10 April 2019

Phoney Peroni

A few weeks ago I was at Aldi's summer drinks press event. Wine mostly, of course, but they had one new (to me) beer in the line-up, an Italian lager which was obviously aiming to be an own-brand answer to Peroni Nastro Azzurro. Rossini matches Peroni's 5.1% ABV and I'm told is brewed by Swinkels, though I didn't know they had an Italian footprint.

On tasting it I was quite impressed. I have an active dislike for Peroni, considering it a cheaply-made lager that has gathered for itself an entirely inappropriate premium status. Rossini, on the other hand, tasted solid and decent, if unexciting. I decided it would be fun to try them blind side-by-side to test my prejudices. Is Rossini actually better?

Two days later I bought a bottle of Rossini in Aldi and a Peroni in Tesco. Unexpectedly, the latter was actually the cheaper of the pair, the 66cl bottle part of a 4-for-€10 while a half-litre of Rossini was €1.99. I had intended to run the tasting as a triangle test but there wasn't much point in the end: one beer was pale yellow with a stack of tight white foam while the other was a darker gold and lost its head quickly. I immediately had a suspicion of which was which.

Pale 'n' frothy was the more aromatic one, showing Saaz-y grass and petrol while the other smelled of nothing much. The paler one was bitterer to taste, but that's not in its favour. There's a sharp and quite harsh plasticky bite on the end, leading on to an unpleasant acrid aftertaste. I'll put my cards on the table now and say this is a nastiness I associate strongly with Peroni.

Supposed Rossini, then, was blander but definitely smoother and more full-bodied. There's a bread or biscuit malt character that made me think of Bavarian helles more than Italian or Dutch pils. The finish was clean and the whole thing very satisfying to drink. Dull helles beats crappy pils any day of the week.

The reveal proved me correct. What have we learned? Well, Peroni is still objectively awful and should never be consumed by anyone anywhere. Peroni purists, however, are unlikely to be swayed by Rossini's superficial similarities: the flavour profile is dramatically different. Asahi shareholders have nothing to fear from it while the drinking public can rejoice that Nastro Azzurro is safely uncloneable.

49 comments:

  1. "Peroni is still objectively awful and should never be consumed by anyone anywhere"

    Love it John! May I take this opportunity to request more eloquent skewering of crap macro brands on this blog...?!

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  2. Bottled Peroni is absolute sh*te. One should not judge bottled Peroni by its drinkers - BUT it's sometimes hard not to.

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  3. Anonymous11:15 pm

    Dick

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  4. Anonymous7:03 pm

    Whilst working in Ravenna Italy I was surprised the locals did not really drink peroni, mostly Birra Moretti and I soon figured out why,they are poles apart, even in the supermarket peroni had a small section on the bottom shelf and Moretti, numerous types filled up 4 shelves in the centre

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    1. I'm no fan of Moretti but it is leagues better than Peroni.

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    2. Anonymous3:10 pm

      Ichnusa is the best Italian beer

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    3. Emanuele9:05 am

      Hi, if you go to Italy Peroni and Nastro Azzurro (which is the one exported) are 2 different beers. The real Peroni has a red label and a brown bottle and it is better (imho) than Nastro Azzurro we drink in UK. People saying that Ichnusa is the best it's just because it is a product of their region....I've tried it and it's just a (barely) sufficient product. Best beers in Italy in my opinion are Menabrea, Forst and Baladin

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    4. But "Phoney Nastro Azzurro" doesn't rhyme.

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  5. Rossini is nice and inoffensive, I find myself picking the odd couple of bottles up on random nights.

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  6. Replies
    1. Anonymous10:21 pm

      Rossini is my go to lager,really refreshing 👌

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  7. Just tried Rossini wow in till I researched I couldn't believe it was brewed in uk wow what a drink

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  8. What are the best lager now days you tell me

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    Replies
    1. Keesmann Herren Pils, now and forever.

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  9. Hi beer nut i have just had my first Rossini and think it is very tasty, my favourite beer is San Miguel 5% i think 5.3% is very bitter and love Superboch as well, your view on these two please.

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    1. Both are a bit too thick and heavy for my taste.

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    2. Anonymous7:51 pm

      Hi Beer nut, me too just had my first Rossini, nice and light with a lovely refreshing flavour, perfect for the 35' heat tonight 😓

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  10. Rossini king. For much bette. A nice crisp finish, refreshing taste. I also agree, San miguel is far 2 thick n wheaty

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  11. junk.. peroni is unmatched. but rossini is actually a good alternative as it has many of the characteristics of peroni. but, then again it is a copy

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    Replies
    1. I found it had almost none of the characteristics of Peroni, beyond being a 5.1% yellow lager.

