The best craft beers in Italy

Italy is more known for its wine than its beer, although there are some brands that have broken through into the international market to become recognisable household names, such as Moretti and Peroni. That said, craft beer is beginning to take off here, with over a thousand breweries open right now which are challenging the old beer orthodoxy and creating some incredible new styles.

Italy’s craft beer market owes its burgeoning success largely to an international target audience of foreign tourists and ex-patriates, who are supposedly more open-minded when it comes to drinking culture, putting down the wine glass and picking up a bottle of artisanal brew. So what are the top 5 Italian craft beers?

1. ReAle, Birra del Borgo

ReAle craft beer / Birra del Borgo

The Birra del Borgo is a brewery in Rome with several good craft beers, among them ReAle. Conceived as a tribute to English ales, it has a golden colour and a crisp, fresh, citrusy flavour and an alcohol content of 6.4%. There’s no need to stop there, though – taste and compare each of their products, with Cortigiana being especially recommendable for its light, summery feel.

2. Xyauyù, Baladin

Xyauyù craft beer / Baladin

Another legend in the world of Italian craft beer, Baladin has been producing quality beverages for over twenty years, foremost among them being Xyauyù. It takes an incredible two and a half years to brew and age this beer, which is more like barley wine or sherry. At a whopping 13.5% ABV, this isn’t one for sinking pint after pint of, but rather tasting and appreciating its sweet, delicate character.

3. Verdi, Birrificio

Verdi craft beer / Birrifico

Since it won the 2008 European Beer Star, the first Italian beer to win an international competition, Birrifico has been perfecting its Verdi beer for ten years. A dark, full-bodied Imperial Stout, Verdi is nonetheless elegant and refreshing. It comes from the northern province of Parma in the hometown of the opera composer Giuseppe Verdi, after whom it is named, and is 8.2% ABV.

4. Torbata, Almond ‘22

Torbata craft beer / Almond '22

A specialty from one of Italy’s cheapest regions to live in, Abruzzo, Torbata is an 8.7% barley wine from the brewery Almond ‘22. It uses a malt that is the same used in production of whiskey, giving it a deep, smooth texture and taste. If you’re feeling more adventurous, try the Pink Pepper Italian Pale Ale from the same people, made using pink peppercorns.

5. BeerBera, LoverBeer

BeerBera craft beer / LoverBeer

The old saying goes that “beer after wine, feeling fine; wine after beer, feeling queer”, but what about when you mix the two into one drink? Only the Italians would think to put grapes into an artisan beer, but with BeerBera it works. Fermented with grape juice and skins, then aged in oak barrels, this 8% beer has a curiously sour taste and is sure to leave you feeling just fine.