Almost thirty years ago, Birrificio Italiano launched Tipopils - the first example of the Italian-style pilsner. This subtle and refined lager inspired a wave of homages, including Pivo Pils from Firestone Walker - now a classic in its own right. So when our friends at Granda, one of Italy's most up-and-coming craft breweries, made the trip to Aberdeen for a collab, we decided it was time for a Fierce spin on this beloved Italian beer style.
Italian pilsners strike a balance between a subtle, bready malt base and a zesty and refreshing German dry-hop profile.
While we often construct our lagers around as light and simple a malt bill as we can, for a beer like this, we were looking to build in complexity, rewarding those who take the time to dig into the flavour profile. Weyermann® Eraclea Pilsner Malt, produced from barley grown on Italy's Adriatic Coast, makes up over 80% of the grain bill, and delivers crisp, toasty and clean malt flavours, with hints of honey. We then layered in Caramunich - giving more depth to the malt flavour with notes of toast crust and sweet biscuit - as well as a touch of melanoidin and dextrin malt, rounding out and enhancing the flavour and body.
Upon this carefully constructed malt base, we deployed classic hop varieties. Perle, added early in the boil, provides a citrus peel bitterness. Hallertauer Hersbrucker and Saaz appear both late in the boil and again as dry hops, ensuring their full range of aromatic oils are imparted - floral notes, lemon zest, black pepper, and thyme. Cold conditioning allows the flavour profile to meld and mature, before we packed Adagio unfiltered, to ensure we retain all the delicate hop aromatics and the rounded body.
The result is a graceful and elegant lager with a fantastic flavour profile - lots to deconstruct for those so inclined, yet bold and refreshing enough to sink a pint on a bright autumn day.
Cin cin!
Comments (0)
Back to Fierce Blog