Lagerboy Speaks – Thornbridge Italia
Lagerboy hasn’t had a runout for a while – he tends to spend the winter months hibernating to avoid the plethora of dark beers that appear once the days begin to lengthen. But seeing as the sun has started to peak out from behind the sleety Edinburgh clouds, he set out on a mission to find one of Britain’s newest golden fizzies. Thornbridge Italia (4.8%) has been out for a month or so – and is already winning rave reviews, so it seems like the perfect start to another year of sparkly treats for Lagerboy.
Thornbridge are one of the prime movers and shakers of the current brewing scene, putting out some fantastic beer and routinely winning awards. Only last week Kipling won a Silver at the national SIBA contest, and Jaipur picked up a bronze at the inaugural SIBA Keg awards. Slightly less impressively – but not to us, of course – their Imperial Russian stout St Petersburg was named one of our best beers of 2010. I’m sure if we’d actually issued an award in physical form it would be nestling proudly on a mantelpiece somewhere in Bakewell.
Lagerboy would never dare drink an Imperial Russian stout – Baltika would probably be the choice, should he ever find himself east of the Dneiper. Sticking to the lighter, gassier offerings has stood him in good stead in the past – and seeing as Italia was brewed by Thornbridge in collaboration with lagermaster Maurizio Folli of Birrificio Italiano, it was approached with high hopes. Containing Pilsner malt and Hallertau Northern Brewer, Perle and Spalter Select hops it looks every inch the classic pils – pouring a hazy but vibrant lemon yellow with a inch-high fluffy white head.
The aromas of bitter hop and a slight crisp sweetness are very enticing, with a blast of citrus on the nose for good measure. On the palate there’s some spicy hop and a touch of earthiness, but the biggest impact comes from the citric lemon and lime flavours that erupt over the palate. Combined with an almost creamy mouthfeel, at halfway it reminds you of something like lemon cheesecake. The fruit continues on to the end, when a dry finish rounds off everything. Really very good indeed, if all of Lagerboy’s conquests are like this, 2011 looks like it could be a vintage year.
