Aldobrandesca (Wheat Beer)

Beers & Ales

It is an ancient medieval recipe used from 865 A.D. in which, all cereals available in house were used in brewing. The Aldobrandesca beer is produced using five different varieties of malt with the addition of Wheat, and lower percentage of Spelt and Rye. The use of coriander and orange peel gives persistent special flavours.

It is a high fermentation beer which employs the yeast specific to wheat beers and a wine yeast of Traminer grapes. Fermented twice; the first in a fermenter and the second in the bottle which gives the beer a natural carbonation. This allows it to be stored at room temperature (max 28°C) and away from light .for 13 months after bottling Like all quality craft beers, it is produced with the best ingredients and simple and antique methods. Aldobrandesca is not pasteurized to preserve its very specific tastes and aromas.  Does not contain preservatives and/or chemical additives.

This beer is dedicated to the Aldobrandeschi family of Lombardy, leading figures in the history of the Amiata, which reigned over a wide area of Amiata from 865 A.D. and ruled for 500 years. The Aldobrandeschi family is mentioned in Dante's "Divine Comedy", the reformer Pope Gregory VII was related to this family.

Tasting notes: Persistent and well-structured foam, adheres well to the edges of the glass. Opalescent yellow colour due to the yeast in suspension. Fruity fragrance, predominantly of green banana and pineapple, with a hint of citrus with a high prevalence of orange peel. Good persistence of the flavor after poured in the glass. A beer of elegant and balanced taste. Intense aftertaste of corriander, always present, which combines with the hops.To get the best carbonation it is recommended to leave the bottle in the refrigerator at least 24 hours. Remove at least 10 minutes before drinking. Best served 6-10°C in a Weizenglass. Goes very well with pasta with sauces, broths and soups, matured cold cuts, grilled steak, fried fish, pizza, ice cream, sorbets.

SKU: 029769

Bastarda Rossa (Chestnut)

Beers & Ales

This is a Red Beer inspired by the Belgian Style. Bastarda Rossa is the name of the chestnut of Amiata (recognized I.G.P. - Protected Geographical Indication) that is used for brewing of this beer.  Bastarda Rossa is produced using: 6 different varieties of Malt; 3 different types of Hops and 20% Chestnuts IGP Amiata (fermentable).  It’s a high fermentation beer, employing Belgian Yeast.  Fermented twice, the first in a fermenter and the second in bottle which leads to a natural carbonation.  Birra Amiata buys dried and peeled chestnuts from the consortium of local producers.  the chestnuts are milled directly into small parts of the same size as of the grains of barley. The chestnut is added in the early stages of production, not only to provide a distinctive flavor to the beer, but to leave starch that is then transformed into simpler sugars and then into alcohol by the yeasts.  Mount Amiata is ideal for the cultivation of chestnuts.  Since the 14th Century, strict rules have been imposed on the Amiata communities for the protection and exploitation of the chestnut resource, both for the harvest of the nuts and for the timber production. The peculiarity of the Amiata ground is a balanced microclimate and disintegration of acidic volcanic rocks, rich in important aquifers. These conditions give the unique organoleptic characteristics of the Amiata Chestnut.  The I.G.P. protection requires that Chestnut trees are not treated with synthetic fertilizers or pesticides and the Chestnuts are harvested by hand or with appropriate systems to maintain the integrity and quality.  Amiata chestnut, is dried in the characteristic local (dryers or squeegees) through the heat, fire and smoke of beech or chestnut, then threshed (removal of the peel), eligible to be ground in special mills, and be transformed into chestnut flour.

Tasting Notes:    A head that is creamy and abundant. Chestnut brown with ruby reflections in colour. The aroma is typical of Belgian yeast, fruity esters and a sweetness on the nose. A structured flavor and after maturation, becomes soft and round. Initial sweet notes of caramel, followed by the chestnuts' delicate and persistent but not preponderant in the aftertaste. Very careful hopping leaves a delicate flavor of chestnuts in the mouth.  Best served at 8-10°C in a balloon glass, Goes perfectly with risotti, soups, stewed and braised meats, wild boar, fowl, and soft cheese.

