Italian Beer Series: Dreher (Milan)

OK kids, we're going back to the macrobrwers today! Dreher was originally an Austrian brewery, founded by Anton Dreher, inventor of the Viennese style. In time, Dreher expanded to Hungary and ultimately to Trieste, then also part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Although the company has been brewing beer since the 17th century, they only moved to Trieste in the 1870s. Fast forward a century and a half, and the company was successful enough and the trademark entrenched enough that a conglomerate brewer, Heineken, decided to buy the brand, move the brewing operations somewhere near Milan, and most likely change the formulation to the point of Budweiser. According to their site, the beer is loved by Italians because it comes closest to their "taste". It is true that Italians are the biggest consumer of bottled water per capita in the world.

Such blah-ness requires a description composed of short, choppy sentences: insignificant, coarse head. Sharp hoppy scent. Clear golden color, strong carbonation and extremely watery consistency. Bitterness of the hops dominate, and slight sweetness, but overall has no taste--just water and hops. True to its watery nature, the bitterness does not last at all and goes away once the beer is swallowed. 4.7% ABV, and tastest all of the corn used to make it. Yum. If you are in search of this beer best described as "like making love in a canoe", stop by any old grocery store in Italy. It's ubiquity is both painful and numbing.