Menabrea 1846 - Birra Menabrea SpA

Skidz

Wisconsin

4.13/5  rDev +43.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Pours out pale gold and sits light yellow in the glass with a light soapy head fading fast.

Sharp grassy aroma with light crackery undertones.

Dry crackery malts upfront with an assertive yet moderate hop bitterness. Vaguely floral.

Crisp, clean and refreshing. Can't help but state that this is definitely mis-classified as an American adjunct lager, it is more akin to a Euro pale lager, encroaching on Czech/German pils. Overalls nice, unobtrusive beer worthy of a pairing with lighter fare or as a refresher course on a warm summer's day.

Serving type: bottle

04-08-2009 03:06:11 | More by Skidz

BeerResearcher

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev +39.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Dark green bottle.
Menabrea is an Italian version of the pilsner style. Dull gold (not unappealing) with a light-medium malt body. Lightly herbal and smooth. The hops are noticeable though not overpowering. Very light & delicate, but improves in flavor throughout. Slightly sweet very refreshing. Surprising kick.
Very fluid and smooth.

Serving type: bottle

03-17-2003 19:26:47 | More by BeerResearcher

vfgccp

New York

3.95/5  rDev +37.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Found this state side at La Bottega, a fantastic modern-Italian sandwich chain, figured I'd give it a shot.

p.s. Looks like they've upgraded to brown bottles.

A - Clear straw gold. Poured a full 4 fingers of clean white head with below average retention, but decent lace.

S - Some lager yeast and a touch of malty sweetness. Backdrop of citrus zest.

T - Crisp with some lemon up front. Rolls into a smooth, surprisingly big, malt body. Toast, caramel, sunflower seeds. Touch on the sweet side. Some citrus hop bitterness accents the finish.

M - Light body with mild, but refreshing carbonation. Semi-sweet finish.

D - I enjoyed a glass over a brainstorm session at lunch, and wouldn't have said no to a second if we weren't going back to the office.

Serving type: bottle

02-11-2011 01:47:42 | More by vfgccp

ChainGangGuy

Georgia

3.83/5  rDev +33.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Appearance: Pours a crystal clear, pale gold body with a finely-textured, white head leaving a smattering of splotchy lace on the descent.

Smell: Lightly grainy, dry maltiness filled out with some modest traces of floral, grassy noble hops.

Taste: Minimum pale maltiness along with a touch of graininess and a hint of pilsner malt tang. Whisper of maize. Minor sweetness. Floral, grassy-toned hops with ample bitterness to balance things out. Dry, nicely crisp finish.

Mouthfeel: Light-bodied. Medium-plus carbonation.

Drinkability: It's decent. 1846 sports an acceptable taste with a refreshing, quenching crisp texture.

Serving type: bottle

05-27-2010 15:39:52 | More by ChainGangGuy

tgbljb

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev +30.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured a pale golden color with massive white puffy head.
Smell is sweet with a slight skunkiness., sligh presence of hops also noted.
Taste is moderately sweet, and finishes with a profound dryness.
Finish is crisp and dry.
Was a nice enjoayble beer, very refreshing.

Serving type: bottle

08-09-2007 22:31:29 | More by tgbljb

orangemoustache

Illinois

3.65/5  rDev +27.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A-pours a hazy subdued golden color with thick foamy head that dissipates quickly leaving spotty lace in my snifter

S-nice sweet smelling grains and earthy notes that are a tad skunky

T-consistant tartness upfront,kettle cooked potatoe chips,slightly salty,rye and sourdough breads,good hoppy bitterness

M-light body and lower carbs suit this light brew very well,it has a lingering dryness some might find bothersome,I appreciate it as a added demension that improves this otherwise boring Italian Birra

D-could enjoy a couple,but not somthing that I would consider a session brew,but a very enjoyable change from some other Italian beers that were not so impressive

Serving type: bottle

04-02-2008 05:39:51 | More by orangemoustache

nrpellegrini

Maryland

3.65/5  rDev +27.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

The taste was unique. Started out like a pilsner, it was semi sweet. But then it went into a pale wheat taste. Very easy to drink, easy on the mouth. Picked up some arbonated/ sparkling mouthfeel. I could of had a couple more. Much better than Peroni. Try it.

