Craft beer in Verona, Italy. Romeo and Juliet would drink it!

Osteria La Mandorla

Via Alberto Mario 23

Verona, Italy 37121

When traveling for business, I do not always have time to go to the best beer places suggested by my colleagues and online guides. That was exactly the case in Verona. The only brewery was at least 40 minutes away, the bottle shop was closed and the bar was far and open only in the evening.

Looks difficult.

Luckily, there somewhere I have found the Osteria La Mandorla as a destination. Very luckily. It is located maybe 2 minutes’ walk from the Arena of Verona, 3 minutes from my hotel and it is opened until late night.

The online description was encouraging – they are the wine bar, but would have 4 Italian craft beers on the tap.

Even if the description is not perfect (see below) I am still glad that it was there. Look at the photographs. It is not necessary a place where a tourist would step in, on top craft beers are very well hidden. The tap is covered by the bar. Neither the information on the microbrewery nor the tap are visible from the street. They also have a small fridge filled with various Italian and British craft beers – that one is even better hidden. If not the owner, I would never find it.

Given the overall great atmosphere and a climate of local bar I liked the place a lot, however, I would appreciate a bit of info visible from the outside.

One thing that is clear – that place won a lot of awards for Osteria (see photo).

All together – my tip for craft beer lovers visiting Verona.

Now the beer – it is important to mention that these guys own a microbrewery http://www.masoalto.com/), so 2 beers we could try – an IPA and golden ale were their own productions. This makes the place even more amazing to me.

If you need more - at the time I have visited, all guys at the bar spoke English.

Below, the beers you can get now

Maso Alto Selvatica

IPA

From the tap. Aroma is not the strongest here. Delicate tropical fruits, grass and some malt. But the valanced flavor of malt and hops with some decent bitter aftertaste beat the shit out of me. There is not too much to complain here, the whole thing is just drinkable. Just go for it!

Maso Alto Interpida

Golden Ale del Trentino

I was positively surprised ow much can bergamot and orange peel bring to the style Fresh, aromatic, earl grey like. At the same time light and multifaceted. Very good beer.

The Place and The Beer Part 5: Other Half Brewing, NYC, USA

Other Half Brewing Company

195 Centre St, Brooklyn, NY 11231, USA

After staying for a while in Europe, today we move back to USA. After 1 hour subway ride from the upper Manhattan to Bronx I have visited the Other Half brewery. This place is quite far from any tourist attraction but apparently a “must see” for a beer geek.

Other Half Brewing (OH) is considered to be the hottest brewery in New York. Appraised, loved, recognized – this is a very high bar, especially for an American brewery. It is very difficult to get this level of recognition at this amazingly strong craft beer market.

Just to tell you how amazing OH is – since recently, they were chosen to be the official beer of the Wall Street. Yes, that Wall Street. People used to say that the Wall Street Bankers do choose the beers that are big, bold and brash. Well, it fits to the description of the Other Half as well.

Clearly, I was curious, but also not prepared to what I have seen. I have arrived just 2 minutes after opening of their tap room and this was already almost full! OK, the room is small, but I have seen bigger rooms being empty on good days. The queue for the first round was still OK, the second was worse; finally, I had to wait outside to get the last beer.

Actually, the taproom itself is quite original place – full of stuff from different

epochs and styles. I would dare to call it rustically, it clearly has some atmosphere. Also, the tap, or rather taps are nothing I have seen before. Especially the wall with the taps. I want to have one at home.

Now, the great moment is coming. Look at this Beer Menu. They almost only brew IPAs! Double dry hopped. Triple dry hopped. It was some IPA madness. I got vertigo after just reading a half of the list, the second half caused me to quiver uncontrollably.

Seeing all this IPAs, I have decided to start with a Pils. Good decision, get rid of the bad stuff first. My suggestion to Other Half is to stay with IPAs.

But the rest of the afternoon was like the never-ending IPA party. And what was crazy, they were all at the very high level. Very thick body, low carbonation, many single hopped IPAs made in the amazing way that really makes you to realize the difference between hops used. That was like a dream.

