Beer for everyone

Beer for everyone
Birra
Magazine: October 2007

Pale, dark, amber. Double malt, fruity or with an intense and decisive taste.

A great glass of cool beer is synonymous with relaxing in the summer, but also of cosy winter evenings at home with friends or in the pub. The consummation in Italy is on the increase, a distinct steady growth, but also drinking habits linked to traditions. The Americans drink it chilled, while the European cognoscenti prefer it at room temperature. In England drinking prevails in the pub and in Spain it’s taken with tapas.

Each to its own….
Switzerland is specialised in full-bodied beers. In Holland, beer is usually tasted with cheese. For Germany, it’s diffi cult to specify a “habit” or one particular beer, but amongst the great classics it’s worth mentioning the dark lager (from toasted malt) called München, that fl ies the fl ag for Munich. In Italy, the offer is always more and more abundant, the development of a new beer culture is slowly changing and drinking habits are becoming more similar to European styles. Beer has also become a cult, and pubs and beer cellars are springing up in ex factory spaces. One of the most well known is Zythum (zythum.it) in Milan, the ancient name of beer invented 6000 years ago in Egypt and still made today by artisans. Beer is also produced in Italy.

An authenticity mission
The only ingredients are water, malt and hops as laid down by the ancient alimentary law still effective today. This is the secret of DAB beer (dabcruda.it), a classic German type imported into Italy. DAB, a raw not pasteurised beer, originated in Dortmund. A special beer that focuses on attention to detail. It is produced following the rigorous dictates of an edict of genuinity that goes back as far as An authenticity mission 1516. The advantages are numerous: apart from a low calorie count, DAB contains B group vitamins and useful minerals such as potassium, magnesium and calcium. Many of its components elevate the antioxidant strength and attack free radicals responsible for premature ageing, arteriosclerosis and heart diseases. In fact, thanks to CO2 this German beer aids digestion and is a diuretic.