This post is a part of the 2015 New Beer Every Day Beer Diary Challenge, #ottbeerdiary. Over the course of 2015, I will be trying a new beer every day. Please read the background in the link above, and enjoy reading about the most recently tasted beers below. If you’d like to join the challenge as well, let me know in the comments below, and be sure to check out Grown-up Travel Guide and his #grownupbeerdiary, where Andy Higgs came up with the diary format in use below. You can catch up on all of our posts as part of the challenge under the tag ottbeerdiary.
Day 167: June 16, 2015
Diary entry:
We are currently in the Emilia Romagna region of Italy for this year’s Blogville project. We’ll be staying in Bologna, Rimini, and Reggio Emilia over the next two weeks, sampling the local foods, beers, and wines of Emilia Romagna. Follow along with the hashtags #Blogville, #inEmiliaRomagna, and #ViaEmilia.
Our first full day in Bologna, and we have a big lunch in store for today.
On our way own to Bologna, one Saturday evening while we were in Montreux, Switzerland, we received a mystery phone call from a number in Italy. I missed the initial call, but called right back, and was quite surprised to hear, “Buonasera, Osteria Francescana,” on the other end of the line. Yes, Osteria Francescana, the newly crowned number two restaurant in the world on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants sponsored by San Pellegrino & AquaPanna.
We had contacted them a few weeks ago to see if there was any off chance of an opening for lunch or dinner on any of the free days of our visit, and at the time, we were informed they were fully booked through September. Totally understandable! We asked to be put in the waiting list in case of any cancellations, and pretty much put any thought of visiting out of our minds.
The phone call on Saturday was notification of a lunch-time cancellation for Tuesday, which happened to be one of our free days. So of course, we had to say yes!
Today, we decided to take the train over to Modena so we could both enjoy the food along with the wine pairings. Luckily we left with a good time buffer for our trip, as there turned out to be a train strike called today, resulting in our planned train being cancelled! We managed to get another train that had us arriving just a few minute after our 12:30 reservation time. We had called in advance, so no harm done!
Outstanding food! Some of the best I’ve ever experienced. Unfortunately, some service issues that kept it from being my number one most favorite meal ever, but the food was still well up there.
Later that evening, I was also introduced to the Italian evening custom of apirtivo. We were hosted by the kind people at Eataly World who are preparing to launch the FICO Fabbrica Italiana Contadina, an 80,000 square-meter theme park of Italian food in Italy! Looking forward to that opening this fall.
The Beer:
Name: Birra Doppia Malto alle Castagne Affumicate e Ginepro
Style: Herbed/Spiced Beer
Producer: Beltaine
Alcohol content: 7.0%
Bottle size: 0.50l
Purchased from: Part of the “wine pairing” with the sensations menu at Osteria Francescana in Modena, Italy
Birra Doppia Malto alle Castagne Affumicate e Ginepro — Double Malt, Smoked Chestnut and Juniper — by Beltaine, from Granaglione near Bologna. Part of the outstanding drink pairing menu we chose with our lunch at the new world’s #2 best restaurant, Osteria Francescana by Massimo Bottura. Beautiful spices in this beer. Paired great with the “Rice and Polenta that Wants to be a Pizza” dish.
Commercial Description:
This beer with smoked chestnuts and juniper, slightly coppery color, 7% alcohol, white foam, spicy aroma, flavor and pronounced texture. The flavor is unique and unforgettable,
– Ingredients : Water, barley malt 75%, chestnut 25%, sugar, hops, juniper, and yeast. This beer we use chestnuts of the Apennines.
– Serving temperature : 9 ° C.
– Recommended glass for tasting: a large cup.
– Moment recommended for tasting: in the long evenings of Celtic festivals or during a very spicy dinner.
– Recommended food pairing: Porchetta sandwich, hearty, red meat, cold cuts and cheese, a dish of maltagliati chestnut flour with venison ragout, braised wild boar.
