Northern Italy Homebrewers?

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Hi. Found your other post about Pinta LHBS and then I found this one. I'm a newbie brewer in Vicenza. Let's see if we can find some others around here and organize something.
 
Homebrewer living in Naples.

Have you had any luck ordering from Pinta.it?

I looked through their website, but didn't find anything I was too impressed with.

I currently order everything from the states (except for my hops harvested in the fall) and would like to find something local.
 
I never ordered anything from their website because I am close enough to go to the store in person. Like most Italian websites, I doubt they keep it too current. Probably just a few updates per year or something like that. Before I found Pinta, I ordered a bunch of stuff from: http://www.birramia.it/

The prices aren't great and they make you order a minimum amount...but they are in Italy so the shipping is pretty fast.

I'm pretty new to home brewing, but it seems to me that this is a tough country to find local supplies.

Are you stationed in Naples or civilian?
 
I was stationed in Aviano a few years ago. You guys might be better off sourcing ingredients from Germany. Just a thought.


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Holy crap there are more of us!

I've never ordered from Pinta, either, since I just drive to the store. however, I'm almost certain you would save over shipping from the states, which doubles the cost in my experience. You might try calling them if you are looking for something not on the website.
 
@BrewScandolo I'm stationed here. I've been here for 2 years and have 2 years left. I made an order from Pinta.it earlier this week. They sell Amarillo hop pellets the cheapest I've ever seen ($1.90 per ounce) I ordered a kilogram and they were delivered to my door the next day by TNT. Very pleased with their service/product.

@brewbama I've sourced some ingredients from the U.K. in the past, but I never thought about Germany. Do you have any specific stores in mind?
 
@H0phead- Glad to hear that everything went well with your order. Keep in mind that I'm pretty close to them so if you ever need something special, just let me know and I can ask them for you next time I head there.

@brewbama- I too would also be interested if you know some specific stores in Germany.
 
I may be getting assigned to Vicenza (know in about a month)...potential lack of homebrewing was the only thing holding me back from putting this assignment at the top of my list...you just made my day. Thanks. HBT comes through again!
 
CO2 and 02, yes, to include the tanks. Not sure about Nitrogen. BrewScandalo and I have talked a lot about how we wish we could move to kegging, but a setup is so expensive here compared to the US.
 
Hi and welcome! Glad to hear that you may be coming over.

I can confirm what BeerWhale wrote. You'll have no problem finding ingredients here, but you'll pay a lot more for the equipment. I don't know if it is possible, but it would be best if you bring your setup with you.

In any case, let us know if you do make over to Vicenza.
 
Hello! (or Ciao!)

Just arrived in Vicenza with household goods arriving next week. Hoping to brew some Americanish beer next weekend to get started filling up the kegerator, but would love to hear any advice on where/how to get ingredients. I typically brew all-grain in BIAB, but was thinking to switch to partial mash for our time here, since I'm working in a pretty busy job. Any feed back is appreciated!
 
Ciao and welcome!

You'll definitely want to check out Pinta for your ingredients. It's not too far from Vicenza. If you do head up there, I don't think "Pinta" is written on the sign outside (or at least I never saw it) so it's easy to drive past.

If you have any other questions or anything, don't hesitate to ask.
 
Congrats to me! I just found out that I will be PCSing to Vincenza in November. For folks that asked me earlier about HHG-type stuff, please PM me and we'll connect through real email.

So, here are my initial questions:

- What's hard to get there, ingredients or equipment-wise? (I'm probably going to buy a few new 3-gallon kegs, but they're made in Italy!...I'll probably get them now to be safe though based on your previous comments)

- Where do you cook? Outside on a burner? Can you get propane easily (and same connection as a burner I would buy in the US?) I currently cook inside (apartment living) and will buy a burner if cooking outside is an option.

- Is it crazy to think that I'll ahve room to store my big mashtun and pots, or should I buy stuff to transition to BIAB? I'm hoping to live in the city (PCSing solo). What do you guys do?

