Bottom-fermented 'premium' amber beer from an old Italian industrial style brewery (in existence since 1848), distributed by very industrial Forst since the nineties. Bought from an Italian delicacy shop in Waasmunster. Pale greyish-tinged off-white, moussy, medium thick, cobweb-lacing head resting stable on a crystal clear, pure and deep 'ruddy' amber coloured beer with lots of sparkling. Aroma of cooked cloth and melting rubber - the unmistakable effects of pasteurization, toasted peanuts, caramel but not in a sweet way, rusty iron, old crackers, grass, dried basil, vague old dusty hazelnut touch. Clean onset, no fruitiness, going straight to a slick, bit glueish maltiness, medium carbonated, tasting like peanuts, caramel and a bit of toast, the latter in an industrial way (prepacked crackers or something) with a slight metallic side note; ends mildly bitterish from the toastiness of the malts more than from hops even if a grassy note is certainly there, but the pasteurization that killed the beer is there too, with a rubbery, bubblegummy and 'cooked cloth'-like effect draped over everything - effectively ruining the beer for me. Very 'easy' industrial Wiener, admittedly a style you do not see often, but feeling like a maltier version of standard pale lager, which is basically what it comes down to in this case. Opt for Moretti La Rossa instead, if you insist on having an Italian industrial amber lager to wash down the pizza, of course... A stark contrast with all those beautiful craft beers Italy has brought forth in the past few decades.

330ml bottle, online from Beers of Europe. Pours amber pour with a white head. Aroma: toasted bread, caramel. Taste: light sweet & light to moderate bitter, malt led with light floral hops. Medium body and moderate carbonation. OK, goes down easy enough

330ml bottle, my third amber lager. Amber pour with then head, minimal retention. Aroma is toasted bready and caramel malts. Taste is the same at first but then has earthy floral hops to offset a little and adds a moderate bitterness to the finish. Moderate body and carbonation ok. Its not as good Brooklyn Lager or Samuel Adams Boston Lager which I have had previously but its decent if lacking in complexity.

Bottle, 0.33l. Clear golden pour, thin soapy white layer on top. Minimal lacing on the glass. Average on the nose, grains, stale grass, hints of honey. Malty background, a bit on the sweet side. Medium body, soft carbonation. Soft mouthfeel, chewy texture, slightly oily. Quite decent on the palate. Taste and aroma pretty much as expected. Sweet with lingering alcohol bitterness. Caramel malt, honey, stale grass. Herbal notes, grains. Sugary. Mild metallic notes. Medium alcohol presence that gets stronger as the drink warms up. Short lasting finish, dry, slightly boozy. Mediocre. No surprises here.