Birrificio Italiano Scires

Brewed by Birrificio Italiano
Style: Sour Ale
Lurago Marinone (CO), Italy

Bottle from Super Saver. I do not see a date on the bottle, but the bottle is shaoed like a sperm whale’s head and would make a great billy club. The pour is turbid orangy ruby with a gargantuan fizzy off-white head and great lacing. The head came up through the bottle even after the repour!! Amazing carbonation! The aroma is krieky and tart, with some bolstering fruits and raspberry, plus some yeast funky woody notes. The flavor is...wow, the flavor is of strong tart cherries, plus some oaky woody malts anf some yeasty sourness, which goes together quite well. Magnificent palate, and the beer acquires a dry red winey quality that always maintains the oaky peaty woody element. It gets a little Cantillony sour as it warms, but never loses its complexity or balance, and even whips out some new shit for the final swigs. This one reminds me a great deal of the Panil Barrique sour that Degarth was good enough to send me, and IMHO it is well worthy of a top 50 slot, which is why I am going to start offering this in trades.

2009-03-26, 7.5% ABV, 8-4-8-4-17=41
Muddy dark cherry color. Nice aroma of malt, Bretts, cherries, cobwebs, dough. Medium body strength, but well structured, with caramel flavor, light sweetness, tartness, light astingency, light fruits. Correct bitterness, with a cheesy final astringency, light. Very good.

2005-12-29, bottle, vintage 2003, 2 years old, 6% ABV, 9-5-8-4-17=43
Cloudy dark amber color; huge creamy head; very lively.
Wonderful aroma, softly sour, a bit fruity, with a very light perception of flowers (violets). Persistent: it lasts till the end!
Medium body strength, high carbonation; it’s quite sour, with a light cherry fruitness, and most of all it has an extreme astringency, yet all the flavors fight for the balance.
Very bitter final, and astringent as well.
A big thank to Agostino, the brewmaster, for sharing this wonderful bottle, one more excellent brew from B.I.

Bottle. GBBF2003 (kriek tasting session). Hazy red brown, good off white head and good fine condition. Fruity aromas of cherry mixed with peach and some caramel malt. Sweet cherry and malt in the mouth becoming dry in the finish with a touch of chalkiness.

Served in my New Belgium flute glass: A slow and steady foam from the bottle but not a real gusher, a deep ruby hue with a fizzy lasting pink head and okay lace. The aroma has major notes of tart aromatic cherry, a beautiful balance of earthy and moderate funk along with a hint of woody vapours, nice and inviting indeed.

The taste is spot on with the nose, lovely balance of sweet and tart cherries along with moderate depth provided by the yeast character. What stands out for me is the dry and woody finish with a touch of anise spice. Not a cloy or syrupy beer and for that I am pleasantly pleased. Borders on being a Flemish Sour... and if not for the price this would easily be a beer I would seek out. Buy one and share with friends.

GBBF 2003, bottle: black cherry nose, also melon and peaches - very fruity. Cloudy brown-red color and a fluffy head. Plums, chocolate and toffee all present in the taste. A licorice-like ending with a powder-dry finish. Very tactile (?) texture. Cool stuff.

When opened, a lava like flow eminated from the bottle, a slow yet very steady flow. Beatiful colors when poured, an interplay of pinks a creams. Beer is very murky looking. Aroma is not subtle, as the cherries are very apparent. Notes of ripe plums, some vanilla and earth, and some funk. The flavor is ominated by the fruit initially, eventually yielding to hints of oak and a subtley bitter finish. Much better than anticipated.

This beer has a ton of carbonation, that explodes out of the bottle upon opening. Huge head with good lacing This beer looks like a home made cider with a little bit of wheat beer like cloudiness. Tastes like a Kreik Lambic with a little better balance due to the oak. It carries a nice sour edge to it. All in all a very nice beer, especially for the style. That said I don’t think I would pay twenty dollars again, unless I had someone to split the cost.

Someone generously gave me a sample from this $20+ bottle at PP bottle shop. Looks great. Big head, very cloudy red brown color, looks almost chunky. Aroma is mild. I bet the aroma was fantastic at bottling. Great flavor of cherries and a little malt. Not sour as you would expect from the lactic acid. Very nice.