Birrificio Italiano Tipopils

Brewed by Birrificio Italiano
Style: Pilsener
Lurago Marinone (CO), Italy

Serve in Flute, Footed Pilsner

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I did not quite score the beer 5/5 when I had it. There are the ones who would accuse me of showing a bias towards a beer that is pretty much impossible to find. Oh sure they are bottling it now, but how can a bottled pilsners that will have travelled hundreds if not thousands of kilometers be compared to the real deal, on tap at the brewery. Those who accuse me may actually be right, I’ll never admit it, but chances are that I was carried by the moment. Luckily, they can’t sue me as we are not in Italian juridiction. And certainly not in Lurago Marinone, where I was driven by a gentle soul who rightly suspected I would never find the place with my bicycle unless I had a GPS. He was probably right, the indications from small village to small village could not be less clear to decipher. Perhaps this was one of the reason why I enjoyed the beer even more. Or perhaps because it was shared with my significant other who, for some reason, seemed to prefer a vulgar flowery beer named fleurette, while the tipopils had as much floral aromatics as one may wish for. The tipopils, opaque, perfectly balanced, strong in pure hay-like maltiness, almost avoiding any hints at graininess to ensure ultimate leanness, ultimate balance when the coating hop bitterness grabs your soul, grabs your upper and lower lips into a form vaguely similar to what poets at times refer to as a smile. Fresh, focused, cleansing crisp carbonation. Exceptional quality. Firm body, biscuity flavours that grow and grow as it warms, yet keep this quality that one can only describe as delicacy. Yet dry and this was meant to be. Still you will ask me, is it not against some unwritten ratebeer rule to attribute a 5.0 to a pilsner, this vile, lame style for the wussies who, to this day, remain afraid of darkness, who refuse the offer of a thick plot for mere simplicity. Well why do you drink fellow drinker? Are you looking at new ways to make your life more complicated with thick, sweet, long to drink beefy beers? You may as well make it more complicated by seeking this intricate, subtle gem, the quest of which, I promise, will be as complex as any of those fat beers you rave about. As for myself, as I said earlier, I had initially not given this beer a 5, not that anything was really lacking. But the thing is that, to this day, with a backlog now having passed the thousand, I estimate with a sufficient level of confidence that this beer will very likely remain my favorite of this voyage and thus deserve a special pat in the back. Is it worth a five? Some say none are, I say it is as worthy as pretty much any other.

UPDATED: JAN 29, 2011 Re-Rate: I don’t know what I was thinking the first time. This is an elite beer. One of the best in the world. Crisp, clean, refreshing and outrageously flavorful for a lighter session brew. Grassy hops are perfectly portioned. This beer rocks. Draft at Redlight Redlight. Pours a cloudy golden yellow with a white head. Aroma of strong grain and european hops. Flavors of hops, grain, lemon and a little bitterness with a dry finish. Nice pilsener.

Probably the perfect pilsener. I find here something similar to My Antonia del Borgo. Strong, clear aroma of hops, spicy by herbs with some honey. Very balanced taste, medium bodied, very drinkable. A number1.

Aroma of this beer is very cleaned, complex wit hops aroma and malted. The taste is bitter and have a long persistence. This is my fovorite Pils.

UPDATED: SEP 3, 2011 Rerate: Had countless times fresh all around Italy, and perhaps the most and best examples at Ma Che. One of the best Pilsners ever made. Pours pure bright golden yellow with massive white head that never fades, and leaves super-sticky lace throughout. Aroma is ibg beautiful fresh german hops- flowery, light zesty and grass-like, almost sweet and perfume-like with a huge fresh solid pilsner malt backbone that is bready and crackery. Flavor is a nice blend of fresh flowery and herbal hops mixed with the freshest most solid backbone of pilsner malt- bready, doughy, creamy, snappy and crisp in the finish with perfect bitterness and mineral to make you want to keep drinking more and more. It is such a shame that every time I have had it in the US, this beer has been a shadow of its fresh-self. Beautiful beer.

Had a few times over the last few months. The most recent was at Gingerman in NYC. Pours a nice (slight chill haze at first, but clears up) good carbonation and fluffy lasting white head. Aroma is mostly on the doughy malt side this time, the hops have faded out a bit but still there- earthy and spicy saaz like. Flavor is again more on the doughy malty side with hops fading quickly- fresh it was nice and floral, spciy hoppy- now the malt comes throuhg and almost playdough like dn cream of wheat character- with a light bitter finish. Used to be much better when it was first improted in the fall, and even then I wasnt even that impressed. Maybe I need to have it fresh in Italy. A bit over-rated Id say.

Una delle migliori Pils del pianeta! Profumata, Beverina e con un grandissimo finale!

Gold with persistent white foam. Herbal intense aroma, i feel also fruit, honey and cereal. Taste is little sweet with long bitter finish.

non ci sono parole...indubbiamente la numero uno, la birra per eccellenza da provare almeno una volta nella vita.

Meraviglioso profumo di luppolo fresco intenso e persistente. Al palato sorprende con il sapore di pane fresco e un finale piacevolmente amaro. Buona persistenza , non si vede l’ora del sorso successivo

A lot of glasses on the tap, every time I end up by chance near Lurago Marinone... ok, sometimes is not "by chance"... One word could be enough: wondeful. Engaging appearance, golden-yellow with some light green hint and visible effervescence. White frothy head, which last quite long. The aroma is a perfect blend of light malt and fresh hop. Not too strong but really pleasant. Medium-light body and hoppy bitternes dominating but not overwhelming the malty sweetness. It satisfies all the senses and it’s actually impossible not to have the second.