Serving type: bottle

09-13-2008 15:10:52 | More by nrpellegrini

Kulrak

Australia

3.55/5  rDev +23.7%
look: 2.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a light straw color with a minimum of white bubbly head that fades away pretty quickly, leaving a thin layer of lace on top of the beer. Smells slightly sweet and citrusy, with hints of coriander. There's a little noble hop aroma there too. The taste is very clean, very slightly sweet, with a little citrusy hoppy flavor there. Not bad, could do with a little more flavor, though. Mouthfeel is fizzy, but fairly heavy for such a light beer. Overall, it's pretty drinkable, not my favorite, but one of the better Italian beers I've had.

Serving type: bottle

02-24-2008 10:59:46 | More by Kulrak

msubulldog25

Oregon

3.45/5  rDev +20.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

330ml/11.2oz BROWN bottle (not the green skunker shown in photo). Found this mysterious brew at Cutsforth's Thriftway (a remarkably good beer department for a small town grocery). Poured to a pint glass. Date stamp at lower left, back label: 10.17.10

Neck label: "GOLD MEDAL WINNER --- WORLD BEER CHAMPIONSHIPS --- CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, USA"

A: Flawless clarity, pale golden. Random bubbles rise, a few wriggling strands extend from a couple etched spots on the glass bottom. 2-finger tuft of snowy foam, dropping over a couple minutes to a scant film. Seafoam flecks of lace coat the upper third of the glass.

S: A dusty dry malt with a spritzing of lemon and grass/clover/flower hops. Benign aroma, nothing 'off', fleeting sweetness.

T: Crackery-dry pale malt, sweeter notes of biscuits/light honey. Caramel/buttery sweetness grows as it warms, but is held in check but enough hop bittering in the end.

M: Refreshing lightness, dry/mineral finishing. Not overly carbonated, just a fine airy crispness. Gets slicker as it warms, a coating that sits dully and a little gummy.

D: Somewhat of a surprise: a complete unknown at purchase, an utter disappointment according to some previous reviewers, but a pleasant drinker for me. I'm judging most of these categories on where I feel this falls style-wise; sure a pale lager isn't something I'm drawn to very often, nor is it a style that most BAs will rave over, but on this day it was definitely a worthy try and a brew I'd drink again. Grazie Menabrea!

Serving type: bottle

01-09-2010 19:05:33 | More by msubulldog25

BlackHaddock

United Kingdom (England)

3.43/5  rDev +19.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

This green 330ml bottle (best before 7th Dec 2007) was poured into a Duvel glass.

It could have been a Duvel, well almost, it is clearer, a little lighter and doesn't produce such a huge head. So we have a golden yellow, pale beer with a tight foaming head that is snow white in colour.

Lager beers are served so cold I never get much if any aroma, this beer gets my standard 3 score for being no different to the rest.

I was pleased with the taste, refreshing and clean, with a fairly sharp tang to it, not bad at all for an Italian lager.

The sharpness fades to a dryness in the mouthfeel, but not that metalic taste sometimes evident in cheap lagers.

Obviously this would be a whole lot better sat on the beach in Amalfi with the sun beating down on you, but it isn't too bad here in wind swept England either. One of the best Mediterranean lagers I've ever had.

Serving type: bottle

10-10-2007 16:54:42 | More by BlackHaddock

Nerudamann

Arizona

3.28/5  rDev +14.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Poured from a bottle into a Pilsener glass.

Look - light golden color, clear, with about 2 or 3 fingers of off-white colored foam that dissipates somewhat slowly. Very good carbonation.

Smell - typical light beer type of smell...a bit of a pilsener smell. Malty, but not strongly so.

Taste and Mouthfeel - not quite as strong of a "light beer" type of taste. The taste is actually closer to that of Bavarian style lagers. No bitterness at all, pretty sweet for this style. Texture is actually pretty well balanced.

Overall - not an interesting beer at all, but not bad tasting either. Worth trying just to try it.

Serving type: bottle

04-14-2011 04:18:38 | More by Nerudamann

bark

Sweden

3.25/5  rDev +13.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

The colour is pale gold; the firm yellowish head is finger thick. Some lacing.

The smell is very sweet with notes of white bread, flowers and sweet dough. It is a little on the heavy side.

The taste is hoppy and creamy. Lots of sweet notes with hints of dough. Apart from the sweet flowery notes, it is rather simple. The aftertaste brings notes of flowers and honey. The finish got some mineral flavours.

The carbonation is medium strong; small bubbles. The liquid is a little sticky.

A typical "lawnmower beer". And there is nothing wrong with that.

Serving type: on-tap

07-08-2008 08:11:19 | More by bark

rebel1771

Florida

3.2/5  rDev +11.5%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Pours a pale yellow with decent head. The aroma consists mainly of grass/straw. The flavor starts out with the same grassy hints that were found in the aroma along with a surprising bit of hop bitterness. I wasn't expecting much from this brew but I was proven wrong. This is a decent beer and one that would be nice on hot summer day.

