Archive for the 'Pietra' category
Pietra Biera Corsa
Last but not least from the BMOC is this ditty from France. It’s an amber ale brewed with chestnut flour. Huh?!? Sounds strange but when it comes to beer I’m up for anything. First thing’s first, this doesn’t look like an amber. As a matter of fact there’s nothing amber about it. No deep copper-reddish hue, instead it’s golden. The aroma is strange as well. It is uber sour, the twinge dances around in the nose. I can’t help but wonder what is going on here because again these characteristics aren’t adding up to what I know is an amber. Right not I’m thinking pilsner-esque. The overall taste is bitter and metallic. This transforms into a grape-like sweetness and then transforms again into a hint of sourness that carries over from the smell which makes for a really weird experience. It’s crisp and refreshing, for the most part, but the taste seems to collect on the back of the throat, and by collect I mean thicken. There it has a subtle creamy characteristic and now I’m completely confused. I don’t know what to make of this beer. First of all it’s unlike any amber I’ve ever had AND the flavors aren’t harmonious to say the least. The fact is this beer certainly has some good points but they are counteracted by absolute weirdness. So, I will say it’s interesting, it’s definitely not a beer I would seek out but I would drink it on rare occasions just for something different.
Colomba White Ale
Next up from this months Beer of the Month Club shipment is a white ale from Corisa, France. Honestly, I think that France puts out some decent beers – maybe not QUITE as many as their Belgian or German neighbors, but some good stuff nonetheless. However, I don’t believe I’ve ever heard of a brew coming from the diminutive Corsican island to the South. This fact, coupled with the fact that I’m really into white ales lately, makes me really excited to try out this brew.
The Colomba pours a hazy whitish gold color with lots of debris both in the beer and caked to the bottom of the bottle. The head on this is bright white and super dense, bubbling up quickly and then slowly subsiding to nothing. The aroma here is sour and citrusy. It isn’t too strange for a white ale, but there is an off-scent that surprises me a bit. I suppose it’s just an exacerbated sourness that isn’t quite citrus. It isn’t ruining the beer for me, but it’s pungent and surprising. In the mouth, the initial sensation is an acidic citrus burn on the tip of the tongue. This merges into a sweet maltiness that is quite bready and gives the beer a thickish mouthfeel for a white ale. On through the mouth, a big yeast note presents itself, which is no surprise for the genre. The yeast is quite flavorful, and it mingles with big lemony citrus tones to give this beer an explosion of of flavor about the middle of the tongue that toes the line between bodacious and bogus. After this blast of flavor, the beer settles into a lightly malty aftertaste that doesn’t stick around for too long. If you like a white ale with some powerful citrus punch, you may like this. If you don’t, then this may have a bit too much bite for you. I’m undecided, but the more I drink, the more I like it. So, this may turn into an acquired taste. So, overall, it’s a beer that may divide some critics, but certainly a unique showing for an Corsican brewery.
