Beer from Bientina at Orzo Bruno, Pisa

A decision to visit Tuscany in January 2014 was influenced by finding a Guardian article 'Tuscany on tap: a beer-lover's guide to the region' by Donald Strachan. Tuscany on Tap (Guardian)

There are plenty of cheap flights from the UK to Pisa and so this seemed a good place to stay on the first and last nights of the trip to allow visits to Orzo Bruno, one of the bars featured in the article.

Further research revealed that Orzo Bruno opened at 7pm and was popular with students due to Happy Hour reduced beer prices and the tradition of providing free food on the bar. The advice was to get there early so my plan was to arrive early with the intention of finding a seat at the bar.

First visit to Orzo Bruno (13/1/2014)

Orzo Bruno is situated at Via Case Dipinte n. 6/8 which is near to Borgo Stretto, the main shopping street, that starts at the Piazza Garibaldi on the north bank of the river Arno. Walking north from the piazza, turn right on reaching Via Mercanti. Turn left on the first road that crosses and the bar is on the right, facing an open area with parked scooters.

The decorated shutters were still down at 7pm but then a side door opened and I was privileged to be the first person to be admitted on this Monday night.

The long bar protrudes from the longer rear wall of the rectangular room and the beer fonts are in the centre.

Wooden blocks, each decorated with details of one of the beers, are strung above the bar.
Having recently walked from Pisa airport to the Sunflower B&B and then on to Orzo Bruno after crossing the railway line and the river Arno, I had worked up quite a thirst!

Martesana

I found a bar stool to perch on at the furthest end of the bar where I could keep an eye on proceedings.
I started with a refreshing half litre of Martesana, a 5% ABV pale ale, served in a chunky tall glass with a handle. Before 8.30pm, a half litre costs 3.60 euros (0.3 litre costs 2.60 euros). Prices rise to 4 euros (3 euros) after 8.30pm.

The bar had now been filled with plates of tempting bread based appetisers. Long breads had been sliced in half lengthways and heated to crispness and were spread with different toppings, mainly cheese or vegetable based. They were then laterally sliced to give a lot of finger thickness bruschetta type snacks. With a stack of plastic plates and paper napkins at one end of bar, customers were free to help themselves to a plateful of appetisers.

Laminated menus available from the bar give details of the drinks range on one side and the wider range of food that can be ordered from the bar on the other. With paninis and piadines from 5 euros and other hot dishes or salads from 8 euros, the kitchen staff were busy preparing food for customers and for take away food orders.
The room was now filling with customers and several street sellers ventured in during the early evening to find buyers for their stock of cigaretter lighters and tissues. 'No' was not enough for the street sellers but I found that a cash donation was an acceptable alternative to a purchase. 

One barman was kept busy all evening pouring all the drinks. The glasses were filled in stages to give time for the initial frothy head to subside. The flat drip tray under the fonts was deep enough to hold three glasses deep so they would be moved around and topped up in turn until they were full enough to serve.

Valdera Rossa

Montemagno

Yeti

I was able to try beers in increasing strength order: Valdera Rossa a 5.2% ABV red ale; Montemagno a 7.3% ABV strong ale brewed with honey; Yeti a 7.5% ABV beer with floral and orange peel flavours. The Yeti with some sweetness and spicy flavours was my favourite beer of the evening.

Return visit to Orzo Bruno (17/1/2014)

Four days later, I was back in Pisa on a Friday night. It rained heavily during the day and the street sellers had swapped their previous wares for umbrellas! I must have passed at least half a dozen umbrella sellers on the way from the hotel to Orzo Bruno and every one of them attempted to sell me one from their stock!
I arrived at the bar at opening time and was able to secure my favoured spot at the far end of the bar.

There was a new block sign above the bar to announce the availability of a new beer - Picca. The ingredients were also listed and illustrated: Ginger, black pepper, cinnamon and vanilla. I ordered a half litre of Picca to see if it would remind me of Batemans Black Pepper Ale that was brewed for Sainsbury's 2013 Great British Beer Hunt. It was a good choice as none of the flavours were too dominant and the subtle pepper notes were discernible.

Il Birrificio Artigiano, Bientina, team at Orzo Bruno - Alessio Pontiggia is on the right

Introducing myself as a CAMRA newsletter editor to tonight's barman (Alessio Pontiggia from the brewery - Il Birrificio Artigiano Bientina) gave me an opportunity to present him with a copy of Ullage (West Berkshire CAMRA newsletter). Alessio not only agreed to my request for a photo for Ullage but he went back to the kitchen and brought out the rest of the team for a group photo.

