Ambranera, the origins of Otus Oatmeal Stout
Ambranera recipe, OTUS Brewery Oatmeal Stout, draws inspiration from our brewer Alessandro Reali training experiences in English breweries.
During the development of a beer recipe, experiences, technical expertise, technology and method are clearly important, but, if we have a chat with the brewer, we will find out that every beer gets its origin from an inspiration deeply and intimately connected with a taste experience. The one that Alessandro Reali, OTUS brewmaster, will tell us, it’s a story of unforgettable beers that leave lasting memories. Taste memory – as the olfactory one – acts unexpectedly and makes us relive a special moment’s emotions from our past, it works like a sensory stimulator and, when the memory is tied to pleasure, we feel happy. Alessandro desire to “drink one of those mythical dark beers drunk in London” took him to the creation of Ambranera, one of the most ‘popular’ and awarded OTUS beers. We leave the word to Alessandro.
Often happens, during cold and gloomy days, that I remember my apprenticeship in English breweries and the mythical dark beer drinking moments in London pubs. Beers tapped from casks are impressed in my taste memory. Ambranera was born from these wonderful memories and while writing the recipe, I desired to feel those creamy pleasant sensations from oat, those peculiar notes of coffee and cocoa from Brown and Chocolate malts in my mouth again. In fact, our Oatmeal Stout has a light body, but taste is more complex if compared to British standards and offers a wider aromatic richness; however, its fine, compact and silky foam on lips and moustache takes me back in time and I find the same aromatic and toasted hints of coffee, latte, the taste of chocolate and liquorice and a light bitter end. If we want to find out its distinctive feature, I would say that it is a particularly balanced beer and I think that it is this marked organoleptic harmony that gets awarded during the most important European contests. Ambranera, as its fellow British dark beers, is a beer with a popular character, created to be drunk abundantly with friends. One thing is certain: it is one of the most beloved Otus by our clients. I like enjoying it paired with Orobic dairy jewels: a good Formai del Mut or an aged Storico Ribelle. Just to stay within local dairy, Ambranera matches also with the now rare aged Mascherpa, the precious salty ricotta produced in alpine pastures of Val Brembana and Valle del Bitto. Taleggio and Strachìtunt are perfect too. Those who would like to experiment an intriguing combination can try to do like English people, who usually pair stout beers with salmon and oysters. If you like dark beer, Ambranera will conquer you.
Ambranera was born from the memory of happy moments and gave OTUS brewery plenty of happiness too. Its debut, for example, has been memorable: the first brew was presented at Beer of the Year 2018 contest in Rimini just some days after reaching the right and strictly needed aging point; quickly bottled before leaving to Adriatic Coast, it ranked second in category 19. It would have been the first of numerous successes. In its medal collection we can name a gold medal at Brussels Beer Challenge 2019 in category 5.4, a bronze medal at European Beer Star 2019 in category 41. Slow Food has marked it an Unmissable Beer in Guida alle birre d’Italia, 2021 and 2023 editions. This year it conquered the podium again at Unionbirrai contest ranking first in category 21.
