How to choose a beer? Today it is Saint Patrick , patron saint of Ireland and all over the world is celebrated holding a pint of beer. Maybe a Guinness , for purists doc. But there are a thousand types of beers and endless quality of beers. Especially when it comes to craft beers. And to explain it is a passionate Milan brewmaster, Riccardo Telesi. With these little tips at least we begin to debunk false myths related to beer and to learn about the world of craft beers.

Preparation

• Homemade beers
• Bar or pub or a friend’s house

Instructions

1. In most cases the beers that are in the supermarket and the pub are industrial beers, so look for a pub where there are craft beers that are the most unique to taste and taste
2. Why choose a craft beer ? They are not pasteurized and they are not filtered, they are live products that are produced in small quantities that can be elocalized: it is still a small market, it is a maximum of 2 percent
3. How to choose a beer ? There is a wide spectrum with flavors defined from light to imperial stout – very dark alcoholic beers. In craft beers there is a well-defined spectrum of tastes, flavors and aromas.
4. Dilemma between men’s beer and women’s beer : there are no clichés: it is not true that women drink sweet and clear beers and men of abbey beers. We must find out which tastes best suit each one of us
5. Craft beer choice approach: only a matter of taste
6. If you favor Italian productions: the brewers are famous for the stavaganza of their productions referring to Belgian, German and English canons but they use local products, also using the fruit not to sweeten but to compose the flavor.
7. To choose a craft beer you have to take into account color and gradation
8. The color: there are blond beers and dark beers. We must dispel the myth that the blonde beer is light and the black one is very alcoholic. It’s all a matter of malts : there are blondes of 11 and 12 degrees while there are excellent 4-degree black beers.
9. Malt : for craft beer it is a matter of must. The more malt is used in production, the more alcohol will be beer. So from roasted malts you will get a dark beer, while if you use the basic malt as the pils the beer will be clear.
10. Flavor and color: in fermentation, yes, the recipe is the same, but color is linked to the flavor, the malt will be dark and the caramel, chocolate, roasted malt and licorice (naturally without adding anything) dominate. In fact the color, the taste and the alcohol are given by the malt, based on the percentage and the type of malt more or less roasted will change the beer . Simple malts will give rise to lager, roasted and caramelized beer will make the strong taste of the most composed beers. If several malts are used, the taste of beer will be more complex
11. You just have to understand what you like
12. So how to combine them? beer offers matching and contrast solutions
13. Example of pasta with pesto: difficult to combine with wines but goes well with German beers or in contrast with Belgian fermented beers that clean the palate and allow another taste of beers, or many English beers
14. Example of combinations: you can accompany the salad with a lot of vinegar with acidulous and extravagant beers , fresh, if one loves sweets and a lot of sugar in the coffee then he will prefer beers with caramelized residual sugar (dark), there are bitter lovers with beers very full of hops, which seem to have the taste of grass.
15. There are sofa beers between 10 and 12 degrees: you drink a cup, not a pint. The most famous example is that of spiced Christmas beers, to drink in cognac-type cups, at room temperature (not hot) to enhance the aromas and flavors
16. How to choose St Patrick’s beer? So better the craft beers. However, there are alternatives to Guinness: the style is that of the stout . We can mention the “Green Bear” brewery that produces Nubia (also won prizes), the Confine beer is a porter; passing then to the always stout English beers there are O’Ahara and the Olster stout, and still the classics but must be served in three times and still at the right temperature
17. Finally if you want an alternative to Guinness there are the Murphy and Beamish beers.