Hi !
We will be in Rome, venice and Florence in july. My wife and I really love beer. I'm wondering if you can indicate good craf beer that we can buy and /or good pub where we can enjoy a good on tap beer with a good meal. In Rome it Seems that Bir & Fud is a good place (and very near our lodging).
Posted by
WPB, FL & Firenze
3112 posts
In Rome, the place to go for excellent craft beer is Open Baladin, a short distance from Campo dei Fiori and only about a 10 minute walk across the Ponte Sisto from Trastevere. IMO their brewery produces hands-down the best craft beer in Italy, and their pub grub is also reasonably good. They usually have 20+ craft beers of various types on tap. It's easy to get in at lunch or in the afternoon, but expect a wait in the evening (no reservations).
In Florence with food, you might try Mostrodolce on Via Nazionale. Their food is just OK but the beer is good. They usually have about 8 of their craft beers on tap. Without food, Birreria Nazionale (across the street), King Grizley (Piazza dei Cimitori) and Archea Brewery (Via dei Serragli in Oltrarno) all have a good selection of craft beers. If you want to take a leap of faith, there's a new place I haven't yet tried further out on Via Nazionale at the corner of Via delle Ruote. It just opened last fall and serves food as well as craft beer, and it looks good.
Haven't yet found a good place for craft beer in Venice, so just look for a lively irish pub.
Edit: Most Eataly locations now sell Open Baladin beer in bottles, and they might sell other craft beers. Their price for Open Baladin is high but not unreasonable - i.e. about what you'd pay at Open Baladin pubs for a similar size serving.
Posted by
5272 posts
Italian beer has gotten so so good in the last decade. You should have no trouble finding great options. I have not been to those cities, but even in small villages we have been able to find some excellent beers. There are some internet guides and apps like https://www.mondobirra.org/pub.htm#Lazio. Googling the region or city and "birra artiginale" should bring up some specific companies/places to look for.
If you are not familiar with the language, you might want to familiarize yourself with some terms so you can choose the type of beer you like, but you can probably figure it out, and in those cities your bartender will speak English. Katie Parla's website might have some info as well. Cheers!
Posted by
OP
Montréal, Canada
397 posts
Wow thanks a lot for those suggestions ! It seems that we wont be thirsty in Italy !
Posted by
Boston
1814 posts
Good information, it's nice to have recommendations. The craft beer I've tried in our area near La Spezia is not so good. Some of the new little brewers have some over-priced swill not suitable for a drunkard.
Posted by
Chicago
8230 posts
I had and liked Birra Venezia Rossa last May. I bought it at a Pizza stand there
https://www.birravenezia.it/
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
16206 posts
In addition to Mondobirra, linked above, this is another famous Italian website for microbreweries:
http://www.microbirrifici.org/default.aspx?
Microbreweries have sprung up everywhere in Italy. In Italian they use the term BIRRA ARTIGIANALE (artisanal beer) and many are really great.
Younger generations of Italians, especially the millennials, are much more into beer than they are into wine. Winemakers in the Chianti hills and Montalcino (Brunello) tell me they stay in business primarily thanks to the North American market, because domestic sales are plunging with young Italians switching to beer and sparkling wine (Prosecco is booming too with the Italian youth).