Wandering Star Zingari (Pittsfield, PA)

A little while back, I was at The Red Lion Inn, having a pint at the Lion’s Den, their very comfy bar downstairs. Such a fun place. I asked what local beer they had on tap, and the man mentioned a beer from Wandering Star Brewery called Zingari. How do you turn that down? I included them on this blog, because they are very near the Hudson Valley.



Wandering Star is a 15 barrel microbrewery in Pittsfield, Western Massachusetts - the largest city in beautiful Berkshire County. The Brewery is the joint effort of three transplanted brewers and craft beer enthusiasts who met in New York City's thriving craft beer scene a few years back. After a long and bumpy path, we finally became a fully licensed and operational commercial craft brewery in 2011. The winery brew crew is as studded with big beer names as you can imagine for such a small winery.

The Morning Star brew team includes Shannon Post, the President. Chris Post, owner, founder, brewmaster was the 2010 President of the New York City Homebrewers Guild, and Ex-assistant brewer at Greenpoint Beer Works (affiliated with the Heartland pubs). He is an award-winning and passionate homebrewer who has gone commercial with Wandering Star.

Alex Hall is a partner. He covers NYC sales and events. He’s also the website guru. Alex is a famous Ale Street News columnist. In 2006 he was President of the Malted Barley Appreciation Society. Alex also is the Real Ale guru and organizer of scores of cask ale festivals in NYC and beyond, author of 'Beer Demystifier New York City' (www.gotham-imbiber.com). Formerly with England's award-winning Dark Star Brewery.



Chris Cuzme is also a partner who also covers NYC sales and events. In 2011 he was President of the New York City Homebrewers Guild, 2010 President of the Malted Barley Appreciation Society, co-founder of the NYC Degustation Advisory Team, and he was one of the driving forces behind NYC Craft Beer Week and 'Get Real New York'. He’s also an extraordinary musician.

Brewhouse assistant is Juan Bolte.



The beer I had was the Wandering Star Zingari, a Belgian Witbier.
First introduced on October 2011, 'Zingari' is Italian for gypsies, and this name perfectly captures Wandering Star's take on the Belgian Wit style. Brewed with 50% six-row barley and 50% malted and unmalted wheat, the beer is subtly spiced with lemongrass, cardamom, fenugreek, and coriander. The result is a refreshing 5% ABV beer with a zingy citrus zest.



This was a great beer! I usually don’t go for stuff that’s too fru-fru. And the lemongrass mention kinds worried me. Nothing to worry about. This was an excellent witbeir. Awesome!

Their located in Pittsfield with a tasting room. Go, now!