Tasting

A Menabrea Bionda tastes pale and fresh, with a light bready note and a gentle bitterness on the finish. The corn in the recipe keeps it uncomplicated. Anyone expecting a lager with pronounced malt character will find the opposite here: a beer that makes no demands. It pours well from the tap and suits a long evening where the food, not the glass, takes center stage.

Quite different is a craft beer from Baladin like Isaac or Super, both on offer since 1997. These beers are more aromatic and more shaped by the brewer's hand, meant for savoring rather than quenching thirst. And anyone tasting an Italian Grape Ale should pay attention to grape variety, acidity, and tannin — first on the nose, then on the palate.

A lean mug or a tall glass suits lager, while a tulip or a bellied wine glass works for craft beers and IGA. The curve gathers the aroma, and the opening releases it. The Baladin brewery bottles its beers in large formats meant for sharing.

As for temperature: a lager tastes best cool, around 43–46°F (6–8°C). A Grape Ale should go into the glass a touch warmer, so the fruit and acidity can show through — otherwise the subtle notes disappear in the cold. When pouring, tilting the glass helps; it's straightened toward the end to build a proper head of foam. In Turin and the Langhe, pouring follows the same calm, unhurried style found everywhere in Italy.