What a strange sight to be sitting at a restaurant in Italy
with the same wooden tables, flimsy straw chairs and everybody of all ages
drinking beer...with no pizza or wine to be had.
As you may know, if you’re reading this blog, Paul and I
just returned from Italy from a ten day tour of Italian craft breweries. We met
and interviewed several brewers including Agostino Arioli of Birrificio Italiano, one of the
founders of the beer movement in Italy, Giovanni Campari from Del Ducato who’s the most awarded brewer
in Italy, the Lambrate crew, also
one of the first and Leonardo Di Vincenzo from Del Borgo, perhaps one of the most innovative Italian brewers and
certainly a major cog in the gears keeping the Italian craft beer movement
alive. We spoke with Bruno Carillo from Toccalmatto,
whose imagination brings to life some of the most interesting brews and whose
push across Europe is spreading the Italian suds well beyond the Alps and
obscurity.
We had an opportunity to meet Teo Musso from Baladin, another founding father whose
influence is felt throughout the Italian craft beer community, as well as Fabio
and Emmanuelle, owners of Ma Che Siete
Venuti A Fa` and Bir e Fud. There’s
no doubt that these two innovative pub owners set the pace that is now off and
running. Without their entrepreneurial spirit and enthusiasm for beer, things
in the Italian craft beer world might look a little different. Without a doubt,
this book wouldn’t be in the works.
Of course, there are many, many other pubs and breweries,
but we only had ten days, so we touched upon the most important within our
reach. We will be returning for more interviews, but this trip has rooted our
cause in firm, fertile soil.
We learned two essential things about the Italian craft beer
movement: One, that the people behind these locations are basically nuts for
even thinking about brewing Italian craft beer and two, they are most
definitely passionate. In short, they love craft beer and wanted to drink it,
so they made it. Their innovation in crafting fine beers is limitless. They set
their bar very high whether it be in craft or taste.
