Last couple of days in Northern Italy. Strenuous walk in the Dolomites, and then descend into Bolzano/Bozen, Italian/German capital of South Tyrol. Ah, very thirsty, let’s go to the most famous brewpub of the city. Let’s see what they have on draft: Weizen, Helles, aha Dunkles! Half a liter of Dunkles arrives. Big gulp. Frown. What’s that. Smell, drink. Tastes like a very mediocre homebrew 
What’s wrong with that beer? Other sip, think, think, think. Then it dawns upon me: oxidation, wet cardboard. Around us people are happily drinking beer. I ask for the bill and we leave without me finishing the glass. The Curse :-[
Still, think I’d like to have a beer in Italy, glad the rest of the trip seemed great
Shame. I was in Aviano three years. Didn’t drink much beer in Italy (can’t say that about wine) mostly Moretti and Peroni …but Villach Austria was very close.
I have the same with coffee. Can’t drink it anymore without internally scoring it. Even in Italy a lot of coffee gets a so-so score.
When we left the brewpub we found a Paulaner pub where they had draft Hacker-Pschorr Naturtrub and Paulaner Maerzen. Not the best of beers, but better than the brewpub’s. The remainder of my stay I’ll stick to the local wines (the keyboard suggested wives) and the local aperitive, Hugo: a cocktail of sparkling wine, elderberry syrup and mint leaves.
Ever since going to Rome and having coffee at Tazza d’Oro every day, all coffee pales in comparison.