A journey through the light beer, the red one and the dark one

People like beer more and more. The market of the beer has reached a billion euros in 2018 for the first time in Italy with an average consumption per capita of 32 litres, the highest ever. The offer range has been steadily increasing: from the cannabis flavoured beer to the artichoke one from Puglia, the sour cherry one, the IGP red radicchio one and the rice one. There’s even the first earthquake agri-beer that is produced at 1.600 metres of altitude on the mountains between Amatrice e Leonessa by using the scraps from bread that change its taste, its colour

and its thickness according to the type of bread that the brewery can keep from the selling remains. In the mean-time the number of breweries is increasing: according to a recent estimate they are around 850 spread all around Italy. We chose four of them, two in the North, one in the Centre and one in the South that are based in the villages or in the little towns, basically they are all charming places that perfectly suit our journey at the discovery of different geographical areas. Lert’s start with a particularly “sparkling” hint!

DisobeyArt/Shutterstock.comIt’s an historical brewery, one of the very first: the Independent Agricultural Brewery Baladin of Piozzo (Cuneo). It was born in the 1990s from Teo Musso’s passion, he’s one of the main Master Brewers of Italy whose products travels around the world and his locals are multiplying everywhere. He’s a reference point for the whole sector and he’s supported by a tradition of perseverance and innovation. Besides enjoying an Isaac and a Xyauyù, at the historical pub Baladin where everything was born, you can also eat at

Casa Baladin (a restaurant with bedrooms) and you can visit the brewery. You can find all that in Piozzo, a tiny village of the beautiful Langhe where it’s worth stopping not just for the beer because there are thirteen churches, a castle and some historical buildings and on the first week of October the Regional Festival of the Pumpkin is held each year: there are 500 different types of pumpkin of different shapes and colours, many stalls and many good dishes dedicated to the most showy vegetable.

Let’s go towards the North-West: in Forni di Sopra (Udine), a village set in the Dolomites of Friuli there is the Craft Brewery Foglie d’Erba. Each beer made by the master brewer Gino Perissutti (Master Brewer since 2011) tells something about this territory surrounded by the forests and by the mountains, where everything sounds good and the care of the environment is natural. After you have tasted one of the awarded specialities at the local store or after you have gone on a guided

tour of the brewery, you can also visit the village, you can see the church of San Giacomo Apostolo dating back to the 15th century or you can choose one of the attractions of this area, the Dolomiti Adventure Park (suitable for adults and kids) and you can hike along the tracks surrounded by the forests, the plains and glades: in a couple of hours you can reach the alpine hut called Rifugio Alpino Flaiban Pacherini where you can take a break and taste the tagliatelle with mushrooms!

From Friuli let’s move to Marche to reach Fabriano (Ancona) in the district called Collegioni, surrounded by the hills where Ibeer is based. Five hectares cultivated with barley, a lab for the production of the beer inside an old restored barn, a farmhouse that is used as a store and tasting place (you must book your visit in advance), the welcoming owners are the business card of this factory that carefully follows all the production steps. Some classic beers as well as the special ones deserve to be tasted and their packaging is also quite interesting. All around some

beautiful places are waiting for you starting with Fabriano, a kind of place you don’t expect featured by an historical centre where you can easily walk along its Medieval narrow streets, the ancient gates like Porta del Piano and Porta del Borgo, an amazing city-hall square with a fountain dating back to the 14th century and the Mayor’s palace. The main attraction is the Paper Museum (perfect for kids thanks to its dedicated workshops). Then in a few kilometres you can reach the Frasassi Caves, the biggest and the most famous karstic complex of Italy.

The last stop of our tour that could also last longer is Puglia in a village in the province of Bari, Triggianello, near Polignano a Mare, with its cliffs overlooking the sea and the amazing Castellana Caves in the nearby (with the famous white cave that deserves the journey). Let’s go back to our breweries: Birranova was born in 2007 thanks to the Master Brewer Donato Di Palma who loved the beer in

a land that has always been producing wine. A pub has been added to the brewery that also produces a type of beer made by using the sea water (la Margose) where you can drink one of the several types of beer and taste a very good pinsa (a sort of square pizza) or a good burger. Every year in July this village hosts the Birranova Beer Fest, a festival dedicated to the craft beers with many stalls and food stands.