leafiness, earthy yeast, grainy malt and faint stewed husks. Balanced and surprisingly nice.

T: Tastes of aromatic herbs with notes of rosemary, subtle leafiness, earthy yeast, grainy malt and faint stewed husks. Slightly sweet, followed by a restrained herbal bitterness upon swallowing.

M: Mouthfeel is smooth, tingly and dry, with spritzy carbonation and good body. Mildly astringent. Aftertaste of aromatic rosemary, herbs, earthy yeast and grainy malt.

O: Great - a well-crafted brew with some unusual ingredients. Looks fantastic, while the aroma and flavour are an understated blend of rosemary, yeast and malt. The malt attenuation and bitterness are well judged. Lovely body. Different but tasty; deserves to be sampled if you come across it.