Though not numerous, this year's participants from Italy are very interesting. Craft breweries in Italy are experiencing a huge boom and they often manage to break through even in toughest global competition.
One such example is Birrificio San Gabriel from Ponte Di Piave near Treviso, which earned silver at the European Beer Star 2013. Its San Gabriel Ambra Rossa Vintage ripening in barrels previously used for aging Raboso Piave wine succeeded in the category of 'Belgian- Style Sour Ale'. This traditional production technology combined with the addition of medicinal herbs is typical for Belgian monastery beers; however, San Gabriel brewery enriches the technology with original Italian elements. Trevisan red radicchio gives the beer an interesting spicy flavour. Ambra Rossa Vintage smells of ripe fruit, amaretto, caramel and vanilla, and thanks to the maturing process also of the typical Piave's Raboso.
We are going to taste this unique beer in České Budějovice, too, as it has been registered in the category of 'Strong Semi-Dark Beer'. In addition, San Gabriel microbrewery will compete in three other categories specializing in strong or semi-dark beers.