Birrificio Torrechiara
Parma, Italy
Imported by Shelton Bros.
Belchertown, MA
Available: n/a
This sour barrel aged beer, a style native to the Netherlands and Belgium, is made in Parma, Italy. The beer is aged for three months in cognac barrels from Bordeaux.
ABV: 8
ABW: 6.4
Color: n/a
Bitterness: n/a
Original Gravity: n/a
In a territory that already accommodates some of the world’s most complex brews (e.g. Cuvée de Tomme, La Folie, Rodenbach Grand Cru), here is an entrant of such subtlety, delicacy and elegance as to defy description. “Enigmatic” would be accurate, but not very helpful. Dense head, purple-ish color. The fruitiness has suggestions of black cherries, brambles, even blueberries and raspberries, without any being dominant. The typical acidity is rounded by balsamic notes.
Batch # 8, 2007. The aromas and flavors of this vintage almost jump out of the glass; it’s alive and ready to drink right now. Reddish brown and cloudy, perhaps because of the journey, at the pour with a thick beige head. Lushly textured with tightly woven flavors — oak, cherries, vanilla and brown sugar — balanced by rich vinegar notes. As it warm,s soft malt character moves to the background, giving way to a tasty sourness. An acquired taste? Or simply a puckering of the lips to return an affectionate kiss?
Author of Ultimate Beer, the Simon & Schuster Guide to Beer and numerous other works on drinks, Jackson has created legions of converts to fine beer.
Editor at Realbeer.com, a professional journalist for 40 years and amateur brewer for 15, Hieronymus is the author of four beer books, including Brew Like a Monk.
