Draught in Livorno: pours clearish brown with white head. Aroma is dark fruit, some pine or something. Somewhat bitter. Light sweetness. Good enough.

IPA by Albani, a Danish brewery dating back to the 19th century but now – along with Ceres and other brands – under Royal Union. Egg-white, creamy, membrane-lacing, stable head over a misty peach blonde beer with beige-ish tinge and visible sparkling. Aroma of fresh wormwood or dandelion leaf, grapefruit peel, old bread crust, dried sage, herbes de Provençe, ‘soup meat’ note somewhere (proteins), rose petals, chervil soup, marjoram, white pepper. Clean onset, dryish with notes of dried old orange peel and unripe peach, lively carbonation, supple body; rounded and somewhat oily, bread-crusty, grainy malt bill bittered by very herbal hoppiness, reminiscent of dried grapefruit peel but equally so of marjoram, rosemary and chervil. A long, leafy, quinine-like, resinous bitterness ensues; aspects of ‘green herb soup’ and ‘herbes de Provençe’ linger, instead of the fresh, radiant exotic fruitiness and sweet citrusiness I was expecting from an IPA showcasing Mosaic. Not extremely unpleasant or anything like that, just failing to deliver what it promises and below average in that sense – or, indeed, a rather awkward attempt at postmodern IPA by an old brewery who made its fame and fortune long before the craft beer movement came about, like we see popping up in Belgium every now and then as well… Could have been an old keg as well so I’ll give this the benefit of the doubt until I can obtain a fresh can.

Can, Netto store Copenhagen. Clear amber, smaller white head, medium lasting. Nice flowery nose with some lovely sweet fruits. Medium bitterness, gently dry and grassy but with some final sweetness. Medium grassy aftertaste. Light body. Nothing special, but nicely drinkable.

Delikatne białe owoce, tropiki i słodowe, ziołowe, daje żelazem. Barwa miodowa, ładna piana i lacing. Goryczka zaznaczona, tępa, łodygowa, nieprzyjemna. Lepiej kupić coś innego.

33cl can. Poured almost clear golden in color. Some citrusy hops, turns stuffy after a few sips. Not hopeless though.