cask lieve ambrato un po velata schiuma persisten piuttosto corposa cereali nota fruttata poco secca

On tap Quasi scura velata caffe in polvere secca una lieve nota fruttata tosture discreta secchezza amaro contenuto can quasi scura rubino discreto arrostito un po cacao una lieve liquirizia secca amaro medio basso

There's literally an explosion as the thinnest whiff of air enters the can. A fountain of beer is launched in the air. What i'm left with in the glass is about 1/3 of the can content. The beer was surprisingly flawless for such huge gushing, so i will score it regardless of the event, except for appearance, where i can't give more than 1. I paid for 440ml, not for 150. Black colour with a quite big, frothy white head. Good retention and nice lacing. A clean and simple but nicely vivid aroma of roasted malts with coffee/coffee grains notes, plus light vanilla and a hint of something fresh on the back of things (i could maybe describe it as half mineral/half balsamic). Taste notes follow the aroma. It's a very classic and simple interpretation of the dry stout style, with excellent sweet/bitter balance in the mouth, a hint of dark malts acidity and firm (but not too strong) dry bitterness in finish and aftertaste. Light body with average carbonation (surely a bit higher than style standard and maybe related to the gushing problem), still resulting in a quite classic easy, semi-smooth mouthfeel. Nice true to style interpretation; could have scored higher without the gushing. Update, may 2024: opened with a lot of caution.... Everything fine with this one. Notes are a perfect replica of the previous review, even carbonation wise. Taking appearance rating back to normal.

Cask at FOB, Rimini, Italy. Pours pitch black, with limited fine brown foam. Aroma is coffee, a little chocolate and vanilla. Body is fairly thin, with practically no carbonation. Taste is very moderate sweet, with some final roasty bitterness. Final is average.

Tap @So Good in Rome-Italy. Golden pour a bit unclear, white frothy head. Nose: malty and slightly yeasty, almond. Mouth: medium-moderate carbonation, thin body, malty backbone.

Pours mid to dark brown, with reddish hints if seen through light. About one finger of rather dense off-white head that recedes quite quickly, leaving little lacing. Malty aroma of dark bread and coffee grains, with maybe a slight toffee note. Simple but clean and rather vivid. A bit less vivid/bright in the taste: slightly roasted base of dark bread, light coffee, perhaps a toffee hint. A touch of cola-like feel gives it a bit of freshness. Well balanced in the mouth, with the slightest bitter edge in a semi-dry finish. Light bodied as obvious, with very light carbonation too. Probably too watery in mouthfeel, even for the style. Overall, a pleasant enough mild. Does it's job as an highly drinkable session beer, but i've had better examples of the style. This one fell a bit short in both taste depth and body/structure. (p.s. wonderful labeling).

Handpump @Luppolo Station (Rome). Bruna intensa, schiuma beige/avorio media. Al naso note di malti tostati, caffè, leggero erbaceo, lieve terroso. In bocca è morbida, con amaro in chiusura leggermente caffettoso, esile di corpo, buona mineralità. Carbonazione soft. Molto buona.

Handpump @Luppolo Station in Rome-Italy. Dark Amber almost brown with orange highlights and tick ivory foam. Nose: ground barley, roast and mou. Mouth is sessionable with a character background of roast and a bit earthy.

Cask at Malto, Riccione, Italy. Pours reddish brown, with very fine cream foam. Aroma is malty, toffee, figs. Body is average, with pretty much no carbonation. Taste is medium sweet, with subtle roasty bitterness. Final is average.