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  12. I've always said peroni was shite .
    Over priced ditch water .
    Rossini's a far superior drink.
    Peroni's just a staple for wankbags like Bud was in the 90's

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  13. Monkeybradders6:32 pm

    Drinking a bottle of Rossini now and I have to agree that it's far better than Peroni pi55 water.

    In Italy Peroni is a far nicer drink and it's in a red labelled bottle. The muck they send to us is just called Nastro Azzuro and nobody drinks it.

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    1. Anonymous9:15 pm

      I think there is a lot of cheap skates on hear trying to kid themselves that peroni is shite? Well I can tell ya I bloody love peroni and well worth the money

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    2. Good for you, but your trash opinions are worthless here.

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  14. Love Rossini as an alternative at the start but prefer it now ! Was always a Heineken drinker the 5% version not the 4.3% muck

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  15. Guinness is all you should drink from a pint glass.

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    Replies
    1. Nae. Guinness is the stuff they paint onto telephone poles. I'd sooner drink a crappy American Lite (sic) lager than that cough syrup.

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  16. Hi, I like Lidl Perlenbacher..whats your thoughts on this lager?

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  17. What do you think of Peroni Gran Reserva, 7%?

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  18. Anonymous4:21 am

    I've been enjoying Rossini for years now in the 500ml bottles.

    Noticed Aldi had some boxes the other night 12 X 330ml so I picked a couple up.

    Seems to be a totally different taste and not a very good one at that ��

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    Replies
    1. I guess they've changed breweries then.

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  19. Anonymous10:41 pm

    The bigger bottles were fine last week!

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  20. Well ,,,better than Carling

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    Replies
    1. I'll take your word for it. I have yet to review Carling on here.

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  21. I have to say that while not drinking much beer recently due to the type of yeasts they use today & the resultant negative effect on the gut, that I had a peroni - with pizza - last night as fuel for cleaning windows for an impending inspection, and it was So good that a brilliant description for the Chinese Asian market emanated from my mind & would have rolled off the tongue if,I'd had time to write it down - but Alas! The Peroni was So good that I had 4 of them, & devoured the pizza while I cleaned 3 windows and a sliding door, and forgot my "brilliant" critique . . . Next time . . .

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  22. Anonymous9:29 pm

    I agree on the while with your views on Peroni BUT I did have a very nice one, a Reserve or Cru, I forget which, and it was bloody lovely. Quite malty if I remember rightly....so quite different from normal Peroni. No doubt made tastier because it was drunk in the bar on the battlements of Castel Sant'Angelo in Rome. Sometimes, context is all!

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  23. Anonymous8:13 pm

    Rossini all day long
    I just like the photo you used on here what a scam

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  24. Anonymous6:45 pm

    Beer snobs are just as pretentious as wine wankers - just carry on drinking your pure, unadulterated, micro brewed pints of Old Smelly Socks or whatever it is - insert stupid name here - and stop trying to condescend to normal people, oh and by the way, don't forget to vote Liberal Democrat at the next election, they'll be weilding as much influence as your Colin Hunt views on beer.

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    Replies
    1. You seem nice. Though we don't have any Liberal Democrats in my country. Sorry about that.

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  25. Fabrizio C5:46 pm

    Saying “Peroni should not be drunk by anyone” is a little harsh, I do agree it’s not the best by far. However must be said that while it is recognized as Peroni, the truth is that this beer is not called as such in Italy, yet “Nastro Azzurro” (owned by Peroni) and for my experience it is not widely liked in Italy, however the true Peroni is way better beer!!! Too bad it’s not sold abroad (or not where I am anyway)

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  26. Anonymous6:07 pm

    Oh please! I am just drinking Rossini (classic Aldi name chasing the big brands) and after five minutes I still have a bad aftertaste.
    It’s not an independent brand and infact is made by Carlsberg. One of your commenters says Asahi was a better beer…they actually make Peroni.
    As for beer drunk in Italy I lived in Piedmont and Liguria and nobody ever heard of Moretti until now.

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    1. I don't think you get to exclaim "Oh please!" when commenting on a five year old blog post about supermarket beer. Maybe scale back the drama a bit. Nobody cares.

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