Birra Del Borgo: Dogfish Head: My Antonia (Italy: Imperial Pils: 7.5% ABV)
Visual: Yellow to gold. Large custard sudded yellowed head.
Nose: Custard. Peach and hops. Very good hoppiness of a clinging style. Light toffee.
Body: Bitter but not too heavy. Apricot. Very smooth creamy texture. Custard. Cinnamon. Granite rough touch very occasionally. Tangerine.
Finish: Creamy. Moderate bitterness. Cinnamon. Hops. Peach and grapefruit.
Conclusion: I love the words continually hopped. I’ve never seen a beer with those words attached that turned out to be a bad beer. Guess it helps that I normally see them linked with Dogfish Head beers. Normally I see them linked with IPA’s, here linked to an Imperial Pils it ends up with a beer that pretty much destroys any expectations of the style that I had.
Now, that does mean as an example of the style it may not be the best. As a beer however? Damn!
It is smooth, creamy, lots of apricot fruitiness and with solid but not extreme bitterness. I can really see the dogfish head influence stamped over the hop style. It is very much like a lager take on their 90 minute IPA. I’ve yet to get a full grip of the Birra Del Borgo style, but this matches the quality I have seen from them so far.
It is an easy drinking Imperial Pils, IPA like beer then. As you would expect it is lighter than an IPA and with dominance of a few key flavours rather than a larger range, but with good bitterness and well defined aroma and flavor.
Tastes almost Belgium yeast IPA style in smoothness. It has that creamy full texture to it that I would associate with that style. There is very little bad to say about this beer. Maybe not what you expect from a pils, maybe a half way point between pils and IPA and if you prefer either style a pure example would do that better. However, sod it, this is lovely.
It is eminently drinkable, well hopped and flavoursome with good texture. You may prefer more pure styled beers at the top of their style but I can’t see anyone being disappointed with this delicious beer.
Background: After the last Birra Del Borgo I had, their collaboration with Brewdog, I decided I really should try more of their stuff to get a feel fro their brewery. So I did, another collaboration. One day I must try a beer they just made themselves. From the look of it there are two versions of this beer, the dogfish head and the Birra Del Borgo. This is the Birra Del Borgo. This beer was drunk at Brewdog Bristol after a long discussion with the staff on exactly which beer I should try next. So blame them. Honest. I love Dogfish head beers but they are very hard to get over in the UK these days as they are concentration on supplying the USA. Not seen the Dogfish Head version anywhere. I wonder if any of the booze dancers have given it a review? (Edit: Answer: Yes, Yes they do)
