Onpas tummaa, vaikka etiketti lupailee olevan alea.

Mukava, muttei kuitenkaan ikimuistoinen, vaikka ihan oikeanlainen lasikin on käytössä.

Maltillisen makuinen. Maistuu hyvin paikallisen ruuan kanssa.

Luumuisen vivahteikas, maltainen, kuivattu aprikoosi... kivan juotava, tasapainoinen. Makeutta on, muttei liikaa. Nostalgiapisteitä Montecassinosta (olut ostettu panimoluostarista). Pitkä jälkimaku. Hämmästyttävää, ettei prosentteja ole enempää. Luostariolut!

Let me herewith continue my sacred journey to the Heavenly Kingdom of Beers ✝️ This is the second and last monastry beer available at the Santuario Santa Maria dell'Isola Tropea. A blonde sister of yesterday's holy boy. The malty communion is served as semihaze, deep gold. Humble carbonation lifts its arms up to the sky and unlocks a creamy, airy head that grows three fingers tall. Retention is blessed with length; a righteous moldy layer graces the surface for religiously long. I lift the chalice up to my nose and let the ancient spirits of the Calibrian monks flow to my consciousness. Instead of five loaves and two fish, I get fruity orange, apricot and distant banana as well as soft wheat malt and a good pinch of candi sugar. Would probably ring alarm, were the level of sugaredness more pronounced than what it is now, but it's fortunately decent. No panic. The sweetness is, nevertheless, ubiquitous in the taste identity. It occupies every nook of the mouth although playing gentle. Orange zest, lemon pith, a tad fresh apricot skin and even a pinch of honeydew melon participate in the last supper together with the leading figure, wheat malt, as well as its faithful accompaniment, candi sugar. The supper leaves some room for improvement. The body has fasted and looks light. The finish is, again, sweet but remains further away from the gates of heaven. Sorry, sis, we can't all be the chosen ones. Despite the hard and ascetic life of the monks, the mouthfeel is extraordinarily soft, very smooth, subtle, discreetly sticky and lip-glueing. It tries to imitate the Belgian counterparts with added candi sugar but Gods don't reveal their faces to neither this particular brew, nor any of the sugared Belgian-style beers. Yesterday's Dubbel was a ticket to higher spheres but this blonde sister dumped me back on Earth. No hallelujah this time. More kneelings, studying beereligous texts and repeated visits to the Church of Malt needed. Back to the nave ↩️ PS. The yellow-orange oval fruits in the upper left corner of the collage are fruits of Opuntia cactus. They are called "prickly pear" although they have nothing to do with pear. Another name is "cactus fig". And again, nothing to do with fig. 😅

This monastry beer will act as nightcap. This is sold at the Santuario Santa Maria dell'Isola Tropea, together with its Blonde sister, but is actually brewed elsewhere, in Cassino, Province of Frosinone, somewhere between Naples and Rome. The beer displays muddy, dark raisin-brown color. Serene carbonation incarnates on top of the surface but doesn't reach divine measures, solely 2.5 fingers. Retention is a promise from above and blesses a secular creamy lace ring on the top. The scent starts with something Biblical: fig. It's a miracle. Further behind the head preacher, apostles of raisin, oversweet malt, sweet caramel, brown sugar and a drop of syrup set alight their own unique candles. Beautiful harmonious choir. The angel of taste emerges with rather sweet malt, dried plum, raisin, caramel that is not as sweet anymore, and a bit of brown sugar. Licorice is a novel creature on these pages. Fig has disappeared in the vaults of the chapel and expects a suggestion of date to grant absolution to the gustatory congregation. I can already feel someone showing me a direction. I mean THE direction. The body is medium. It's not even important because soul supersedes body anyway. The end is inevitable. Nevertheless, with serious penance and repeated prayers, the finish is sweeter than Dante's inferno. Much sweeter. It leaves a few unpenitent poor souls hovering between death and eternal life as the main group of pilgrims finally reach the gates of heaven. The sensation that one can enjoy is sappy, smooth, velvety and rather mellow. It's also a bit heavy, medium-deep, moderately lip-glueing and shows a bit of elegance. Commendable. Amen. ✝️