Also, there I have tried my first beer with Lupulin ever – to be frank, in comparison to other beers of the evening that one was quite average. I had a conversation about it few weeks later with a different brewer, and he told me that the problem I s the process of production. Don’t get me wrong, it was not bad IPA, just in comparison it was not outstanding.

Just to put a cherry on a cake, I have decided to finalize the evening with the collaboration brew from Other Half, Monkish and Trillium. A triple dry hopped IIPA called Fully Loaded Baked Potato. Some mad genius has mixed here mosaic, denali, galaxy and kohatu hops. And then brew it up to 10% of alcohol.

It is important to say that I am not a great fan of triple IPAs. In my experience so fa, IIPAs are dense, and heavy and the aroma and flavor never live up to the “triple” expectations.

So far, because the Fully Loaded Baked Potato is just the opposite. The aroma burnt my nose and the flavor have killed my taste buds. Tropical fruits, mango, pine, orange aroma and flavor. Full body, good bitterness. Soft carbonation and almost no alcohol. No IPA will ever taste the same after this experience. Simply the best.

The Place and The Beer Part 1: Lamplighter Brewing Co, Cambridge, MA, USA

LAMPLIGHTER BREWING CO.

284 Broadway, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA

I have made a sad realization that I am not able to write a proper story about all the places I visit and all the beers I taste. But, most of those places deserve at least a short note. Therefore, I have stated a new series called The Place and The Beer. Rather short stories, lot of photos and a /the beer.

Today we end up in Cambridge Massachussets in USA. I have visited the Lamplighter Brewing in the second week of November. It is Tuesday at 9 pm. The brewery is in a walking distance from the Kendall Square being the center of the town. Typical American building, well preserved and clean.  Inside is also very typical modern style brewhouse, solid tap/party-room and a huge glass wall so that everybody can appreciate the brewery and barrel aging beer. Nice but not ass kicking.

Clearly it was a party night. We should have been checking earlier. Music was deafening. Live DJ, doing quiz. Simply horrible if you come to get a beer and talk.

But the beer, as in the most American breweries was worth the effort – I have tried an imperial stout brewed with vanilla and maple syrup called After Midnight. But they really brew something for everybody: IPA, gose, sour, wheat, saison, brett. They have it, I strongly believe that this is one of the powers of American Craft – we are eclectic, we will not concentrate on a few local beers – we are taking everything what is interesting from the world and do this better. Impressive.

So was the After Minding. Pitch dark with appealing head and nice lacing. Aroma is chocolate, malt, clear maple syrup and roasted coffee. Intensive and complex flavor, thick texture of drinking chocolate and vanilla. Surprisingly it is not sweet, it could almost be considered dry. Maybe a bit on the too much side, but clearly you would not mix that one with any other beer. For me this a a huge plus and After Midnight was the best medication to cure my jet lag.

The Place and The Beer 7: Vagabund Brauerei, Berlin, Germany

Vagabund Brauerei

Berlin

When reading about craft beer and Berlin, I have been bombarded with a lot of self-confidence and proud. Generally, it is good. But statements like:” one could say that Berlin is a kind of a capital of Germanys craft beer revolution” make me want to laugh.

OK, they have a Stone Brewing hall opened in Berlin, and I have been there (…). Very impressive. Still, with all respect, it is not German craft beer. On contrary, based on my experience it was freaking hard to just go out and get a craft beer.

Pils? Yes.

Ale? No.

“Where's the revolution
  Come on, people
  You're letting me down” (DM)

Thus, being in Berlin for a second time, I have directly headed to the best craft brewery in town – Vagabund.

Why the best? Well, high ranks on many tourist sites, articles in German beer magazines and 4 stars on Ratebeer suggest that the place is worth a look.

On top – the place is founded by Americans, who clearly haven’t had an easy life when starting to open a brewery in the land of Reinheitsgebot.

The taproom itself is a place worth a look. Located in Berlin Wedding, next to small park and beautiful church clearly is nice to see. Nice furniture with wooden tables and stylish decorations. I can imagine it to be a great place to meet for the whole family and friends. And, indeed, there we families coming during my stay.

Plus, for the atmosphere.

I have decided to take a sampler of everything they had on a tap, and then spend nice evening drinking one or two chosen ones.

