Beer in Italy?

[hennesse]

I'm going to Italy on vacation soon, and I'm wondering if I will find any good beer over there.

Will everything be like Peroni and Moretti, or will I find a range of styles?

Or will I have to spend 10 days drinking fortified grape juice?

 

[Kharnynb]

Italy is not a beer country, most places will only have the mass-produced stuff.

There is some independant breweries, but you have to go look for them.

 

[GrogNerd]

been 20 years, but I do remember some English pubs in a few of the cities in Italy. I remember drinking Courage ale in Trieste.

first you must know the lingo:

if it says "BAR" it's an ice cream shop/bakery which sells liquor. have a cappuccino

to find what we call a "bar", ask for a "pub". to find what we call a "nightclub", ask for a "disco"

buona fortuna!

 

[Nico93]

Hi i'm from Italy and if you tell me in which part of our nation you are coming i can try to help you
in the last three/four years beer is becoming increasingly popular in Italy and there are a lot of microbrewerys.
in the most restaurants and bars you find only commercial beers but there are a lot of pub with good beers from around the world!


you can also drink the best wines

 

[mark7347]

I went to Italy for 2 weeks last year. The wine is some of the best in the world. The beer is severely lacking. They all seem to be derivatives of peroni and most are in green bottles and therefore skunked. Its not great. I had a wonderful blonde ale there but that was one. Can't blame the country, its like complaining about the BBQ sauce in Egypt.

 

[beergolf]

There are several newer craft breweries in Italy. I can get some of them here and they are very good.

This may help

http://www.italymagazine.com/featured-story/foodie-guide-italian-craft-beer


http://www.italiantalks.com/italian-experience/italian-craft-beer-a-journey-through-italy/

 

[White_Water]

I went to Sardinia 6 months ago. The place we stayed had a small bar that made its own beer and the blond ale I tried was lovely. Nothing much noteworthy in terms of beer in other bars and restaurants.
Saying that there was a big selection in the local supermarket. I found one lager and one (blond) ale which were lovely. I'm afraid I don't remember names but if you go to a local supermarket you might be lucky and pick something decent.

 

[El_Condor]

Have to disagree with some of my fine colleagues on this thread - craft beer is quite on the rise in Italy! I went there last year and was quite pleasantly surprised with what I was able to find with a little looking around!

True that Italy has traditionally been a wine country, but the last 10 years or so has seen a birth and then rapid growth in the craft beer scene. The concentration of craft breweries is primarily in the north, where it began in an environment that was both culturally and geographically supportive, but the demand for good beer is slowly creeping south. So Rome and Florence have good, budding craft beer scenes. Style is primarily Belgian influenced, but have begun to branch out in recent years to encompass a greater range and variety. Key breweries are Birra Baladin and Birra del Borgo, but there are many others establishing themselves and popping up all over, much like the US scene of 10 or 15 years past.

It's true that Italian beer has previously been infamous for commercial grade light lagers like Peroni and Moretti, but they are not the only game in town by a long, long shot any more. In fact, Italian craft beers are starting to medal in international competitions despite the still relatively small number of them. Do a little homework, follow your leads, and I'm sure you'll be able to find yummy beers and enthusiastic beer geeks.

 

[hennesse]

Hi i'm from Italy and if you tell me in which part of our nation you are coming i can try to help you
in the last three/four years beer is becoming increasingly popular in Italy and there are a lot of microbrewerys. in the most restaurants and bars you find only commercial beers but there are a lot of pub with good beers from around the world! you can also drink the best wines

Nico,

We'll be on a whirlwind tour - 2 days in Rome, Venice, Florence, Sorrento, and a couple of 1-day stops. So I won't have much time to go "beer hunting", especially since my wife doesn't share my passion (for beer, that is).

Perhaps I should just enjoy your country's excellent wines, and brew up my favorite styles when I get home.

Ciao,
Dave

 

[JKaranka]

Italy is right now the place to watch for beer. Best porter I've ever had was down in Calabria. Really good beers in the Baladin place in Rome (specially the Italian style of barley wine). If you know where to look it's a much better place for beer than Germany. It's up there with Belgium and Britain for interesting beer. Small bars that you expect to serve commercial lager often have a small fridge of beers. Up in the mountains the local deli had the whole range of Rochefort for example.

 

[lewdag]

I lived an hour north of Venice for from 2010-2013 and while they didn't have a tremendous amount of beer you can still find good beer. Chimay is pretty common over there as are Irish beers Harp, Guinness, Murphy's. I really enjoy Gosser Dark, but that one is kinda hard to find.

If I were you though I would lean on the wine. It is cheap and plentiful. In Venice I would just go from bar to bar get one glass, hang out for a bit, go to the bathroom (this is important cause restrooms aren't free and can be a little tricky) and then wander to the next bar. Prosecco is where it's at if you like dry white wine and carbonation.

 

[Nico93]

Nico,

We'll be on a whirlwind tour - 2 days in Rome, Venice, Florence, Sorrento, and a couple of 1-day stops. So I won't have much time to go "beer hunting", especially since my wife doesn't share my passion (for beer, that is).

Perhaps I should just enjoy your country's excellent wines, and brew up my favorite styles when I get home.

Ciao,
Dave

i think you are right, in Italy you can find amazing beers but wine is our tradition and sure if i were in you i look for it!
i hope you enjoy your trip

 

[VolFan]

I have found some excellent beers in Italy and Rome has several top notch beer bars. Look for Brewfist, great American style IPA's. In Rome best beer bars are Open Baladin, Bir and Fud, Ma Che Siete Venuti a Fà. I use ratebeer as a resource for finding great beer in different countries and I am rarely disappointed.

 

[btmag]

We spent three weeks in Italy last fall. One night in Florence, I had tired of so much wine so we went to BrewDogs bar that had opened there. It was a nice reprieve anyway. The major cities also have little bottle shops, (found a good one in Rome that had a better American beer selection than my local one).

 

[JKaranka]

I'll get my map of Rome later and check. The beer shops are amazing. There's one in Rome that had more British beer than any shops I have ever seen here in Britain. Plus all the Belgian, American and Italian stuff. Including lambics.