Serving type: bottle

01-03-2006 03:01:23 | More by rebel1771

emerge077

Illinois

3.2/5  rDev +11.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Sampled at Pizza D.O.C. in Chicago.

Pours into a pilsner flute, fizzy yellow body, high clarity, champagne streams of carbonation.

Smell is bland, maybe old hops, slightly mineral.

Taste is fairly crisp with a dry aftertaste. Leans toward a Pilsner, but overall is sort of bland. Vague grain and sweetness in the middle. It's drinkable, but then again, so is water. Paired well with wood-fired Pizze Margherita.

Serving type: bottle

04-16-2007 01:13:31 | More by emerge077

Tone

Missouri

3.18/5  rDev +10.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Pours a clear, straw color. 1/2 inch head of a white color. Great retention and decent lacing. Smells of pale malt, sweet malt, grain, yeast, and slight hop. Fits the style of an Euro Pale Lager. Mouth feel is smooth and clean with an average carbonation level. Tastes of pale malt, grain, slight sweet malt, slight metallic, hint of hops, and a hint of citrus. Overall, a decent appearance and body.

Serving type: bottle

06-24-2010 00:56:38 | More by Tone

pmcadamis

Illinois

3.15/5  rDev +9.8%
look: 2.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

A - Dandelion yellow and perfectly clear. A head almost builds up for about three seconds, and then disappears with only a thin flimsy collar of soapy suds left behind. How sad. It's saving grace is a spattering of lace that is quite a bit more substantial than most pale lagers.

S - Worther's Original hard caramel candy. That just hit me like a ton of bricks! This smells profoundly like that tasty candy, and reminds me of visits to my granpa's house...or was that just the commercial. Anyhow, this honeyed caramel and Cracker Jack nose is quite unexpected and quite appreciated.

T - Sadly, not quite as tasty as it smells but it's still pretty damn good. Who listed this under American Macro Lager? I think that it's a Euro Pale Lager, and I will be submitting my change to the bros. after typing this review. There are some German pils-esque hints of hay and saltine cracker, and the hops are very German too. Could this perhaps be from the northern reaches of Italy near Austria and Bavaria? The influence is definitely there.

M - Medium bodied, delicately carbonated, and salty with a medium-dry finish. Sea-breeze fresh and palate cleansing.

D - I'm not eating anything right now (rare), but this would be a very nice food beer with lighter fare like salads and light pastas. Cold pasta salad sounds great with this one. I find that most beer from Italy, not being known as a beer country, sucks. This has restored my faith in that boot-shaped peninsula.

Serving type: bottle

01-04-2008 22:18:24 | More by pmcadamis

jbertsch

Massachusetts

3.15/5  rDev +9.8%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Had this in a bomber glass in Italy, where it should be freshest.

Unfortunately all I had to pour it into was a water glass. Poured a light golden color, say a little darker than Heineken - more like the color of a regular Budweiser.

Head was typical of a pils; white, with quick dissipation. Minor lacing.

Aroma was light, and smelled faintly sweet (though I didn't really taste any sweetness).

This is light on the hops. There's no bite back that I usually experience with pilsners. There's also not too much carbonation, so those two things coupled together make this an easy beer to drink. However, I can see getting tired of it quickly after one or two.

I always wonder why a country like Italy, who's so good at producing wine, has to be so bland and unimpressive with their beers. It seems like Italians don't take much interest in other beer styles other than pilsners and basic, crisp lagers. It would be cool to see what a country like Italy could do to beer if they put effort into it.

Serving type: bottle

03-01-2009 16:24:25 | More by jbertsch

Herrbrokt

Pennsylvania

3.1/5  rDev +8%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

From Bottle fresh by 5-5-09 into pint glass

golden yellow w/ bubbly white head. falls quickly

smells a bit grassy - sweet corn

taste is not bad for style. surprising little hoppy finish. the rest is similar to smell. not impressive but on the better side considering style again.

to its credit- not real carbonated. real thin on palate

overall descent beer. would certainly choose over many macros

Serving type: bottle

08-12-2008 22:56:46 | More by Herrbrokt

biboergosum

Alberta (Canada)

3.08/5  rDev +7.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Having only ever had Moretti and Peroni as examples of Italian brewing culture, I was interested to see this offering hit my local liquor store shelves. For a country so varied in its wine production, one would hope that there's more to its brewing as well...