As on my previous visit, the kitchen staff were kept busy preparing free food for collection from plates on the bar as well as meals ordered by customers.
The rain outside may have reduced the number of visitors to Orzo Bruno and it certainly kept the street sellers outside with their stock of umbrellas. A good range of music was played and the low lighting levels and unique decorative style give the bar a good atmosphere. Grey foam rubber strips are suspended from the ceiling in an attempt to reduce the noise which is reflected from the hard surfaces of floor, windows and walls.

Picca

Having sampled most of the beers at Orzo Bruno on my previous visit, I decided to order a second half litre of the new spicy Picca. This was an another opportunity to top up my plate with some free bruschetta from the bar!
My final visit to the bar counter was to order a half litre of Yeti, the strong beer with floral notes that was my favourite from the previous visit.

My thanks go to Alessio and the team at the brewery and Orzo Bruno for brewing and serving distinctive beers at reasonable prices. These two visits to Orzo Bruno were highlights of this trip to Italy and any visitor spending an evening in Pisa should not miss the opportunity to visit Orzo Bruno!

All the beers sold at Orzo Bruno are produced by Il Birrificio Artigiano in Bientina which lies about 15 km east of Pisa.

Orzo Bruno,
Via Case Dipinte n. 6/8,
Pisa 56100
The Orzo Bruno website (Italian only) http://www.orzobruno.it/

Il Birrificio Artigiano,
Via Puccini,
Bientina (Pisa) 56031

Lórien Bar, Palma de Mallorca

Lórien Cerveseria / Llongueteria, founded in 1990, is a beer bar worth finding. It is situated at 5-A, Carrer de les Caputxines, near the centre of Palma, the capital of Majorca.

The name of the street is derived from the Caputxines Church and Convent founded by three Sisters in 1668.

If you approach Lórien bar from one of the narrow streets leading off La Rambla then you will pass the church and if the inset door is open an opportunity to see inside the church which should not be missed.

Lórien opened at 7pm on a Monday in September, the day of our arrival in Palma. We reached the entrance a few minutes early when the painted shutters were still down. We had time for a quick look inside another nearby chuch - San Nicolás - before returning to Lórien and finding it open.

We were almost the first customers to arrive and were able to chat to Pep and ask him about beers from Mallorca.

Pep kindly gave us a copy of the brochure for the Mostra de cervesa Artesana, recently held at Mancor de la Vall, near Inca, Majorca, on 14 September 2013.

He described some of the breweries and beers featured, several of which are stocked at Lórien. He allowed us to take his photo behind the bar, wearing a Barcelona beer festival t-shirt and with a copy of Ullage, the newsletter of West Berkshire CAMRA.

Pep fetched his selection of Mallorcan beers from the fridge and placed them on the bar. Now it was time to order a beer! I chose the Galilea brewed by Cas Cerveser and M chose the Blat brewed by Beer Lovers (Companyia Cervesera del Nord de Mallorca S.L. - Alcudia). 

 We took our beers to a table by the beer blackboard in the front area of the bar. The decor includes 'wooden beer crate' style bar frontage, celtic style designs paintd on plain paintwork, high shelves of beer bottles, framed pictures and a large mirror.

A delivery, during our visit, turned out to be a case of Red Ale from Sa Bona Birra a microbrewery based in Ciutadella de Menorca, another Balearic island.

This was another of the beers that Pep had encountered at the beef festival in Mancor de la Vall and Pep would later add details to the blackboard which features new beers that are not included in the printed beer menu sheets.

The beer menu is in Spanish and Catalan. It starts with an illustrated colour scale used y the European Beer Convention ranging from EBC 6 (Moritz lager) to EBC 130 (Guinness stout). The beers are divided into beer styles and listed with details of country, colour, bitternes (IBU scale), alcoholic strength, bottle size and prize. Prices range from 2.70 euro for a 33cl bottle of Moritz (Catalonian lager) to 12.00 euro for a 75cl bottle of Chimay Grand Reserve (Belgium). The draft beers are Hoegaarden (33cl / 2.65 euro); Guinness (25cl / 2.60 euro); Murphy's (25cl / 2.60 euro) and a 'Cervesa Artesanal' which changes regularly.