The candidates were:

American Pale Ale

Double IPA

Berliner Weisse

Melon Wheat

Here is what I think:

I love American Pale Ale and Berliner Weisse. The first one is clearly very drinkable, fruity aroma, low bitterness. Good every day beer that beats most of what is sold in any German supermarket/Getränkemarkt nowadays. Also, Berliner Weisse is nice interpretation of the style, sour and aromatic. Refreshing.

I am somehow neutral about the Melon Wheat. Honestly – I simply do not like melon. Therefore, at a start I was quite negative about that one. But, since I could not detect any melon taste or aroma in it was OK. I think that it was a decent Weisse.

Where I clearly was disappointed is double IPA. Sorry guys, I do not take double/imperial version of IPA to find average beer. This level is reserved for Pale Ales. Doubles must knock me on my knees with aroma and IBU. Double must be an experience. This one isn’t. And clearly not an IPA that I expect from somebody with American roots.

Overall Vagabund Brauerei is a mixed bag of experience. Great atmosphere and ambience. Mixed experience with a beer. Still, I think that Vagabund is clearly on a positive side and worth visiting.

Stary Kraków Brewery, Poland

Exclusive view on the brewery. Not many people will be able to get the same photo...

Stary Kraków Brewery

(https://www.facebook.com/browarstarykrakow/)

Where:

Wronin (Kraków), Poland

Who:

Founder and Brewer: Tomasz Jabłoński. Tomek was infected with the brewing passion during his long-term stay in USA. After observing the uprising power of American craft, he has decided to implement the experience on Polish soil.

Head brewer: Andrzej Kuglin. Andrzej is an owner of the beer boutique – Huta Piwa (https://www.facebook.com/hutapiwa/) and a home brewer with more than 100 batches of experience.

Few Facts:

Browar Stary Kraków was one of the first (if not the first) Polish contract breweries ever. Original brewery was running between 2005-2007. Their original series of beers – Smocza Głowa (Dragon’s Head) have reached acclamation in Krakow area and above. Sadly, the initial brewery did not survive on the market, mostly due to a severe inability of the contractors to provide the same quality of each beer batch.

Now, almost 9 years after the initial start, Smocza Głowa is back. This time in a form of a physical nano-brewery located in Wronin close to Kraków.

Being in Kraków, I have decided to visit the brewery. Below I am sharing with you some impressions. 
As usual it is not a classic interview – it is a set of thoughts and things worth to remember.

The brewer and a blogger...

The brewery

This may sound like a joke, but the brewery is placed in the building originally planned as a garage. At the early planning stage, Tomasz and his father have decided to build a large garage with a huge basement. This has paid off: the brewery is in the upper part, cooling unit and the lager located in a basement.

Just to make it clear – everything was adapted for a brewery need and accepted by regulatory, Polish authorities. Since the brewery is running, no cars are allowed inside.

Some could laugh, but for me it is a proof for a power of a craft. If you know what to do, you can brew almost everywhere. And make profit on top.

Currently, production is restricted to 4 tanks (500 liter each). But the brewery will increase its capacity soon. Each tank is equipped with its own cooling water jacket, allowing brewers to regulate the temperature of each tank separately. All he produced beer is being directly packed in 30 liter kegs. Bottling of the beer is planned in the future, but for now there is nothing to bottle. They are sold out.

Andrzej at work...


                     Beers and philosophy

After 40 matches of 500 liters of beer brewed and sold, Tomasz and Andrzej still believe in on simple truth - beer must be drinkable. Stary Kraków is all about a beer accessible to the broader publicity. And so were all the beers I have tested – I have tried: Młodosci, Urocze, Amber (dry hopped version) and Kolorowe and they all had something in common – they were all beers I could drink almost every day.

Tomek always wanted to base his beer solely on Polish materials, including hops. Both brewers have joined forces and home recipes and tested all Polish hops. Even if some results were quite interesting – market demand is clear – give us American hops. Thus, the current production is mostly American-hop based.

