Strength: 5%
Brewed: Modena, Italy
Having scoured England, Scotland and Italy in search of the finest ingredients, ORA is an Italian craft brewery located in Modena. Launched around ten years ago initially as a pastime, Daniele Costa Zaccarelli began to brew beers in his garage and over time learnt the importance of ingredients, eventually changing the water and malts used to substantially improve the quality of his beers. After five years of working on the recipes, ORA now has two core beers to its name; ‘Hermes’, a flagship pilsner, and ‘Gioele’ – a Scottish-inspired ale.
Listed as the brewery’s “wildcard”, ‘Gioele’ is made using a traditional Scotch recipe with an Italian twist. English malts are joined with east Kentish hops and Italian water from the mountains of Emilia Romagna to produce something quite remarkable. When poured, the beer is hazy and deep brown with a foaming off-white head, while a sweet aroma of complex malts is omnipotent. Sweet notes of slightly burnt caramel and bread are joined by some orange juice and rind, resinous pine and a little grapefruit. A big malt flavour continues on the palate, with further notes of caramel and yeast alongside some cereal, violet and a little spice which is met with a light hop bitterness at the end before transforming into a very pleasant malty finish.
Further information on ORA can be found at orabeer.com.