Baladin Nora

Brewed by Le Baladin
Style: Traditional Ale
Piozzo, Italy

75 cl bottle bought at Mentana, Parma. Cloudy golden with a thick offwhite head. Spicy fruit aroma with pepper notes. Pepper-spiced fruit flavours, sweet yet with a dry spicy finish. Medium body, well-carbonated. Original taste but a bit too spiced.

Bottle. Hazy golden colour with a white head. Sweet malty spicy aroma. Sweet malty spicy flavor. Has a malty aftertaste with some spicy hints. A very nice beer.

yellow an orange colour, white foam. kamut, apples, citrus apricots in aroma. Not structured body.

Clear light amber body with a thin white head. Sweet caramel aroma. Light spice flavor with some fruit.

After the sediment poured in this was a cloudy orange body with a moderate head and good lacing. Aroma is spicy with notes of fruit. I woulda guessed coriander but the kamut works too I guess.. haha. Fairly light in flavor and body, but unoffensive. No real flaws, but could have been a lot more interesting. Sorta reminded me of Leffe Blonde with a huge price tag.

First things first - I think they need to hire a graphic designer to create labels capable of doing the bottle and beer justice. On to the beer: I went in to this completely blind. I’d had and enjoyed Super Baladin, but was not expecting a sour beer from Nora. Immediate tart aroma with some floral complexity. A little thin on the palate, but a very drinkable beer. Seemed a little one-dimensional, but still very tasty. Seems like an energetic little sister to a real mind-blower like Panil Barrique.

Probably one of my favorite Italian beers I’ve rated so far. Very enjoyable in a bottle large enough to share with a friend or two (doubt I could have finished it off alone). Pours out a bright yellow/orange color, nice white head with aroma of ginger and yeast with a floral angle that keeps things interesting. There is also a bit of citrus fruit floating around which I found interesting. Mouthfeel is medium bodied, very refreshing. Flavors are spiceu and lively with notes of ginger, lemony, herbal with a nod to the alcohol content noticeable. Good job guys! Finally an Italian beer to cheer about!

Yellow hazy beer – thick long lasting white head – nose Granny Smith apples, citrus –sour, green apples apricots – dry body- aftertaste crisp, sour apples, citrus