Nobile
Birra dell'Eremo

 

Birra dell'Eremo "Nobile Golden Ale"
alla spina @ Serpente Pub, Roma, Italia

Notes: Mainly clear golden body beneath a fluffy bright-white head. Excellent head retention and lacing. The aroma displays golden grainy malt, fruitiness with some citrus including a spritz of lemon, and a touch of grassiness. The flavor follows with the addition of some apricot and apple. It's a rather straightforward ale in many ways, and yet it's really well-done and superbly balanced. It's quite drinkable right off the bat, even quaffable, but also drinkable in that there's enough character to it that you won't lose interest in a second glass.

 

33cl dark green bottle in a lovely swooping shape, purchased from Slowbeer by Sarah.

Pours an extremely pale white-yellow colour, almost the shade of a witbier. Hazing is also heavy. Body is fine but fluid, and the carbonation is holds is powdery and effusive. Head forms a solid film of white across the top. Looks pretty decent.

Nose is... extremely bland. Faint lightstruck character, over a dusty plain wheat floury character. Some yeast comes through as well creating all the earthy unpleasantness to underline the blandness. It's just really not very good.

Taste follows a similar line. It's so one-dimensional, and that one-dimension is really not very pleasant. Weak, yeasty and flat, with a very faint suggestion of bitterness on the back. But very little else. It's just straight, flat, dull and almost getting to unpleasant.

I just don't want to drink it. It's so bland, and yet it has this tendency to flirt with something truly nasty. I am not a fan.