If you were asked to name a nice beer from Italy that isn’t some form of lager, most people would probably be rather stumped.

The good news is, however, that of late there have been quite a few nice breweries setting up shop or expanding their market all over the world of late, and Italy is no exception: Brewfist have been exporting their craft beers for a while now, as have Toccalmatto, and let’s not forget Birra del Borgo.

More recently, however, we have managed to procure some of Gjulia’s craft ales, named for the points of the compass; Sud is the brewery’s eight per cent stout, so naturally I started there.

Sud pours a chocolate brown with garnet highlights, there’s no head to speak of but there’s a wonderful marshmallow-chocolate aroma that puts me in the mood for a Tunnock’s teacake.

As it opens up a bit more, you get edges of banoffee pie, coupled with an accent of sharp raspberry sweetness.

The first thing to strike me is that it’s very light-bodied for a stout; this, coupled with the sweet fudge, pecan pie flavour, tinged with a suggestion of smoke, liquorice, and nutmeg in the finish, put me much more in mind of a Belgian dubbel.

This would work wonderfully for those who enjoy their Belgian beers, though if you’re a fan of ultra-heavy stouts I’d look elsewhere.

If we ignore the brewery’s classification of this beer it’s certainly good in its own right.

Reviewed by House of Trembling Madness, Stonegate