As I said in the last post, once the tourist stuff was done came the real beer. Trevi fountain was last on the list and when I got to the bus stop for our open top bus, while we were waiting I found a free wi-fi spot so got on the Iphone and got the address for "The football pub". We then rode the open top bus as close as it came to it and walked towards it. By now it was evening and the walk down by the river was lovely. We worked up a good appetite.

When we arrived on Via di Benedetta we found an oasis of restaurants and bars and not a tourist in sight. I am going to go out on a limb and say that few tourists ever venture here so I was expecting some proper food as so far, Rome left us with little to recommend it from a food perspective. I selected a brewpub, conveniently opposite Ma Che Siete Venuti A Fa' (Football Pub). The menu was all in Italian, there was no English, thankfully our waiter got someone else to deal with us who spoke English and could translate stuff for us.

Inside it is quite lovely and they list their beer and food specials on chalk boards, not that I understood any of it.
I ordered a tasting tray of 5 beers, there were many more available as you will see from the photos of their menu further down the post.
Starting from the left we have Lambrate Pilsner which was a very hoppy bitter Pilsner and quite good.
Second we have Carminia IPA which is a very hoppy IPA, thought not a lot of sweetness to back it up.
Third is Birrificio Italiano Weizen which is a 5% German style wheat beer, very tasty.
Fourth is Duchessa which reminded me of a trappist beer and there seemed a lot of alcohol, more so than its 5.8% would suggest. A very nice sipper.
Lastly came Genziana which did not seem to be the 6.2% claimed. It reminded me of a Belgian Blonde and was very sweet.
The only full beer I had was the Reale IPA which was a lovely IPA. It was not too bitter and had a lovely sweet malty background, similar to Big daddy I thought.



The food at Bir & Fud was the best food we had in Rome. The Reale (IPA) marinated chicken wings were fantastic. I would have loved to have more time to spend there trying different beers.

After dinner we popped over to the football pub. I have heard great things about this place and I was not disappointed. I would love to spend a whole night, even a few nights sampling everything they have to offer but I did not have the time and left Rome the next morning.
Inside the amount of taps as a little disconcerting, as you can see from the three images I had to take to get them all in and you still can not make out all of them as some are to the side, such as the cask pumps (left).

I initially ordered a Brewdog trash blond but was told I would have to wait as they were changing the keg so I had a Cantillon lambic instead and that was a shock. It was not a sweet style lambic I have had before, rather it was sour and bitter and hard to drink. It did grow on me but is not the sort of thing I enjoy. It was packed full of different fruits like Cherry & raspberry. It was very acidic, like vinegar. The tap label said 2006. I was not a big fan I have to say. I will have to check with BeerNut as he was at the brewery so will have tasted it.

The Trashy Blond from Brewdog was nice enough, it was like a light IPA. It had all the typical IPA characteristics but without being too hoppy so my Wifes Aunt (who I ordered it for) was able to drink it.

I saved the best till last here but in fact it was the last beer I had anyway. I did have another IPA while I was there, it was nice enough but not memorable. I think it was the Lambrate I saw in Bir & Fud. The bartender advised me to get it instead of what I asked for first which was called JJJ IPA. Thankfully I asked him for a taste of JJJ as well and as soon as I tasted it I told him to pour a pint of it sharp! I gave that pint to my brother in law while downing the other IPA counting the seconds so I could run back and get my own pint. JJJ is simply one of the, if not the best tasting beer I have ever had. It pours a brown colour and smells of chocolate (an IPA??). It was very Belgian in feel and I was very shocked to see Somerset England on the tap. The taste was full of chocolate, very rich malt and it was just so good I can barely describe it. When I handed my brother in law the pint I said it would "kick your face off" and that is precisely what it did. He fell in love with the beer also and promptly ordered another one. The beer is 9% so is pretty strong and up in the realms of a Belgian Tripple.
When we arrived on Via di Benedetta we found an oasis of restaurants and bars and not a tourist in sight. I am going to go out on a limb and say that few tourists ever venture here so I was expecting some proper food as so far, Rome left us with little to recommend it from a food perspective. I selected a brewpub, conveniently opposite Ma Che Siete Venuti A Fa' (Football Pub). The menu was all in Italian, there was no English, thankfully our waiter got someone else to deal with us who spoke English and could translate stuff for us.
Inside it is quite lovely and they list their beer and food specials on chalk boards, not that I understood any of it.

