I’ve been obsessing over Italian craft brews of late. I cannot pass one of Rome’s many beer shops without picking up a bottle or two…or a case…and considering I live a few blocks from Domus Birrae and am in the neighborhood of the Via Trionfale location of Johnny’s Off License at least twice a week, I have been buying quite a bit. All in the name of research, of course.

A couple of months ago I picked up a bottle of LoverBeer‘s BeerBera at Domus Birrae and I’ve been hooked ever since. The producer, Valter Loverier, combines beer and wine production techniques in this critically acclaimed beer-wine-ale. BeerBera is the product of spontaneous fermentation brought on by the addition of crushed barbera grapes. The yeasts naturally present on the grape skins set of the fermentation process, without the introduction of selected yeasts. All the magic happens in wooden casks and the result is a fresh, subtly fruity, slightly tart, and supremely balanced beer. At €9.20 for a 37.5cL bottle of the 2009 vintage, it’s not exactly practical as an everyday drinking beer, but it’s is certainly an excellent and versatile product I’ll be drinking a lot more of.

You can read more about LoverBeer on their website here, follow them on Twitter here, or become a fan on Facebook here.