28 Days Later

[David Bishop]

Alessio Leone @caskcrusade

I could bore you all day with my references to Twitter and as this is my blog then I guess I'm safe to have a good go!  I try to keep up-to-date with the daily Tweets and every once in a while I see something a little different, something that catches my eye, nothing revolutionary, but interesting nonetheless.  On this particular occassion it was a Tweet from Alessio Leone or otherwise known on Twitter as @caskcrusade.  He's based in Milan, Italy and describes himself as Bar Manager at @birraom (a Craft Brewery in the making), author of the Hoppy-Hour -blog, bike rider, vinyl collector, drummer for Vulturum and Lone Wolf and above all "Chief Bastard Drinker" [his words, not mine].  Reason for stating all this is that I tend to read a Tweeters profile and tend to scan for the word beer, once I find the magic word I delve further.  In Alessio's case it turns out he's very passionate about beer, so I Followed him [virtually of course].  A couple of days later he was telling his followers that he had received a mysterious calling to embark on a beery mission, a mission he chose to accept.  If my pigeon Italian serves my well (I'm lieing of course, Blogger allows me to click 'translate' on Alessio's blog), then I am to understand that  the 6th September 2011 marked Alessio's 28th birthday and the voices told him that he should mark each of the next 28 days by consuming a beer, and a different style for each day.  I'm sure you'll agree with me when I say these are the voices we would all welcome with open arms.  His criteria seems fairly relaxed and he is not looking to find the finest examples of any of the styles, more to the point I feel that he is searching for beers he has yet to experience. 

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#28challenge: Alessio's fridge

28 beers, 
28 styles, 
28 days.


- “His fear began when he was drinking alone, his terror began when he realised he wasn't”




I think I can learn a lot from this exercise, maybe not with the same enthusiasm of this 28 day crawl as there are certain considerations such as being financially challenged or needing to count the liver cells, but there is nothing to stop me from trying to find a beer I haven't tried and maybe even one that I can't rely on the reviews to tell me what I should think of it.  I happen to be both of the above, my wallet is bare and my liver isn't talking to me at the moment.  Anyway, I traded a few Tweets with Alessio and told him I would be following his #28challenge with interest.  I even went as far as saying I would join him on the days that I could, time and beer style availability permitting.   A couple of evenings ago Alessio invited me to join him for a real-time beer tasting via Twitter.  I accepted and we set the date and time 21st September at 5pm GMT.  

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Marble Brewery

The beer style was confirmed as wheat beer and the invite was sent out for anyone else who could to join us (5pm on a work night was probably a little too early for the beer geeks that I know would have loved to join in).  I happened to be at home so lined up a Marble Brewery Weizen, a 5.5% abv German-style wheat beer.  Alessio went for Schneider-Weisse Tap 5 Meine Hopfenweisse brewed to a heady 8.2% and our only other companion was @TeoSolobirra who selected Brauerei Aying's Ayinger Ur-Weisse (5,2% abv Dunkelweizen).  We synchronised watches and commenced our tasting session.  It was quick fire for a few reasons, but none truer that 5pm is a thirsty time of day!

My thoughts on the Marble Weizen; Lively upon opening and a large foamy head quickly formed.  I chose to swill the bottom dregs of the bottle and add them to the glass once there was space.  The head quickly disappeared but there was good carbonation throughout the drink.  In appearance it was straw-coloured and hazy as you might expect from the style.  Aromas of banana, spice, an earthyness and all-in-all very fresh. Flavours of clove, spice, banana, alcohol and it had a solid citrus bitterness in the finish which stuck around in my mouth.  After being in the glass for 15 minutes or so, some bubblegum flavours also came through along with a pleasant sweetness.  Overall, I found it to be an excellent German-style wheat beer with a definite British touch...loved it!   Cheers Marble Brewers!

Thanks to Alessio for inviting to me join him on Day 16 of his #28challenge.  It was great fun and I've met a couple more great people who love beer.  All's left to say is God Speed Alessio on the remainder of your quest and that "a journey of twenty-eight beers begins with a single sip" - [Confucius].