Italian Backyard
5 Paddles Brewing Company

 

Pours caramel/amber with a fluffy white head. The head breaks slowly leaving some decent lacing in its wake. Smell is herbal, grassy and a bit of spice. The flavor is herbal, likely from the basil, some peppery spice and a touch of malts. The feel is medium with prickly carbonation.

This one misses the mark for me. It just seems to be trying too hard , and coming up short.

Nicely made but the basil was not as prominent as I thought/hoped it might be. In a lot of ways this could have just been any other beer. Might have been too cold to the table, so I will try it again. I was hoping for something more along the lines of Churchkey's rosemary ginger, so maybe I simply set myself up to be disappointed. Jury still out until the second go around ...but hey, if you're gonna call your self spiced, then make it so.

Italian Backyard has the tired golden colour of an autumn Tuscan countryside and a head kind of like a typical nonna: robust, loud, lovely. You can actually hear this puffy foam sparkle while in action; what it shapes isn't quite on the level of a Bernini or Michelangelo but could pass for white marble.

The aroma combines notes of fresh-baked bread, summer flowers and fresh cooking herbs in such a way that is strangely comforting. There's something particularly wholesome and calming about this bouquet even though it's not terribly different from that of a standard pale ale.

On the palate, however, things takes a bit of a step back as overly excited bubbles and a kind of cardboard-ish maltiness suddenly start calling the shots. I'm not all that surprised the basil flavour is so subtle (if at all perceptible) but I'm shocked at how muted the floral/herbal hop qualities turn out to be.

Some beers grow on you. Others don't. This one did not. One positive I will concede was that warming and repetitive swirling - not too much because the carbonation is roused enough as is - did uncover more of the basil's distinctive part-minty, part-peppery characteristic and its occasional hint of licorice.

Italian Backyard is a beer worthy of being brewed but can probably be done better. Not as digestible or food-friendly as I anticipated, this drank like a straight-forward, slightly over-carbonated and under-hopped pale ale with not enough Italian basil flavour to satisfy my liking (then again, I love the stuff).

 

 

 

A beautiful hazy toffee coloured pour. Lovely aroma's of biscuity malt and Italian basil. A very refreshing light beer. The malt perfectly complements the basil. Lightly carbonated, light head retention.

 

 

Bottle: Poured a clear yellow color ale with a large white foamy head with good retention and some lacing. Aroma of sweet malt notes with light herbal notes. Taste is also dominated by lightly sweet cereal notes with light herbal notes. Body is about average with good carbonation. Enjoyable beer but I thought the basil notes could have been even more upfront.