One Good Italian Beer

Last night at Monk's, me and Brittany indulged and splurged  on a bottle of Baladin Super Sour 2004, (we thought it was 2005, but oh well). It was the second time I had this beer, the first was at Teresa's, and even then I thought it was excellent.

There aren't many good Italian beers out there, and really that's only because Italy isn't really known for their beer or beer drinkers. The two big ones you see here in America, Peroni and Birra Moretti are OK. Peroni reminds me a little bit of Heineken, maybe a little better. Birra Moretti is the better of the two, but the last one I drank had a strange metallic-malty taste.

Baladin Super Sour is perfectly sour. It doesn't have that phlegm-y effect that some Geuzes and Lambics have on the mouth. It's an 8% sour that doesn't have a strong alcohol taste, sort of like Russian River Consecration that has a similar ABV, but lacks that high alcohol flavor. It's a lighter beer than Consecration for sure, pouring a golden reddish color. My only complaint is that at first the smell can be a bit overpowering, almost like cheese dipped in vinegar and beer. But thankfully, that's all in the smell and the taste is rather pleasant.

The bartender at Monk's explained to us that Baladin originally made this as a Lager, but the batch got infected and they just decided to add the sour-inducing yeast during fermentation. When I looked up a review of the beer on Beer Advocate, I wasn't surprised that the one review it had was a D+...I still enjoyed it, but I think the strong smell and sour taste may be off-putting to some.

If you're looking for something funky to drink, definitely check out Baladin Super Sour 2004 or 2005.