Origin: Italy
Type: Wheat beer
Color: Dark blond
Alcohol content: 5.2%
Recommended serving temperature: 7ºC/45ºF
Brewery: Pausa Café
Time has come to add another country to this blog, in this case Italy.
It's funny (and when I say funny I really mean sad) that I had to go and try this beer in the USA, despite the geographical proximity between Italy and Spain. The truth is it is probably also available in Spain somewhere, it is just not anywhere as easy to find as it is across the pond. The wonders of the EU's free movement of goods...
This dark blond, almost pale amber, beer is a reinterpretation of the German weizen beers, and a very original one at that. It is brewed with Basmati rice, amaranto, tapioca and quinoa, instead of just wheat, giving it a patina of healthiness like no other beer before it. It's basically a beer you'd be proud to show your mother (because if you said that to your nutritionist, he might spoil your smugness by mentioning you're just using those starch foods for their sugars).
The amount of starch shows in the smell, giving it a ricy, grainy aroma. However, this smell is also accompanied by another citrusy bitter smell, which makes this beer pretty refreshing smelling.
Its taste largely follows the smell, with a bitter graininess dominating your palate and closely followed by a citric acidity, all of this a flavor that stays with you until the end. This acidity together with a pretty noticeable amount of carbonation, gives this beer a pretty zesty mouthfeel, which no doubt contributes to its freshness.
This beer is no doubt smooth, refreshing and easy to drink as the brewery contends on its webpage. Nevertheless, it is also pretty filling, just as its ingredients. I would therefore suggest pairing it with something on the lighter side, such as for example char grilled vegetables, which will no doubt be helped along by the citrus flavors in the Taquamari.
Paired or not however, if you're a wheat beer fan this beer definitely deserves a pick up. It really opens your eyes to where the style can be taken.
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