THE EXTREME ART OF BREWING A PASSION FOR THE RICH, COMPLEX, MULTI-FACETED BEERS OF BELGIUM LED ROBERTO ORANO, THE ITALIAN SON OF A BELGO-ITALIAN FAMILY, TO PURSUE HIS OWN CAREER IN BREWING. JUST DON’T EXPECT HIM TO FOLLOW CONVENTION, QUITE THE OPPOSITE IN FACT.
T
he monks of Abbaye Notre
but my father would always tell me that
Dame de Saint-Remy, in
the best beer in the world was Belgian.
Brasserie de Rochefort have
That stuck with me.”
left an indelible mark on the
For a few years Orano would lose interest
hearts and minds of many
in the beer world, at least until travels to
beer lovers across the globe. Whether
Belgium opened his eyes to the fla-
you’re a brewer, aspiring producer or
voursome, rich, world-beating beers his
just fond of great beer, the fan club for
father always talked about.
Rochefort 10, the 11.3% Trappist beer they brew, spans the globe.
He explains: “When I travelled to Belgium, I discovered that people would
Boasting a warming glow with aromas
happily drink 10% beers, sometimes
of cherries, figs, and dark chocolate,
even at lunch. Those beers have a great
the beer is brewed with natural spring
complexity and many layers, which really
water from the local Tridaine spring, pale
appealed to me because at every sip you
malt and Munich malt, unmalted grain.
can discover something new.
It features Hallertau and Styrian Golding
“But let’s be clear, it’s not purely a pas-
hops, Rochefort’s own yeast, and candied
sion for high ABV. It’s about the taste,
sugar.
the flavours, the aromas. There are bad
And in the eyes of Roberto Orano, the
strong beers and great low ABV beers,
founder of White Pony Microbrewery, it’s
but brewing big, bold beers is a pleasure.
the definition of a ”perfect” beer.
It’s like comparing pop music with jazz or
The Italian son of a Belgo-Italian family,
metal, there is no match!”
Orano has long been a fan of heavy Belgian brewing and for the last eight years,
Orana would enjoy beers from countries
he’s been using that passion to influence
like Belgium and Holland. He would trav-
and inspire the diverse, award-winning
el more; visiting breweries, bars, abbeys
beers he produces himself.
and beer festivals, as well as collecting old bottles and glasses.
“My love for beer came from my father, who was born in Belgium to Italian
“The passion was real!” he laughs.
migrants. When I was a teen I used to
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drink bad commercial beer, mainly from
Before long, he would move into
Germany,” he recalls. “Growing up in Italy,
home-brewing. Beers such as those from
Belgian beer wasn’t particularly popular
the St. Bernardus brewery in Watou, Bel-
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