First came the Enoteca, now the Birroteca!
In Italy, and across the world for that matter, there are Enotecas. A wine shop, a wine bar hybrids. You sample, mingle and purchase wines you may have never thought to buy before. In some places the same concept exists for beer, but not in Italy…until now.
In April, 2011 Ivano Rigo and Paolo Rovina opened their version of the “enoteca” for beer in Alba, a bustling town in Northern Italy’s Piedmont Region. The name:
La Birroteca!
I’ll give a shout out to some Drink Deck Retailers and Bar Partners from Chicago and Portland on this one. Places like Lush Wine or Spirits and City Provisions in Chicago and Saraveza, Belmont Station or Hop and Vine in Portland have been spreading the love for beer for years!
Here in Italy, however, beer has found a new following. In fact, I recently read an article on the interwebs that quoted Garrett Oliver, Brewmaster at Brooklyn Brewery. He said, ”Outside of the U.S., Italy probably has the most exciting brewing scene in the world.” Thus, the reason I’m blogging about beer, spirits and wine in Italy!
Back to La Birroteca! The curated worldwide collection of over 250 bottled beers and four rotating taps are enough to put most American Bottle Shops to shame. And, with Italy’s proximity to Germany and Belgium, the odds are even better that you’d find something more rare to wet your whistle.
Despite the overwhelming number of choices, we decided on expanding our horizons on Italian beer; so for our visit we sampled the following:
- Filo di Fumo from Birra Pasturana: a smoked pilsner with a malty smoked finish from…..
- Scarampola St. Amè a Belgian style blonde style with a honey nose. Come to find out the “amè” in St. Amè mean Honey in a local dialect.
- Black Rebel from Cite Biunde near Turino. The curious stout beer is brewed with mint giving it a taste similar to mint chocolate chip ice cream. No doubt the genius of a student from Le Baladin and Teo Musso.
I failed to mention the nice plate of snacks available during aperitivo at La Birroteca nor the overwhelming passion shown by our hosts. Both were welcome and intoxicating, as you can see!
Ciao for now!
Place your comment