Latin lessons

The Borefts Beer Festival tends to be a good place to get a cross section of brewing in Spain and Italy, and many of the leading lights from both countries have featured over the years. Two breweries from each were present at the 2022 edition.

We'll start in Italy, with Canediguerra in the north-west. Canediguerra Vienna Lager seems like a good opener, being one of those Vienna lagers which does nothing fancy with the style specs and is wonderful as a result. Not that it's plain: there's a fantastic complexity, perhaps aided by the slightly high 5.4% ABV. That seems to give it a nougat richness, with nuts and caramel on a slightly roasted and extremely crisp base. It's very impressive how they managed to balance the malt sweetness with clean dryness, and an extra surprise was the golden colour, which those in the know reckon to be the style's appropriate shade.

Sitting next to it in the photo, looking like everyone else's Vienna lager, is Objekt 007. This is described as a "fruity oud bruin" and is an almost unreasonable 8.6% ABV. It's not a style I particularly enjoy and this is a good example of why, from the solventy acetone aroma to the flavour of sticky throat lozenges. It tries to be sour but the sugar overpowers that. Some pleasant cherry notes are the only aspect I liked; otherwise it's just not for me.

Down closer to Rome there's Ritual Lab, selling beer since 2014 but not previously to me. As is my wont, I took the measure of them with their pilsner, Ritual Pils. It was a genuine surprise to find that this is in the Italian Pilsner style, modelled after Birrificio Italiano's Tipopils. As such, aroma hops feature strongly and from the innocent golden 4.9%-er comes a powerful waft of spicy perfume -- jasmine and bergamot. That follows straight through into the flavour and is so concentrated as to be a little bit shocking and difficult at first. I got used to it, however, and by the end of my small sample was thoroughly enjoying it. Sadly I neglected to go back for anything else, but I'll be keeping an eye out for any other Ritual Lab wares to come my way.

To Spain, then. Or, more accurately, the Basque country. Another new brewer to me was the poorly-named Drunken Bros from Bilbao. They too were at the pils game, claiming to have a German Pils Remastered. Big talk. It's another very pale one, this time 5% ABV. I didn't like the plasticky aroma but it probably shows that they're using proper German hops in the proper way. The mouthfeel is beautifully soft while the flavour offers a total contrast to the smell, being lightly perfumed, the floral notes turning to a gentle herbal bitterness in the finish. The confrontational name is unnecessary, but it really is an excellent example of pilsner in the German fashion.

Four beers and no kerr-azy imperial stout yet? The Bros have us covered. Kthulhu is 11.3% ABV and brewed with hazelnuts. It's very black and, presumably thanks to the nut oils, mostly headless. The aroma is a happy blend of cherries and espresso while hazelnut is at the centre of the flavour, balanced by drier roast and boosted by a warming liqueur effect. It's dangerously easy drinking and very nicely done overall, with lots of character but no silliness.

Laugar has been at Borefts before, and is familiar enough to have been allowed a collaboration with De Molen. Named after the stereotypical clothing of both breweries' homes, it's called Klompen & Txapela, and is a "smoked saison wine" infused with bourbon and chilli peppers. It's 13.6% ABV and a murky ochre colour. As expected the flavour is a riot of competing tastes, showing kippers, brown sugar and sweet sherry, most prominently: a combination nobody would, or should, willingly throw together. I've no idea if it works or not, it's just weird. This one is definitely built to be a festival special, served in small measures to the brave or foolish, and then never seen again.

Laugur has a side project called Wild Nation, producing fancy 75cl bottles of funky stuff. It proved popular, though I only tried one of them: Zubiete. This is a wild ale fermented in Bordeaux wine barrels, clear yellow with a little vinegar and a lot of farmyard in the aroma. There's a certain white wine aspect to the taste but it lacks fruit, being thin and sharp. At 5.9% ABV, it should be richer. As is, this tasted like an experiment. Not to judge the whole project on one glass of one beer, but Wild Nation seems like it needs more practice before it's in the upper echelons of European wild beer brewing.

One more Borefts post to come, wrapping up all the other countries in attendance.