Into a pilsner glass, this beer pours a very clear, light pale golden colour. The head is thin, white, and gargantuan at first, but dissipates quickly. It smells like white, bready malt, and rice cakes. The taste has a slight floral hoppiness at first, then a very thin, almost state-less body arrrives. I haven't analyzed very many beers made with corn, so I don't know if this is attributable to that or not. It isn't really sweet maltiness that I taste, but a smooth graininess. There isn't really much flavour to speak of, just an essence of a reminder of an indication of one. The carbonation is on the low side. That said, it's pretty inoffensive, and easy to drink, just not much to make you remember it.

Serving type: bottle

11-29-2008 05:10:45 | More by biboergosum

wordemupg

Alberta (Canada)

3.08/5  rDev +7.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

330ml bottle poured into pint glass nov16 2010

A clear pale straw yellow lots of large bubbles feeding a thumbs width of head that falls after a few seconds and leaves a couple random patches of lace

S grassy hops and a little lemon

T some sweet grains on top of what I smell with a slight metallic flavor

M a little thin but quite fluffy from the carbonation and fairly crisp

D nothing special and nothing offensive, on a hot day this could work if your selection was limited

I wouldn't go looking for this one, not a bad beer but pretty simple

Serving type: bottle

11-17-2010 03:14:48 | More by wordemupg

Voonder

Alberta (Canada)

3.05/5  rDev +6.3%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours clear light golden color with pretty much no head. Smell - somewhat sweet, grassy, malty. Not too much here. Taste - pretty clean, corn, sweet malts, touch of floral hops. Crispy, light beer, not that bad, but pretty ordinary bre. It's drinkable. I wouldn't have this again, too expencive for that type of beer.

Serving type: bottle

02-03-2009 05:32:55 | More by Voonder

rhoadsrage

Illinois

3.05/5  rDev +6.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

(Served in a strange)

A- This beer pours a crystal clear yellow with a swirling strong carbonation of tiny bubbles that support a bubbly snow white head that last for much of the beer.

S- The dry green herbal aroma blends with a soft sulfur note and a field corn note that grows into more of a honey comb quality as it warms.

T- The dry cooked corn taste has a slight sulfury sweetness to it with a touch of butter that comes through at the finish. Thee is a watery taste that grows as the beer opens and the finish takes on a touch of sweetness.

M- The light mouthfeel has a filling fizz texture and no alcohol heat noticed.

O- The light character has some nice notes with a touch of sweetness softening the sulfur. There is a touch of green in the nose but none in the taste. Pleasant but one is enough.

Serving type: bottle

10-13-2011 21:19:40 | More by rhoadsrage

Suds

Pennsylvania

3.03/5  rDev +5.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

I had this brew on tap while visiting Italy. It's a yellowish, straw colored beverage, with a decent and lasting head. The aroma is faint, but slightly bready. There's very little hop aroma in the brew. The taste is similar, with a notable sweetness and a slightly chaulky character. A bit grainy at the end. It's a very smooth beer, and fairly light in body. Very little bitterness in the finish. All in all, it's a typical euro-style lager. Nothing remarkable here.

Serving type: on-tap

05-05-2007 17:46:53 | More by Suds

morebeergood

Massachusetts

3.03/5  rDev +5.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

I was at Coppa in the South End with my wife and some friends this past Saturday. We ordered 5-6 plates of charcuterie and a round of Menebrea for my wife and myself. Poured into a tall glass. Pale yellow color with loads of carbonation. Smell was standard Euro lager, but no skunky smell, so that was a bonus. Flavor was pretty average, with no real redeeming qualities. Mouthfeel was thin and bubbly, but smooth. I guess the only thing that this beer was good for was that it didn't interfere with all the flavors of the meats were were trying, and that it was a decent palate cleanser between bites and plates.

Serving type: bottle

04-26-2010 16:51:52 | More by morebeergood

rudzud

Massachusetts

3/5  rDev +4.5%
look: 2 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Picked up at a random store in Waitsfield, VT. Poured into my Duvel tulip.

A - Pours a crystal clear honey hue with a fizzy light head that fades quickly to leave no retention and lacing.

S - sweet malts and grains/corn with light honey.

T - More of those sweet malts (though more honey atleast), but its still alot of corn on the taste. Not a big fan of corny beers...

M - Mouthfeel isnt that bad. Light, crisp, not too too thin mouthfeel. Definately european.

O - Overall, this beer was average. Havent really had a good Italian beer. This one was okay, wouldnt buy again.

Serving type: bottle

11-14-2011 01:55:16 | More by rudzud