- Are there small chest freezers for reasonable prices available? I plan to bring all the equipment from my keezer (minus the freezer)...but only if I can get a reasonably priced chest freezer.

What else do I need to know?

Thanks!
 
Congrats!

So, to answer your questions

-what's hard to get here: equipment but in the sense that the costs are much higher. Generally, you can find what you need but there's a cost attached.

-where do you cook: right now, I cook inside. Almost all kitchens here are equipped with gas burners so just put your pot on the stove and open as many burners as needed. I just picked up an exterior gas burner pretty cheap so I plan to start cooking outside. It will all depend on the exterior space of your apartment though.

-Where to store your equipment: Again, it will depend on your apt. but I have enough extra space to keep everything inside my place. I strongly doubt you won't have enough space though.

-chest freezers: that's an upgrade I have in mind so I checked a lot of places and they run about 200 EURO or so. I'm talking about a small chest freezer.

What else to know.... Well, I would say bring as much as your setup as you can with you! Trust me.

Hope this helps but you have any other questions, you know where to find us. Benvenuto!
 
First, you're going to love it here. I think I can speak for BrewScandolo when I say that we will be happy to accommodate if you are looking for likeminded people to beer nerd out with when you arrive.

I see that BrewScandolo answered a lot of your questions, and I agree with him. I'll just add a little:

-what's hard to get here: I agree with BrewScandolo on this one. For example, I am dying to move to a kegging setup. After months of searching, the quote I got for a two-corny keg system with regulator, tubes, CO2 tank, and dispenser was 660 EUROS!

-where do you cook: For me, inside. I have a 13-gallon pot that straddles all 4 burners on my gas stove. Cooking gas here in Italy is fairly inexpensive. I also have a turkey fryer setup that runs on propane (US hookups). Propane tanks are available on post at the auto skills center (also US hookups). It costs about 35 USD to fill one (standard gas grill-sized tank, I don't know how many lbs.). The problem I have with cooking outside is how to chill; I live downtown, and there is no hose hookup outside of my apartment. I don't fancy carrying 6-10 gallons of boiling hot wort (or even cooled wort) up my narrow staircase and through my tiny door, so cooking outside just isn't an option for me.

-Where to store your equipment: Apartment size and location will depend on your OHA/LQA. I have plenty of space for my picnic cooler mash tun, brewpot, grains, other ingredients, and the hundred or so bottles I keep around.

-chest freezers: You can buy a Chinese model for around 200 EUR like BrewScandolo says. Keep in mind that anything you buy here will run on 220V and have a europlug.

What else to know: Yes, bring as much as you can with you, especially if weight allowance is not an issue. Ingredients are not expensive here, but equipment is!
 
Awesome info - thanks guys.

Seriously, send me a PM on here with your official email (so I know I can track you down if needed) and we can talk about things you need.

I cook on my gas range indoors now, so I'll plan to stick with that. Hopefully I can adapt my wort chiller to fit the kitchen sink faucet (that's how I use it now, but assume the faucet may be different).

200 EURO is definitely affordable to get my keezer going again.

I have a ton of bottles here, but doubt I'll ship them...I'll just have to suffer through drinking 2 cases of beer if I brew before having my keezer set up.

Looking forward to brewing and drinking with you!
 
Also, while I'm sure you've got plenty of research resources, including this forum, I'd recommend looking at http://www.homebrewing.org/ and their used pin lock systems. I haven't used pin lock, but the prices are incredible, even after you add on new poppets, gaskets, and a pin lock socket.

I'd also go with Perlick faucets.
 
Thanks for the link. That is ridiculously cheap and thus, more tempting....

To give you any idea of Italian suppliers (and prices) you can check out this link here

...I have never purchased anything from them, but it will give you an idea at least. And it might help you brush up on the Italian names too! :)

I wouldn't stress about the connection from the faucet for your wort chiller. Adapter and fittings are easy to find here.