On our visit, the guest draught beer was 'Catapulte' an IPA collaboration between Zulogaarden
(Catalonia) and Benelux, a brewpub in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

 

Note that beers and prices mentioned above are subject to change.
We left and promised Pep that we would be back to try different beers on another day.

Two days later we were back with a friend. Although the bar was busier on this occasion we were able to sit at 'our' table. On this occasion, M had draught Hoegaarden, C had Galilea and I chose a Moritz Epidor from the Lager Bock section of the menu. When in Barcelona I had enjoyed Moritz Lager Pilsner so this was a good opportunity to try their stronger (7.2% ABV) beer. There was even time for me to have a 25cl glass of Catapulte from the draught font before leaving. Two strong beers to start the evening might explain why my navigating meant that it took us longer than expected to find our way to nearby Plaça d'en Coll!

sauep.com (Lorien website with links to twitter and facebook etc)
C/ de Les Caputxines, 5-a
07003 Ciutat (Palma) - Mallorca
Tel. 971 723 202
Opening Hours: Monday - Saturday from 7pm  +  11am - 3pm on Tuesdays & Saturdays.
N.B. Payment by cash.

Around Berlin in 7 Beers

[Work in Progress - version 3]

Peter Sutcliffe signed a copy of his excellent guide 'Around Berlin in 80 Beers' when I met him at the book launch event at Copenhagen beer festival in 2011.

While visiting Berlin in August 2013 I was able to visit 7 of the bars mentioned in the book.
This post will feature some photos from the bars I visited.

1) Lemke am Schloss (Charlottenburg)

On the way to Sammlung Scharf-Gerstenberg to see some surrealist art, a Sunday lunchtime stop at the Brauhaus Lemke brewpub at Luisenplatz 1, was a good idea. 

A table at the back gave a good view of the bar on the right and brewing vessels on the left.

The menu included a four beer tasting option (4 euros) and was a good choice as the measures looked on the generous side (0.1 litre). The beers were served with a small dish of grains to clear the palate between beers.

I tasted the pilsner (centre right) first, then the wheat beer (centre left), then the special (zwickel) and finally the dunkel (left). These were all served cool and in good condition.
As this is a beer blog there will only be a brief mention of the lunch but the pork knuckle was the main part of a substantial German dish, recommended for value and quality.

6) Gasthaus Lentz, Stuttgarter Platz 20, 10627 Berlin  (near Berlin-Charlottenburg station)

Arrived on a wet Monday evening and was lucky to find a table near the counter inside this popular cafe / bar.
Immediately impressed by the great atmosphere and service standards.

An interesting range of draught beers which are expertly served into freshly rinsed glasses that match the beer is always a good sign.
The large room with a red floor and high ceilings has some interesting photos and enamel signs on the plain walls. Plants and flowers give a natural feel. The entrance door is flanked by a large window on one side and a smaller window on the other.

The draught beers are from several regions of Germany and I picked a beer from Bavaria in the Benedictine brewing tradition - Andechser Vollbier Hell by Klosterbrauerei Andechs.

Gasthaus Lentz had become my favourite beer bar in Berlin so I resolved to return the next morning for a beer on my last day in Berlin. On Tuesday I could take some daytime photos and drink the Weissbier / wheat beer from Klosterbrauerei Andechs with a fresh and salty pretzel.

Kloster Andechs brewery English webpage 
Gasthaus Lentz website with photos  

7) Hopfingerbrau, Berlin Hbf (main railway station)

On the way to Schonefeld airport, I stopped off at Berlin Hbf to visit Hopfingerbrau. It is on the level immediately below the top level (for S trains and long distance DB trains to Warsaw and Cologne etc).
It was not busy on a Tuesday lunchtime and I was impressed that Herr Pscheidt, behind the bar, brought my 0.5 litre of Dunkel to my table instead of waiting for the waitress to do this.

I took the opportunity to get a photograph of him holding a copy of Ullage and to ask him for some more information about the Dunkel. He kindly went off in search of a keg cap to give me as a reminder of the supplier for the beer. The bar is now operated by the Radeberger brewery and the Dunkel is branded as Markischer Landmann from the Berliner Kindl Brewery in Berlin.

The copper vessels behind the bar and the copper piping over the bar are just for show but do give a solid impression of brewing quality to this conveniently positioned bar.

