Our special evening is a craft beer tasting with 'our friend in Rome', Gina from GTFood&Travel
We hop on the tram across the river & meet up at Les Vignerons, a natural wine & beer enoteca. Gina gives us a brief history of microbrewing in Italy before guiding us on which beers to try - all Italian of course.
We transport the beers to Bacocco, another enoteca/bistrot and take up residence at a tree shaded table outside. Platters of meats & cheese struggle to find room amongst all the beers & glasses as we prepare to start tasting.
Gina has prepared a booklet for us in which we can make notes.
Here is a list of the beers we tasted.
Beer Region Style
Latte Piu Emilia-Romagna Belgian Wheat beer
Skizoid Emilia-Romagna American IPA
Vienna Piemonte Lager
Mr Peat Rome Smoked Cream Ale
Bulk Lombardy Porter
Tripel Lombardy Tripel
BeerBrugna Piemonte Sour Ale
Geisha Piemonte Barley Wine
I have to admit that I am not a beer drinker and had arranged the tasting as a treat for 'the boys', but I absolutely loved some of the beers here. The Bulk Porter bought back childhood memories of sneaking sips of my granny's Guiness. I could see myself drinking the Tripel with a hearty casserole on a cosy winters night. As for the Mr Peat Smoked Cream Ale - wow! My tasting notes say ' quite spectacular' & it has made a beer drinker out of this wine loving girl.
At the end of the tasting we said our goodbye's with promises to meet up soon - a trip to Rome isn't complete without a Gina tour!
Our evening wasn't over however, as we had dinner booked at our favourite trattoria in Testaccio, Agustarello. The pastas here are always good but their standout dish is the oxtail, which, unusually, contains chocolate in the recipe.
Replete with beer & good food, we say 'goodnight', ready for another fun packed day tomorrow.
