San Michele

In an old industrial building at the foot of the Sacra di San Michele, a mountaintop abbey, this brewery is run by beer and opera buff Bruno Gentile, who names his products after opera heroines. In the brewery itself, brewmaster Emanuele Moretti is flanked by Christian Gualandi, while other collaborators manage the pub, where it is possible to enjoy the beers with excellent local food. The beers are produced with water from the mountains nearby and some of the cereals are cultivated and malted in Italy. Other ingredients such as hemp, honey and chestnuts are supplied by local producers. The brewery is fitted with a photovoltaic plant and is attentive to the problems of eco-sustainability and production waste disposal. The product range is vast, inspired by a number of different high- and low-fermentation styles. We recommend in particular the fresh, thirst-quenching Maria Stuarda, made with hemp flowers from the Susa Valley, Norma, made with roast chestnuts, the fragrant Traviata, made with honey, the smoky-flavoured Aida and the citrusy, bitter Mimì.

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