Birrificio Italiano Cassissona

Brewed by Birrificio Italiano
Style: Fruit Beer
Lurago Marinone (CO), Italy

Sampled bottle, RBNAG 2007 in Grimstad. ABV was 6.4%. Hazy golden colour, huge head. Pleasant aroma of blackcurrants and hops. Moderately fruity flavour (blackcurrants), light bodied for a 6.4% beer.

75 cl bottle. Brown/orange color, big white head. Acidic berries and fruit. Carbonated. I like it better than most of you out there. (RBNAG’07 in Grimstad Nov. 3th.)

Offwhite coarseish medium head. Hazy opaque orange body with carbonation. Papery light malty aroma with faint blackberry notes. Lightly acidic and sweetish taste with soapy blackberry notes. Mealy, chalky, and sharpish. Not bad, but very subtle, and not really good. (0.75l bottle from Isola della Birra, rated at RBNAG’07.)

In short: Fluffy original yeasty beer of some kind (not that fruity). Interesting.
How: Mtl-crew Halloween-tasting. Bottle from Cathschlag
The look: Very cloudy orange body with lots of yeast chunks. Initially very large but quickly diminishing white head.
In long: Fluffy beer with unrestrained carbonation. Yeast, yeast and more yeast. Somewhat fruity with something that resembles orange. Overall not that fruity for a Fruit Beer. Mineral spices. The dusty malts came out with a graham cookies feel to them. I didn’t find much cassis flavour in there although cassis is not part of my regular diet so maybe I just didn’t spot it. A bit dry. Kind of original. Even if it is not an intense beer I imagine a full bottle would gross me out by the end. The bottle we got was a very problematic to pour. The beer was crawling out of the bottle and despite our careful pouring attempts the head was simply uncontrollable. Haven’t seen a head so out of control since my uncle Robert, we call him Psycho Rob.

My Bottom Line:
Doughy yeast and delicate fruitiness pervade this well-fed and frothy Fruit Beer which tends to stand out more for its presentation than its actual contents.

Further Personal Perceptions:
-Explosive effervescence pushes the beer out of the bottle, yet only a slim sheet of foam remains after a few seconds on top of the cloudy pale orange.
-The fruit presence could have been bolder for us to really enjoy the cassis’s intricacies. As is, many yeasts could do the same job.
-The yeast and malt combo also suggests a few bread crumbs.
-The overall flavor profile is well balanced and soft drinkability ensues.

Bottle.

Warning! Pour this golden ale into your drinking utensils long before you plan to drink. It starts out almost all foam, which eventually dissipates to become drinkable liquid. Once that has happened, it turns out to be a tasty and refreshing drink that is worthwhile, but not particularly distinctive. The flavor is initially sweet, but quickly turns chalky and more bitter. The black current syrup is detectable in the aroma and at the end of a sip, but is not predominant. It paired very nicely with a plate of cheese and fresh fruit.

First impressions when opening this are that it is nothing but fizz. At least I was warned about its desire to gush. Made it very hard to pour into the glass and detracted from the experience. Be prepared with a very large glass and all should be well. The beer pours with an amber color and a monster head. The aroma has hints of casis but is not overpowing. Balanced taste has plenty going on to keep you enterested although I would like a bit more fruit. Well worth trying.

Date: 11/18/2006
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting

foams out of the bottle creating a huge frothy white head that leaves lots of lace, cloudy yellow, light malt aroma, nice moldy flavor, light bitterness

Aroma: 5/10; Appearance: 5/10; Flavor: 6/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 12/20
Rating: 2.9/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: *4