What beer are you drinking now? #4294

Good morning.
Beyond the fact that human beings are inclined to schematize even what cannot be schematised, this beer is part of a style born in our Peninsula.
Because if many believe that Italian Pils is not a real style, well the first to brew a beer starting from a base of cooked grape must comes right from here.
Obviously the enlightened BJCP deemed it appropriate to include this category only with Grape Ale because since after the BB10 of the Birrificio Barley (Cagliari, ITA), everyone now uses this technique using their own local grapes, so the suffix "Italian" has been removed from the name and it has remained "Grape Ale ".
Ridiculous ? Yes.
Are any of our artisans interested? No.
Are their dogmas taken into consideration by those who start producing beer? But God forbid.
It's good practice to have a laugh in front of those who, in an attempt to find a specific schematic position for each beer, end up contradicting themselves and making themselves clownish.
Any good and honest craftsman knows what he is doing and what he is drawing inspiration from to do it.
In my opinion, it's now more of a subsidiary for a judge who at festivals has to try to make decent evaluations of dozens of beers drunk on the same day.
No longer a current tool.
Having made the necessary introduction, today I will talk to you about one of our excellences. Yes, the Italian one is a young school but our craftsmen are masters of these beer styles, beyond the formal recognitions and prizes received in the various competitions.

Microbirrificio Opperbacco (Notaresco, ITA) - NATURE APRICOTCHE Vintage 2021 - Italian Grape Ale with apricots (7.3%)

It's an Italian Grape Ale with Trebbiano grapes from the Recchiuti farm (Notaresco, ITA).
The grapes are pressed by foot directly in the brewery and destemmed by hand to be placed on the bottom of the barrel to form a "pied de cuveé" (or Starter, it is a key phase of winemaking that must be followed carefully, to check that the grapes develop only positive yeasts. The "good" indigenous yeasts that are generated, added when necessary, will push the musts to ferment) in order to allow the "flora" present on the skins to proliferate and activate the fermentation of the beer.
Fermentation and maturation then take place for 12 months in oak barrels previously used by local wineries.
On the nose, aroma of apricot and bacterial notes.
When poured, it's orange in color with golden reflections, veiled but not too much and with an evanescent foam that disappears immediately, like that of a Prosecco.
In the mouth, a complex beer with new flavor nuances that emerge together with the dilution of the temperature of the beer.
The initially sweet notes of apricot soon take on a sour note which is in turn "rounded" by a fine woody scent, which lingers for a long time on the palate, while the finish is harmonious/soft which helps to favor the overall balance, mitigating the sensations “hard” (in particular tannins and acidity, which are still present and clearly noticeable even though the drink is "fast/rapid").
Even after drinking for a long time, these precious woody notes mixed with fruit remain in the palate, while the tongue is cleansed.
Not only extremely balanced in its complexity, but in my opinion truly valuable and distinct.
Regardless of personal tastes, when faced with a product like this one cannot help but appreciate the artisanal process (and also the final result).
In my opinion, if any of you who like spontaneous fermentations tasted it, you would want to take a few bottles across the ocean.
At the very least, I would recommend it given that it represents what I consider to be excellence in our brewing panorama.






Sláinte .
Cheers .

 

I apologize for expressing myself poorly. It was a distinction between two unrecognized styles.
On the one hand, Italian Pils, for not having distinctive features compared to the German tradition.
On the other hand, the Italia Grape Ale, a style created in 2006 with an Imperial Stout, called BB10 from the Barley Brewery on the island of Sardinia, which started its fermentation from cooked grape must which are not recognized as a style because each one follows the style with its own raw materials, so the category is now simply called "Grape Ale".
But I repeat, it is only a small highlight of one of the various contradictions encountered by those who try (in vain) to find a category for any specific beer. This discussion doesn't interest me much and luckily neither do (honest) artisans.
Then if competition judges need margins within which to color, or neophytes need a sort of map to orient themselves and take points of reference, they are welcome to use this guide which, in my personal opinion, rather than being considered a "Bible", should be considered a subsidiary.
Personal opinion eh... However, no, there are no grapes in Italian Pils , it's the fault of my lack of confidence with the language to express the concepts I would like to express.