#crooked-stave-italian-pils

Going straight?

Last week, I reported on Irish wild beer specialist Wide Street producing a couple of tamer offerings. Today it's more of the same, except the brewery is Denver's Crooked Stave. Again, we begin with a hazy pale lager, although rather than "Kellerbier", the brewery has called it their Italian Pils . This is a light 4.9% ABV and smells ripely fruity, of soft peach and mango. The flavour is calmer, and rather more pils-typical, with a crisp pale malt base, adorned by citric hops which add a modest amount of bitterness but lots of lemon and grapefruit flavour. The unfiltered fuzz adds a softness of texture, meaning it's both crisp and smooth; thirst-quenching and filling, in a way I associate most with Bavarian Helles. Some may argue that the hopping makes it too American to be classed with any kind of European pilsner, but I think that's par for the course when the "Italian" card is played: "Italian pils" should never be confused with "pils from Italy". This is a highly enjoyable lager, a