Beer Bars In Copenhagen

A visit to Copenhagen in March 2013 included visits to two favourite bars (Black Swan & Charlie's Bar) and a new favourite (Fermentoren). The Mikkeller bar was too busy to get near the bar on the evening I visited so nearby Fermentoren was the obvious alternative.
Among the things I like about Copenhagen bars are the blackboards with details of the beers and prices and that you are unlikely to find smokers (however, this is not always the case!).
The beers may be more expensive than in England but they are usually stronger and the prices are not astronomical in the bars mentioned here.

I was lucky to be staying within walking distance of all the bars but the closest of these was Black Swan. The only problem was that it is closed on Sundays when a third visit would otherwise have been possible!

 

Black Swan - situated on a corner

Inside, the bar also has a corner shape. The blackboard with names, strengths and prices of the beers is on the wall at the end of the bar nearest to the windows overlooking Borgergade.

Mantas behind the bar at the Black Swan

There are beer fonts on this bar and more on the bar at right angles to it. On my first visit I had Kama Citra and Dark Hops both from Beer Here, a Danish brewery based in Frederiksberg on the edge of Copenhagen.

Beer Here facebook page

Mantas, the bar owner, speaks good English and Danish and is from Vilnius, Lithuania. The Black Swan is linked to Copenhagen Rugby League FC and it was packed for the club's launch event on my second visit on 2 March.

Black Swan facebook page

Black Swan website

[work in progress - to be continued]

Wadworth 6X 1923-2013

It was a rare privilege to be invited to attend the 90th anniversary event for Wadworth 6X at Coopers' Hall on Friday 24 May 2013. Located in Devonshire Square, near Liverpool Street station, Coopers' Hall is the home of the Worshipful Company of Coopers, one of 108 livery companies in the City of London. A cooper is someone who makes wooden casks usually for beer in England and for whisky in Scotland.

Coopers' Hall, London on a wet day in May.

The Wadworth brewery is in Devizes, Wiltshire. Alastair Simms, a Master Cooper, was employed there by Wadworth & Co Ltd for 18 years until he left recently to set up his own cooperage company in his native Yorkshire. Alastair was at the event and explained that he would continue to do occasional contract work for Wadworth.

Alastair Simms, Master Cooper

It was interesting to learn from him that the only other breweries in the country with coopers are Marston's, Theakston's and Samuel Smith. Wooden beer casks are made from cut down whisky or red wine casks. Alastair works with traditional hand tools and uses no glue to make oak beer casks. He mentioned that making a pin (4.5 gallons) is harder than making a firkin (9 gallons)

On arrival we were able to sample a glass of Wadworth 6X (4.3% ABV) in preparation for a later opportunity to compare its flavours with those of a special 90th anniversary version of 6X (6% ABV) which had also featured as one of the beers in the recent JD Wetherspoon real ale festival.

Head Brewer, Brian Yorston, with Wadworth brewery book.

Once gathered in the basement museum of Coopers' Hall, we heard from Wadworth Head Brewer, Brian Yorston, about the naming of 6X and the ingredients for the 90th anniversary version of 6X. He showed us some of the old brewing record books that are still used for recording brewing and for reference purposes.
The term X originated in the Middle Ages when the monks who brewed beer marked the casks with X, XX, XXX or XXXX to indicate the strength.
After the first world war, the Wadworth XXXX beer was brewed at two strength levels with a lighter 'Harvest Ale' version for the summer months. In 1923, the brewery decided to rename the stronger beer 6X, probably to reflect its original strength of 6% ABV. Beer strengths were reduced during the second world war and since 1943 6X has been brewed at 4.3% ABV.
In 2013, the original 1923 brew recipe was used to recreate a 6% ABV version of 6X for the 90th anniversary. The old brewing books showed the ingredients used but not the hop varieties, just the farms the hops were sourced from. Brian and Second Brewer, Colin Oke, used Fuggles and Goldings hops for the special 6X but in different proportions than for the modern 6X.

Chairman, Charles Bartholomew, with anniversary cake and 6X beer.

In preparation for toasting the cutting of an anniversary cake, our glasses were filled with the special anniversary 6X. The 6% ABV version had an estery fruitiness with hints of tropical fruit, as well as a fuller body.
Charles Bartholomew, Wadworth Chairman, whose great great uncle Henry Wadworth designed and built the tower brewery at Devizes in 1885, now invited us to toast 6X.

There were examples of colourful handpainted pub signs from the brewery's sign shop to see but a trip to Devizes on a weekday is needed in order to see the Wadworth shire horses either in action with a brewery dray or else in their stables.