Italian craft beer

In our day jobs my partner and I have both visited West Perth’s Perugino Restaurant and so we have wanted to go for dinner for some time now. A few Fridays back we finally got our act together and went for a lovely dinner for two.

Perugino Restaurant | Facebook | Website | 77 Outram Street, West Perth

Perugino Restaurant is everything you’d expect from a fine dining Italian restaurant; beautiful food, bursts of Italian from the staff to those customer who share their tongue and a passionate chef who’ll happily tell you about the new pasta he made for the evenings special.

The wine list is extensive and their Italian beers selection is equally impressive. Perugino’s manager Francesco is in the process of putting pen to paper to detail his extensive Italian beer list. Until then he generously provided me with samples of all his beers; since then I’ve been slowly making my way through a lot of bottles. Almost all the beers I’ve never seen before, they’re from breweries I’ve never heard of and have labels I can’t read.

Birra dell’Eremo beers are imported by Mediterraneo Wines

First up I have worked my way through a few beers from a brewery called Birra dell’Eremo, brewed in Assisi, Italy in a province of Perugia. This province is the same place where Francesco and his family are from.

A little time on Google informed me that the brewery was established in 2011 by a husband and wife team.

I really like the labels on these beers, particularly the Fiera and Terra, the close up of the animals face made it feel like they were staring right at me. I reached out to the brewery on Facebook and they were kind enough to get in touch to tell me a little about the labels, I have included their explanations below.

Saggia | Belgian Wit Beer | 5.0% ABV

Big spice and citrus rind, zesty and pretty ballsy for a wheat beer.

The Label: “It’s called “Saggia” that means “wise”, and together with Manifica (American Amber Ale) and Nobile (Golden Ale), closes the circle of the most important and ancient families of Assisi. “Saggia” is also the name of a jury composed of internationally renowned experts, who judges the two sides in which Assisi is divided: the Nobile’s part and the Magnifica’s part. These two parts are in competition with each other during the celebrations of “Caldendimaggo”, a medieval representation celebrated in May in Assisi.”

Fiera | American-style IPA | 6.5% ABV

The floral and citrus notes are there that you’d expect from this style though it’s always tough to be an imported IPA when we have so many incredible local examples that you can drink super fresh.

The Label: “The name “Fiera” comes from “fera”, beast, as St Francis of Assisi wrote in his most famous pom, ‘The Canticle of the Creatures.”

Magnifica | American Amber Ale | 5.5% ABV

Pineapple, mango, pepper and brown sugar nose. Taste is full of stone fruit with more subtle notes of toast and soft bitter finish.

The Label: “The name “Magnifica” comes from one of the most important and ancient families of the Assisi’s history, while the image of the horse seems to emphasise the idea that this beer represents the “workhorse” of the brewery.”