Garfagnina

Here is one of the first craft beer that I picked up in Italy. Oddly enough, I picked it up in a bakery. It is one of four that I picked up from the same brewery, La Petrognola. It was less than impressive, but I'll get to that.

Garfagnina is a red ale made with farro, which is a particular type of grain. For some particular reason, I was able to find a bunch of Italian craft beers that use farro. Maybe it is the Italian beer trend like rye is for the US craft market. I don't know. It is 5.5% ABV, so it really isn't all that strong. Neither is the flavor.

The best way I can think of to describe the nose is that it smells like the healthy cereal that has freeze dried strawberries in it. I have no idea why. The beer doesn't have any strawberry in it. The flavor is thoroughly underwhelming. There is barely any body to the beer. It isn't hoppy in the slightest, but the malt doesn't really show through either. It just kind of disappears. Once you actually finish a sip, you will immediately lose any semblance of flavor that existed. Very forgettable. 

The one redeeming thing that I found about the beer is the bottle. It was a really attractive-looking bottle, so I bought 4 separate bottles from the brewery. I kinda of regretted that decision. Try it if you like, but I won't be going back for seconds. 

Glassware: Pint, Mug, Tulip

Synonym Beer: Smithwick's, but with less flavor.

If you want me to look at a particular beer, drink, place, or have anything to say to me, email me at monksandmalts@gmail.com. Buy my pictures here: http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/robert-rizzolo.html. You can send me cool photos too, if you like and I will make a post up for you.