Hello and welcome back to the Eternal Hoptimists,
You know that familiar phrase ‘Looks can be deceiving’, well, I hope that this is not the case when it comes to this IPA from Italian micro brewery Mastri Birrai Umbri as this beer just oozes class when it comes to appearance. The bottle has been carefully designed with the brewery name imprinted into the glass with indentations on the main body and a classy paper wrap that covers the bottle cap. It certainly gives off the impression that this is a beer that could easily be found in a swanky London restaurant and sold at a high price.
Unfortunately, I do not speak Italian so I am limited in what words on the bottle label I can decipher other than ingredients and the fact that this is an Italian pale ale, crafted in Italy. So taking this into account what appears in my glass will be a bit of a mystery. Let’s hope that it certainly lives up to its appearance!
1. Name : IPA
2. Brewery: Mastri Birrai Umbri, Perugia, Italy
3. Hops : Not specified
4. Grain : Barley & Malt
5. Aroma : Malty backbone with only a slight hop presence. Very much has the aroma of a traditional English IPA.
6. Appearance : Pours amber in colour with a slight haze and a lingering one finger fluffy white head that leaves a good lacing in the glass.
7. Body : Medium bodied with a pretty easy drinking mouthfeel
8. Taste : I eluded to the aromas being similar to a traditional English IPA and the taste also echoes this. Strong malty backbone with only a slight hop presence that leaves a hint of bitterness on the palate.
9. Allergens: Contains fructose
I really did not know what to expect with this when I picked up the bottle but when it hit the glass and my palate I was somewhat surprised that this is in all but name a traditional English IPA. Now, I am a bit of a sucker for this style so in that respect I was quite pleased however when it came to the taste I was pretty underwhelmed.
I was hoping that by the classy presentation that this would be a quality beer but ultimately it failed to live up to expectations. Yes, this will certainly look good behind the bar or in a restaurant and if brought to you by table staff you would be impressed however, it was just a little meh.
I can certainly see this on the menu of a swanky restaurant and I expect that you would pay a premium for it but regular drinkers of IPA’s will probably think the same as me in that there is really not all that much to get excited about. As a product it is pretty good but as a beer there are far better out there. Drinkable, but won’t live long in the memory.
Marks overall rating: 2.8/ 5.0
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