Gold Medal - 3rd Mondial de la Biere, Strasbourg October 2011

SKU: 029785

Birra del Buttero - Marsilia (Gose Style)

Beers & Ales

"Il Buttero" is the Cowboy of Maremma in Tuscany, he's an icon of the region and the union between the typical Maremma dishes and our beer.  "Il Buttero" has always been symbol of Maremma and the indispensable figure on the farms. History tells that at 1st of March in 1890, there was a tournament between the American "Cowboys" and the Maremma Butteri during which the Butteri had to tame the horses of cowboys and vice versa. The Maremma Butteri won and hence their reputation for being the best trainers of wild horses lives to this day.  Even today around the campfires, the "Butteri"  recall the legend of Margherita, "La Bella Marsilia," a red-headed Marrema beauty who was kidnapped in 1543 by pirates and sold to the Sultan Soliman II. She became is most favoured wife and bore him two children thereby ensuring her family's direct succession and rule of the Ottoman Emprire. Marsilia is the "Birra del Buttero" dedicated to the sea of Maremma.

It is a "Gose" style beer;  first brewed in the early 18th century in the town of Goslar (Germany), from which its name derives. It was top-fermented with the addition of wheat and coriander. The fermentation was initially spontaneous.  When this style became very famous in Leipzig, the brewers started to add yeasts and lactic acid bacteria. The characteristic "savoury flavor" was the result of water of the river Gose, which crosses an area with deposits of rock salt and has a slight salinity.

Birra Marsilia smells of saltiness and delicate flowers that grow on the sand dunes of the coast. It's savoury aroma evokes the pureness of winter days by the sea. Brewed with natural raw sea salt and water from the springs of Fiora river.  Dominant flavours in Marsilia include a lemon tartness, a herbal hints and a strong saltiness, following the Gose production rules.

Tasting notes:  Made from water, barley, wheat, raw sea saIt, hops and yeast, it doesn't contain preservatives or chemical additives. With only 5% alcohol it has a bottle conditioned head with a foam of good grip. Golden yellow to orange coloured beer with fragrant and floral aromas on the nose with dominant notes of coriander.  It has a slight opacity and persistent foam, thanks to the quantity of wheat present. The nose perceives the spicy coriander, while in the mouth immediately stands out of higher acidity and lemon hints. Outstanding savoury flavor of the sea fills the mouth and persists in the aftertaste. Best served, in a Tulip glass at 7°C, with fish plates, especially raw seafood, sushi and appetizers, which are well matched to the beer. Thanks to the wheat content and low-alcohol percentage, it is a refreshing beer, ideal as an aperitif or at any time of the day. The crown cap with a special membrane (Bidule) guarantees the absence of contact with the metal cap and provides best seal. It has a shelf-life of 13 months.

SKU: 297366

Contessa (Italian Pale Ale)

Beers & Ales

Contessa is a Blond Double Malt beer. Although American hops and American yeast are used and the recipe is Amiata's interpretation of the English style, we believe that IPA should really translate into Italian Pale Ale.  Herbal, floral and scents of summer and the full moon can be found in this extraordinary beer. A key ingredient is revealed by the water used, particulary pure and light. Contessa is a high fermentation beer; fermented twice, the first in a fermenter and the second in the bottle which prooduces a natural carbonation. Like all Amiata quality craft beers, it is produced with the best ingredients and simple and antique methods. The final product is not pasteurized and has very specific aromas and flavors.

Prato della Contessa" is a large plateau at 1400 meters altitude on the slopes of Mount Amiata, surrounded by majestic beech trees and fragrant pine forests. "Prato della Contessa" owes its name to a beautiful legend of love between Gherarda Aldobrandeschi and the young Adalberto, the feudal lord of Chiusi. This love, however, didn't fit into their families' plans because they each had already been destined to marriages of convenience. For this reason they had to meet secretly in the beautiful meadow, where an immense, beech hugged them with its branches, suspended in time and space, where nobody could see them. Legend still narrated that in the warm summer evenings, you can see Gherarda and Adalberto, have finally found a love, so strong that time was unable to extinguish.

Tasting Notes: An Italian Pale Ale (IPA) produced in the artisianal manner from water, barley malt, hops and yeast, it doesn’t contain preservatives or chemical additives. Bottle conditioned, its head is creamy, but not abundant; its colour is straw yellow with an amber shimmer; has aromas of herbs in the nose, which then gives the aftertaste of fruit and citrus, especially flavours of tangerine and grapefruit. To the palate there is initial sweet notes of caramel which are surpassed by the bitter/sweet taste of the American hops, followed by a quite dry almost astringent finish. It has a shelf life of 13 months if stored properly. Best served 10 minutes after removing from the refrigerator (at 10-14°C); use an American Pint or Balloon glass. Accompanies soups, lamb, kid, mussels (preferably steamed with the same beer), marbled cheeses, ice cream and sorbet.

5 STARS - Slow Food Guide 2011

SKU: 297515