Starting from the left we have Lambrate Pilsner which was a very hoppy bitter Pilsner and quite good.
Second we have Carminia IPA which is a very hoppy IPA, thought not a lot of sweetness to back it up.
Third is Birrificio Italiano Weizen which is a 5% German style wheat beer, very tasty.
Fourth is Duchessa which reminded me of a trappist beer and there seemed a lot of alcohol, more so than its 5.8% would suggest. A very nice sipper.
Lastly came Genziana which did not seem to be the 6.2% claimed. It reminded me of a Belgian Blonde and was very sweet.
The food at Bir & Fud was the best food we had in Rome. The Reale (IPA) marinated chicken wings were fantastic. I would have loved to have more time to spend there trying different beers.
After dinner we popped over to the football pub. I have heard great things about this place and I was not disappointed. I would love to spend a whole night, even a few nights sampling everything they have to offer but I did not have the time and left Rome the next morning.

I initially ordered a Brewdog trash blond but was told I would have to wait as they were changing the keg so I had a Cantillon lambic instead and that was a shock. It was not a sweet style lambic I have had before, rather it was sour and bitter and hard to drink. It did grow on me but is not the sort of thing I enjoy. It was packed full of different fruits like Cherry & raspberry. It was very acidic, like vinegar. The tap label said 2006. I was not a big fan I have to say. I will have to check with BeerNut as he was at the brewery so will have tasted it.
The Trashy Blond from Brewdog was nice enough, it was like a light IPA. It had all the typical IPA characteristics but without being too hoppy so my Wifes Aunt (who I ordered it for) was able to drink it.
I saved the best till last here but in fact it was the last beer I had anyway. I did have another IPA while I was there, it was nice enough but not memorable. I think it was the Lambrate I saw in Bir & Fud. The bartender advised me to get it instead of what I asked for first which was called JJJ IPA. Thankfully I asked him for a taste of JJJ as well and as soon as I tasted it I told him to pour a pint of it sharp! I gave that pint to my brother in law while downing the other IPA counting the seconds so I could run back and get my own pint. JJJ is simply one of the, if not the best tasting beer I have ever had. It pours a brown colour and smells of chocolate (an IPA??). It was very Belgian in feel and I was very shocked to see Somerset England on the tap. The taste was full of chocolate, very rich malt and it was just so good I can barely describe it. When I handed my brother in law the pint I said it would "kick your face off" and that is precisely what it did. He fell in love with the beer also and promptly ordered another one. The beer is 9% so is pretty strong and up in the realms of a Belgian Tripple.
Sounds like a very good time was had.
ReplyDeleteCantillon beers are famously uncompromisingly sour. They can be a bit of an acquired taste, but are worth it, IMO. Depending on whether it was actual cherries or raspberries in yours, that was most likely their kriek or Rosé de Gambrinus -- the raspberry one.
Will definitely be keeping an eye out for the JJJ IPA.
Wow, that's some good drinking, and anywhere that sells that awesome line-up of beer is definitely worth visiting.
ReplyDeleteCantillon are pretty unforgiving and I used to hate them but my tastes are changing. I like them ice cold on a roasting hot day.
JJJ IPA is excellent, I love it. I bought 3 bottles; I've had one, will open another soon and then I will leave the other for a year or two to see how the hops mellow down. Beermerchants sell it and they ship to Ireland now!
(ps, the word verification just come up 'dumbut'! lol!)
Mmmmm, Cantillon. I was due to go to Brussels at the end of the month, and would have picked some up, but that's been cancelled (Prague is still on the cards though!).
ReplyDeleteHad to laugh when you mentioned chocolate aroma and IPA. I get that all the time with the really rich, heavy hopped ones, and I can never describe it without the TBN looking at me oddly :D That JJJ sounds the business. Must get me some.
I get chocolate in IPAs too. It's usually simcoes or nelson sauvins (must be others too) that are a bit past their freshest, I find.
ReplyDeleteIt was the Kriek I had, and I did find myself warming to it a little, sort of like sucking lemons.
ReplyDeleteSo Beermerchants have JJJ? excellent thanks, with luck they have it somewhere over here so I do not have to pay shipping.