Oh beers. You start at 15 with a Bud, you get drunk at 20 with a Weisse, at 25 you find out that Guinness is not that bitter, around 30 you go deep inside the beautiful world of microbrewery. Bologna wasn’t a city for beer lovers until a few years ago, but over the last years a lot of interesting microbreweries got born, so it’s time to dig inside the world of craft beers. These are absolutely my 5 favourite beers produced in the area of Bologna. Check them and cheer together!
Birra Cerqua
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The first brewpub in Bologna where the beer is produced in the same place where it is consumed and it’s not uncommon to see the brewer curing his creations between orders. Among the different productions I recommend PorQua (porter 6.5%) and Lu.Bo, slightly bitter amber beer (5.6%), which is also the first beer completely produced in the area of Bologna and made with hops grown in territory. Finally, ask for “corteccia” (bark), a focaccia made with sourdough and malt remains used to make beer.
www.birracerqua.com |
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Beltaine
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Beltaine beer takes its name from “Bell Fires”, a spring festival of Celtic origins like Granaglione, the most southern town in Bologna’s province, where it is produced. Andrew, Philip and Mark are the 3 brewers and their intent was to create a beer that would identify their area of origin, using an underrated fruit, chestnut, that until 50s was the food base of rural families. Beers are entirely handmade and produced by high fermentation with a second in bottle fermentation, using selected raw materials. They use two types of chestnuts: smoked (for Double Malt Beer with smoked chestnuts and Juniper) and dried (for Chestnuts and White Beer). All of them are very rich and textured, with flavors of spicies and fruit. They’re also planning to make a gluten-free beer very soon.
www.beltaine.it |
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Vecchia Orsa
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Vecchia Orsa brewery was founded in 2007 by two friends with the aim of promoting a quality beer made by a group of people with disabilities guided by a master brewer. The production is completely handmade and prefers manual labor so guys bottle and label the beers. The earthquake that hit Modena area in 2012 has seriously damaged the production site, but also gave the impetus to create a new, larger and secure facility with tasting area and shop, and the Magnitude Blonde, a new beer symbol of the determination to move forward over difficulties. To date they produce 10 different beers including Biolca, the first certified organic beer in Emilia, and Utopia, awarded by Slow Food as “Italian Beer 2015″.
www.fattoriabilita.it |
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StataleNove
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In 2006 Filippo decided to leave a safe job to follow the adventure of StataleNote. The name is taken from a street, statale nove SS9, which is actually Via Emilia, the ancient roman street that connects all the cities in Emilia Romagna and that is just in front of the brewery. A small production of 600hl/year to creare 17(!!!) different types of beers with all-grain process. At their brewpub you can taste all of them, using different temperature and glasses, in combination with a few seasonal dishes. My favourites are their dobblebock J and B, dedicated to Filippo’s son Jacopo which birth date is printed on the label, and the amber Miss Kartola that in Bologna means kind of cool.
www.statalenove.it |
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Birra Bellazzi
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The story of a chemist and an engineer who realize their own dream reminds me closely to something…Birra Bellazzi rises from passion and homemade experiments and then become first a beer-firm and after a few years, thanks to a crowdfunding campaign, a real microbrewery. Beers are all completely unfiltered and unpasteurized, making them richer in taste and aroma. Among my favorites My BO, spiced and amber german-inspired mailbock, and Vor, a stout with light licorice aroma.
www.birrabellazzi.it |
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Have you already tried one of these beers? Am I missing something? I’d LOVE to hear your favourites, don’t be shy. Cheers!
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