Rome Pioneer Pale Ale

Pours clear and golden orange with a lacing white head. Light fruity and hoppy aroma. Peachy fruity hops flavour with a velvet smooth and sweet malt base. Solid dry bitterness into the finish. Nice and smooth, very nice peachy beer.

Draught. Strong citrus nose, lemon and orange hop aromas. Slightly cloudy yellow with a nice head. Strong lacing. Good balance upfront, hops come through in the finish. Almost candy-like orange sweetness. Good palate, dry finish.

[Draught at the brewpub] Clear orange/amber. Striking hop aroma of lychee and hay. Dryish with lioght, rounded mouthfeel. Aromatic and hop driven with a touch of caramel. Medium bitterness.

A hazy amber beer with an off-white head. The aroma is very hoppy - and not much else. The flavor is sweet hoppy with notes of sirup leading to a dry end.

A beer rare to find as the brewery will probably close; brought by Laurent Mousson
Hazy copper color; rocky head. Very nice hoppy (fruity) aroma, but sour as well (infection?). Good body, most of all with good aromatic hopping. But the infections lowers a bit its evaluation.

hazy orange colour, big creamy head with a nice lacing, strong apricoty hoppiness, a bit perfumy and floral, medium-bodied, a light sourness followed by a robust bitterness, dry long and very bitter fruity finish - unfortunately slightly infected (thanks to Laurent Mousson for this one)

Sampled at the breweries sampling cafe in Rome, Italy. Boy oh boy was I excited for this beer. I had been in Europe for about month before I came to Rome and hadn’t had an IPA or anything hoppy for that matter since London which was the first few days of my trip. I needed something hoppy and I needed it then! When I tasted it I knew it was an IPA then I asked and sure enough it was! Just imagine my excitement. Light Bronze. Cascade aroma. Spicy with citrus notes, mainly lemon and grapefruit but also a hint of pine. Hop Heavy. Biscuit and caramel like malt in the backround behind hop notes of lemon peel, orange, spices and grapefruit. Mouthfeel is big and creamy. A great beer from a great brewer. Thanks Michael.

Having been introduced to the brewer, Michael Murphy - an American living and working in Rome, we had to give this a go. I can confidently say that this leaps straight in as my number one Italian beer, not that the opposition is up to much. Clearly American in style, it has typical resinous hops in the aroma and more fruity hops on the palate, with some balancing malt. A very good effort. My only minor criticism (and this could apply to many US style beers) is that the hopping imparts a rather sticky, sweetish character compared to the crisper bitterness that us Brits are used to. Here’s wishing Michael every success with his venture. Bottled at GBBF 2004.