Lemon. Orange. Apple. Pineapple. Raspberry. Hazelnut. Honey. Chocolate. Green tea.
The list above may look like someone's groceries, but it's actually a few of the flavours appearing in beers that have been available on LCBO shelves over the past couple of years. Some of the beers of have been great, others not so much, but at least they've been interesting, even when they were barely drinkable.
Chucking natural flavourings and additives into beer is nothing new, of course. Ancient beers were brewed using any number of different grains, fruits and spices, especially in the centuries before hops were discovered, and fruit beers in particular are increasingly popular with drinkers today. But even so, every once in a while a beer comes along that includes an ingredient that can surprise even the most adventurous beer drinker, and one such beer is at the LCBO right now as part of the Spring Beers seasonal release.
Brewed on the Mediterranean island of Corsica, Pietra (LCBO 100495 - $2.55/330 mL) is the first beer I've tried that is made using chestnut flour, although it's not the first chestnut beer I've heard of: apparently, it's become a popular ingredient in the burgeoning Italian craft brewing scene, where some reports say that there are more than 40 chestnut beers being made. And given Corsica's proximity to Italy, the parallel usage of similar ingredients makes sense, especially since chestnuts have been grown on the island for centuries.
One might think that the use of such as indigenous and unique ingredient would be a sign that Pietra comes from a brewery with a long history, and the traditional-looking label adds to this mystique. But it was 1992 when the idea of creating a distinctly Corsican beer first came to the minds of husband-and-wife team Dominique and Armelle Sialelli, and 1996 when the first bottles of Pietra rolled off the production line.
One thing that's made clear on the Pietra website is that the chestnut flour is used not merely as a flavouring agent, but as a primary fermentable ingredient along with the expected malted barley. As a result, any evidence of chestnuts in either the aroma or the flavour of this bright amber brew is subtle to the point of being almost unnoticeable.
In the aroma, it comes through more as a general sweetness than as a specific chestnut character, accompanied by a bit of wet grain and a slight herbal/floral note. The body is fairly full and a bit sticky, surprising for a beer from a warm weather climate, and like the aroma, the flavour starts with a nondescript sweetness, followed with a herbal tang and a warming finish that reminds drinkers this is a 6% beer.
In the end, I'm not sure how much the chestnut flour adds to this brew. If anything, the sweetness reminds me more of maple or brown sugar than chestnuts, and I've experienced similar flavours in beers brewed purely with malt. But I can also appreciate the use of local ingredients and the sense of adventure behind the brew, even if the results are a bit pedestrian. It's an OK strong lager, and I'm glad to have tried it, but I won't be stocking up before it's gone to make way for the upcoming Summer Beers promotion.
If I ever happen to make it to Corsica, however, I wouldn't have any objections to having a few while I'm there.
