La Nostra, here's to you (or not!)

Microbrewery Fridays - Jonas Follonier

An evening when, you know, it's thirsty. An evening when you think: «Oh, what a great invention, the SBB dining cars! And then, comfortably seated at one of these beautiful work and tasting tables, alone - without children, without noise, without sun, the dream - you discover, interested, that the new menu indicates the possibility of ordering Swiss craft beers. Please consult the second menu dedicated to these beverages.

But there's no second map. There's only a little sign, telling us about a craft beer called «La Nostra», from the most Italian of our cantons, Ticino, and more specifically from the San Martino microbrewery. The friendly waitress - almost all SBB restaurant car staff are, and it's a real pleasure - seems to confirm that this is in fact the only craft beer currently available to order in these half-lit places reserved for the hungriest of travelers. Well, I'd be delighted to, ma'am.

Parbleu, sacrebleu, pardi. What a horror! A German type - it's not necessarily a bad start, but wait for the rest - this poisonous brew failed to convince a palate that has earned the reputation of the most «mainstream» of our editorial staff. Here are just a few examples of the flaws that relegate this 5.2% of volume to the ranks of beers to be avoided: a bitterness that lacks complexity, a fruity color straight out of the realm of the unimaginative, and above all an apparent lightness that is in reality nothing more than an absence of character.

So, if SBB follows fashion, we won't hold it against them; if they promote Swiss products, we can only approve; but, for pity's sake, if they spare us this farce that we're struggling to finish, ashamed to let our fellow travellers believe in a limited thirst, and if they leave us even one choice! Otherwise, we shouldn't be surprised if customers continue to down liters of industrial beers, which aren't all that bad after all.

Write to the author: jonas.follonier@leregardlibre.com

Photo credit: © Jonas Follonier for Le Regard Libre