Inclusio Ultima

As the (translated) story goes, "as a man cub I used to play in the forest, catching the magic light of fireflies, letting it last as long as I could."  The storyteller (now brewer), adds, "I use the very same glass to imprison the spirit of hops.  This is the meaning of Inclusio Ultima, the capture at the eleventh hour, a spell designed to trap the scent to trap the scent of the hope ones at the top of their freshness by adding them directly to the bottle."  This story is not so much what caught the attention of my beautiful Angel and myself.  Instead, it was what was behind the story and the beer.

The Inclusio Ultima is an Italian-style pilsner produced by Klan Barbarrique, a brewer engaged in the Fermentations of the Barbarian.  These fermentations involve barrel aging, the use of the champenoise style and/or the infusion of fruit or sour flavors. This explains the Inclusio Ultima, because it is not just any pilsner.  Rather, it is a pilsner produced using the full champagne method process.  The beer is bottle conditioned with hops, and, progressively turned upside down to have the sediments settle in the bottleneck.  Those sediments are disgorged by hand and the bottle is refilled with more beer.  The product is something that one does not see every day on the beer shelves. 

The Inclusio Ultima pours a hazy yellow with a thick, bready foam that resemble thick, floating cumulonimbus clouds.  There is no threat of storms or instability, as the liquid that rests beneath the foam is rather smooth and quiet.  Aromatic elements feature the malts, with the hops providing grass and flower components.  All of those components translate, as one would expect to the taste of the beer.  This pilsner features hops a little more than the typical pilsner.  However, those grass and citrus notes help to provide some complexity to the beer.   The hops also provide a slight bitterness to the finish.  

Overall, this is a good attempt at a pilsner from a country whose beer movement is not known for producing beers of this style.  The pilsner does not reach the levels of some of the best Czech pils beers, but, the use of the champagne method and hops provides a beer that is quintessentially Italian.  Something that shows creativity and sets itself apart.  The oversized bottle sells, if I recall correctly, $19.99 per bottle.

ENJOY!