On tap at Gentle Boozers in Rome. It pours a tequila-sunrise amber appearance, small creamy foam lowering pretty fast. Nose: charming sourness if red fruit, pretty soft with a some pepper notes. Mouth: lovely soft peppery mouthfeel, mild cherries, balanced tartness, clean finish. Good.

On tap at Gentle Boozers in Rome. Golden clear and vivid pour, with a medium long-lasting white foam leaving drafts. Nose: resin and malty. Mouth: resinous oiliness, malty overall, pretty clean.

On tap @Barley Wine (Rome). Bruna-rubino, torbida, schiuma assente. Al naso note di caramello, toffee, datteri, fichi secchi, leggera ossidazione. In bocca è dolce, caramellata, leggero carattere vinoso, ossidazione. Corpo medio, vellutata, piatta. Interessantissima, andrebbe solo rifinita un po'...

on tap dorata piuttosto torbida schiuma media non molto persitente vegetale floreale leggera acidita discreta secchezza fuori di Sambuco

Tap @4:20 in Rome-Italy. Semi-clear light amber pour with a compact off-white foam. Nose: yeast, bready, flour, pinch of maltiness and resin. Mouth: sweet malty, some sweet pastry, easy in a way with a sweet malty overall and a chicory aftertaste.

Robust porter brewed with cristal malt, chocolate malt and oats (among others) and hopped with Summit and Dana; made by Opperbacco with the help of two experienced local hobby brewers. Bottle from Gedeelde Vreugde shared with Goedele and Andrea. Very thick and frothy, ‘plastery’ lacing, pillowy, ecru-beige head, stable over an initially clear, blackish beer with deep burgundy-bronze hue, turning misty with sediment. Aroma of toasted bread, green coffee beans, coffee grounds, dried blackberries, salmiak, bayleaf, dried prunes, dry chewing tobacco, dry tree leaves, roasted hazelnuts, caramel, touch of whisky. Restrained fruitiness, dried plums and elderberries, light baked banana accent, sweetish and sourish with fizzy carb but refined enough not to become too strong or numbing; supple, lightly oily body, walnutty and toasty, more bitter than sweet but in a pleasant, gentle way, although more chicory- and coffee-like roasted bitterness develops in the end, highlighted by peppery hops with a light herbal accent. Some caramelly maltiness underneath keeps lingering in the background. Clear and clean, nothing out of the ordinary in the vast ocean of today’s craft stouts and porter, but very enjoyable, balanced and technically flawless. But more a dry stout than a robust porter, perhaps…

The ‘red’ version of Opperbacco’s rye saison, flavoured the Belgian way with coriander and curacao. From the trusted stubby Opperbacco bottle, bought at Gedeelde Vreugde. Snow white, irregular, medium thick, moussy head lacing in dots over an initially clear, warm ‘metallic’ orange-hued amber beer, turning misty and more peachy-tinged with sediment. Aroma of cherry jam, marmalade even, dried banana, honey, bergamot, rumptopf cherries, ripe medlar, caramel sauce, yellow raisins, vague camphor. Sweetish fruity onset, apple, medlar, banana and candied orange impressions but nothing too overpowering or cloying, softly fizzing carb, supple and lean mouthfeel; slick caramelly and thinly peanutty malt base, rounded and somewhat resinous; spicy notes of dried coriander seed and curaçao are obvious enough and a tad ethereally aromatic, blending with a late, mellow hop bitterishness. Dried fruity and caramelly notes linger. Nothing too ambitious or pretentious, aged a bit in an unexpectedly elegant way, basically a classic Belgian style ‘ambrée’, but a technically accomplished one for sure.

Bottle: Poured a brownish with no head. Aroma is sweet malts. Taste is sweet boozy.

bottle oro carico piuttosto velata speziata erbaceo lieve citrico amaro medio spezie ed erbe Radice un po ruvida