Ducale Salice Salentino Riserva

Ducale is part of Italy’s hugely underrated craft beer scene and exactly the sort of brewery that proves Italians can apply their obsession with flavour and balance to beer just as successfully as they do to food and wine. Based in Parma, Birrificio del Ducato built its reputation on combining traditional European brewing influences with modern craft creativity, often with excellent results.

The beers range from crisp pilsners and farmhouse-inspired ales through to hop-forward IPAs and barrel-aged specialties, all carrying a strong sense of balance and refinement. Even the bigger or more experimental beers stay elegant rather than becoming palate-wrecking exercises in excess.

What makes Ducale especially enjoyable is the brewery’s ability to blend Italian character into styles often dominated by northern Europe or the US. There’s freshness, texture and food friendliness running through the range, which honestly feels extremely sensible given the country responsible for parmesan and prosciutto probably understands dining better than most.

The brewery has also earned serious international respect over the years, particularly for mixed fermentation and barrel-aged projects. Slightly geeky, deeply flavourful and refreshingly unpretentious despite the awards shelf getting steadily fuller.