CulturAle Press

Mezzavia Nautilus, Selargius, Italy at Enoteca Al Volto, Venice, Italy

Date:  December 19, 2018

The Story—  “How do you find these places?” people ask when we describe some of the gems we’ve discovered in cities where “good beer” is said not to exist.   For starters, we don’t believe the staid restaurateurs when you point out the Peroni-only pitiful beer menu and they answer condescendingly “you know Italy is a wine country.”  Of course it is, but saying “Italy is a pizza country” to justify a menu devoid of complex entrees would be just as stupid.   The trick is to find a seam — some outlet somewhere that’s serving at least some good craft beer — maybe only Baladin or a range of Moretti’s commercial, but interesting beers.   RateBeer, though a magnet for beer snobs who may be far pickier than you are, is a great site to open the first door or two.

Settle in at the bar – not a table- where you can quiz the barkeep, who will speak English, on where (s)he goes to find good beer.   You’ll get two or three recommendations for places that are better than the one you’re in.  Go to the next, drink, ask, repeat.   In a few days you’ll have visited not all, but definitely most, of the best beer spots in town.

There’s a cost, of course.   If you’re in Rome, you’ll find fantastic drinking spots along the Trastevore and have a chance to try more really interesting beer than you thought possible.   Of course, you won’t have time to visit the Colosseum, or the Forum, or the Vatican.   Beer hunting takes time.

Which is why you need to look for our upcoming “Now we’re here dear, where’s the beer?” guide to great beer in “bad beer” cities.   [disclaimer: this is a shameless plug.   But wait, you’re on a publisher’s website.  Whaddya expect?]   We’ve spent countless hours all over the top tourist destinations in Europe hunting beers instead of art and architecture.   We have the advantage of having spent decades doing the normal tourist routes and in truth we do still see the sights before the bars open.

Perhaps the city where the pull between beauty and beer is greatest is Venice.   Ellie does more sight hunting, I do more beer hunting.   She’s grateful at the end of a long day, to be able to put her feet up on a bar stool rung and drink a beer that would be a contender at a good regional American beer festival.   Enoteca Al Volto is one of those — find it by recommendation only destinations that a friend of a friend pointed me towards.   It’s only steps from the nearest Rialto vaporetto stop — if you know which of the several Rialto vaporetto stops to step away from.   Best to get close and ask — it’s supposed to be Venice’s oldest wine bar, so plenty of people can direct you.

Here, you have a great opportunity to sample very good and very uncommon Italian craft beer in the atmosphere of one Venice’s oldest wine bar.  This Russian Imperial Stout seems right at home in a wine bar.   A tad edgy for the style but a good quick binge.

The Beer—  Mezzavia Nautilus is a big 9.5% abv Russian Imperial Stout.  A rich dark cocoa roast malt starts with a bit of dark fruit and a touch of booze climbing on the bus as it rolls. Perhaps a tad edgy for the style, but a good quick binge.

Value —  Close to nine bucks for a standard third liter bottle.  Hmm.  But you’re in Venice.  You want a bargain for a beer this good?   You might try Williamsport,  Pennsylvania.  For Venice, it’s a good value.

This week we feature a half dozen really good European beers that we’ve found on both sides of the pond.   We make pilgrimages to some of the best beer stores in Eastern America once or twice a year and we also just bump into incredibly good beer in places we don’t expect.  Not all of these are on the shelves, but beers much like them are.  A few of our European greats are from places you don’t expect to find great beer as we move closer to publication of our European guide to great beer in “bad” beer cities.   (Planned publication 2019.)

Next week we’ll begin our countdown to the New Year with a list of our ten best beers of the last five years.  We’ve found them on both sides of the Atlantic and even a few in our back yard.  We’ve been lucky to find some of our favorite beers researching out first US Beer publication: Brews and Snooze-– Breweries you can visit and walk back to a fine place to spend the night.  Look for it in 2019.

About these posts:  We taste and evaluate over a thousand beers every year.  The beers posted here rank in the top quarter of those tastings.   Values:  “fair” is a good beer at an above market price, “good” is worth the money, “very good” is a bargain, and “excellent” is a steal.