Good news is that if you want to try their beers you don’t have to travel to Wronin. You can easily get it from tap in Kraków. Just visit the “Pierwszy Lokal na Stolarskiej po lewej stronie, idąc of Małego Rynku” (https://www.facebook.com/PierwszyLokal/). The place is famous and close in the center of the city. If you ask for Amber Ale or Dark Ale you will get the beers from Stary Kraków.

Second option is to go to Nowa Huta, the easternmost district of Kraków. Even before Stary Kraków was reopened, Andrzej was brewing a series of beers dedicated to Nowa Huta areas. This kind of a local patriotism was well taken by local community and is important to both brewers and they continue the production of Nowa Huta beers even after joining forces.

LINKS

Tomasz Kopyra testing Smocza Glowa from the original Stary Kraków:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isuPjCni-xA

Ratebeer for:

Młodosci

https://www.ratebeer.com/beer/huta-piwa-m322odo347ci/518484/

Urocze

https://www.ratebeer.com/beer/huta-piwa-urocze/478896/

Sea Dog Brewing - Orlando branch

Visit at the

Sea Dog Brewing Company Orlando Florida

8496 Palm Pkwy, Orlando, FL 32836, USA

Sea Dog Brewing Company is all American network of brewpubs. With 8 locations, all over the USA it at least gets a chance that a visitor may stumble upon on of their brewpubs. The one I have visited in Orlando is located a bit far from the downtown. Depending on the traffic 30-40 minutes. This is a bad side. On the good side, it’s just 10 minutes’ drive from the biggest congress center of Orlando and very close to some of the Disney attractions. So, if you go to Orlando for a congress or visit one of the theme parks, there is a good chance that Sea Dog is within your reach.

And it is worth to.

Located in a touristy strip mall, Sea Dog Orlando offers you a variety of food including burgers, but also salads and seafood, placing it above the usual pub grub. We went there in a small company, and the only point of criticism were fries. People from all around the world enjoyed the food, which is a 

                                                                          good sign.

Service was good, professional, fast and not disturbing the conversation. The place seems to be family friendly, and many folks were there with their kids.

The moment I went there they have offered 18 beers on Tap. All their made. One could complain about a lack of other beers, but then, on the other hand, when I go to visit a brewing company, I don’t really care to try visitor’s beer.

Professional enough they offer sampler sizes of their beers (always in sets of four).

One thing that I have noted looking up their beers ratebeer - for me it seems that they are vastly underrated. It is not like they brew the best beer in the world, but with an average score of approx. 3 (from all their beers) they are a bit behind of what they are worth. Maybe a general point of criticism is that most of the beers were a bit over the top - when they say maple stout they mean it. Still, I strongly believe that even if you are a beer geek and have tried some of the best beers in the world, you will be pleasantly surprised by going to Sea Dog Orlando.

Sampler #1

Sea Dog Blueberry Ale

Aroma and flavor of sweet blueberries and pie, lemongrass on top. Almost sweet, no hops at all. Bit sweet overall. Medium carbonated. Quite original, I like it.

Mango IPA

There is a clear mango in both aroma and flavor. It is also bitter on top, not too bitter but clear. It is still missing something in between. Would profit from some aroma hops, or heavier malt. It is not bad, but a bit one-sided.

Island Time IPA

Nice IPA for everybody, bitter enough to convince IBU-freaks and aromatic enough to make almost everybody happy. Bit too much CO2. Very drinkable one.

Hazelnut porter

This one rules. Roasted malt and hazelnut aroma, bit dark fruits and coffee in taste. Body is light and enough earthy hops to make my day. Not too sweet, not too bitter, very aromatic. Both thumbs up.

Sampler #2

Deep blue

Another light IPA, this time more malty than hoppy. Not great, but will do no harm to anybody.

Equator

IPA with habaneros? I am in. Maybe I would add more hops, so that its getting more spicy-aromatic-bitter. Instead its only spicy-bitter. Very interesting beer, but one of the hottest beers I have ever tried.

Maple Bacon Stout

Weakest one I have tried here. Maple is clearly present, but where is the smoked bacon. There are some aromas of roasted malt. But bacon? Sorry, no.

Gilbert’s Chocolate Milk Stout

It should be called Chocolate-Strawberries milk stout. And it should be called a good one. Some people may not like it because of its strong fruity nature, but I just loved it.