Micro craft breweries in Italy: great beer, great success

Italy loves Italian beer. According to a recent survey by Coldiretti, in the country the consumption of English beer dropped by 79% in 2017. German beer, too, made a step back since its import dropped by 31%: together, English and German beer accounted for 1/3 of the foreign beer consumed in the Belpaese.

Basically, that means that Italians are starting to love Italian beer more and more.

Coldiretti states: “It is the signal of an advance of Made in Italy, thanks to a network of micro craft breweries”. They were only 113 in 2008 and, today, they have reached the impressive number if 718 with a progress of over 535% over the last decade and an estimated production of about 50 million liters.

Italians love beer: according to ISTAT, the average per capita consumption of the amber drink is about 31,5 liters per year. Quite a record!

“In recent years, the production of Made in Italy craftsmanship has been very diversified with numerous examples of innovation, from hemp-flavored beer to artichoke-flavored beer from Apulia”, explains Coldiretti, adding that Italians are very original when it comes to flavoring their beers: sour cherries, red radicchio and rice are only a few of the many ingredients used.

“In addition to contributing to the economy, craft beer is also a strong boost to employment in the country, especially among people under 35 who are the most active professionals in this sector, with deep innovations ranging from certification of origin to KM0 beers”.

Finally, Coldiretti states that even new professional figures are emerging in the Italian beer industry. The most important is probably the beer sommelier, a specialist who knows all the historical fundaments of the various styles of beer and is able to interpret, through appropriate techniques, the main characters of the drink in terms of style, taste, composition, colors, body.