Review: Peroni Nastro Azzurro

Today's review is Peroni Nastro Azzurro Lager by Birra Peroni out of Italy. It's described as a crisp and refreshing beer crafted with passion and flair. 5.1% ABV. I've only ever had this beer once before, I don't recall what I said about it but I didn't seem to mind it, but European lagers in green bottles don't really pop out at me.

Appearance: Clear and crisp lager with a golden straw body to it. The beer has a lot of carbonation in the body.. bubbles everywhere! The head is quite thick and has a snow white hue to it, diminishes pretty gradually with little to no lacing.

Aroma: With this being in a green bottle, the aroma is pretty much what you would expect - skunky, skunky to the point that I can smell it from over a foot away from the beer. There's a hint of honey, toasted barley.. and skunk.

Taste: The first thing I get from the beer is a taste that I get from lagers that I put in the freezer for too long, has a bit of a watery taste, but once I get past it I get a moderate amount of skunk thanks to the green bottle, a surprising bitterness from the hops to give it a bit of pine. It's dry, crisp, the barley is a bit sharp, not overly sweet. Aftertaste is a hint of skunk and apple, with a lingering bitterness tingling my whole mouth.

Overall Thoughts: Kind of watery but a bit better than most European lagers in a green bottle, it has a definite bitterness in the hop, the skunkiness is quite prominent but I don't think as strong as in a Heineken or Beck's. I've only had this one other time so I don't think I'll be buying it again, but who knows?