You're totally correct about not shipping the bottles. There are tons of cheap beers in 50cl & 66cl bottles here. Plus, in most places you have to bring the glass yourself to be recycled so your neighbors will be very happy about you taking the bottles off their hands.

Like BeerWhale said, let us know when your in and ready and we'll gladly toss a few back with you.
 
As you guys have been thinking about kegging, have you looked at temperature controllers at all? I have one, but 90% sure it's only 110v. Have you been able to locate 220v one there?
 
I have a 220V fridge with a dual 110/220V temperature control unit. Switching voltage of the temp control unit is accomplished by moving a jumper inside the unit. Right now I use it as a fermentation chamber, but I could easily fit a keg in there, and this would work for me at first. Of course, when/if I get to kegging, I will need to build out a keezer or some such device, so I can ferment a batch and drink from the keg at the same time!

You might be able to rig something using a step up/step down converter, if you want to continue to run 110v appliances here.

Oh and to beat the dead horse with bottles....German swing top bottles, in .5 and .33l, are all over the place here, to include the plastic "milk crate" they come in. (20 per crate) I definitely have an excess of these, if you want some for immediate brewing once you arrive.
 
Thanks. Which temp control unit do you have? I know that mine is only 110 (built with an STC-1000) and many online don't specify. Thinking the Johnson digital controller would be fine. Do you just use the plug adaptor (after moving the jumper)? Or did you rewire it with a euro plug cable?

I'm assuming it would be better to get in the U.S. and bring with me. Im not looking to run 110 there.

Thanks
 
Maybe you could be interested in the dates of Italian homebrewing championship:
http://www.movimentobirra.it/pagina.aspx?id=23

every date is an indipendent competition, you can participate even if you're not taking the whole championship. And usually during those competitions there are homebrewers meetings with bunch of people saring beer and fun
 
Maybe you could be interested in the dates of Italian homebrewing championship:
http://www.movimentobirra.it/pagina.aspx?id=23

every date is an indipendent competition, you can participate even if you're not taking the whole championship. And usually during those competitions there are homebrewers meetings with bunch of people saring beer and fun
Bellisimo! Grazie mille!!!!
 
Hey all, I posted in the LHBS thread, but I may as well hit this one too.

I am not in Veneto but Le Marche. Camerino to be more specific. Does anyone know of home brewing resources in the area? I do not know anyone or anything in the area! Thanks!
 
Not sure about your area specifically, but Pinta delivers all over Italy. Other online retailers in Italy are Birramia and Mr. Malt. Between the three of these sites, you can find pretty much whatever you are looking for, I think.
 
Welcome to the thread! As far as I know, there isn't any specific Italian word for LHBS. If they sell HB stuff, then they know (and use) the words homebrew/homebrewing/home brew. If you're searching online or in the yellow pages you could try phrases like:

-materie prime per la produzione della birra fatta in casa
-malti luppolo accessori e attrezzature per homebrewing

In the meantime you could order online from some of the sites BeerWhale suggested until you find something local. Another option is to find some local brewpubs and ask them where they source their stuff. They might be able to point you in the right direction. Good luck!
 
Moving to Vicenza this fall and was curious about LHB clubs, groups, etc. read the thread about supplies close by so that's a relief!
 
Welcome. Glad you found us and it put your mind at ease. If you read some of the previous posts, you'll see that the only thing you'll have trouble finding here is kegging equipment and supplies. Everything else is readily available. Let us know when you get in. Hope you have a smooth transition. Ciao!
 
Very happy to have discovered this thread and that it's been updated recently. I just arrived to Italy earlier this month, stationed in Livorno. I brought my whole set up with me. Only thing I'll need to get going is ingrediemts and my biggest concern, CO2. I have a US spec 10lb cylinder. Anyone here figured out where to get a cylinder filled or where to get cylinders locally?

Aside from that. I saw some discussion of a club. Are there any groups doing meetings or anything like that? Are there any hombrewers still around?
 
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