Microbrews in Italy?

Don't waste your time on beer. Yes they have some craft offerings but nothing special. Enjoy the wine. Brunello di Montalcino was my favorite Italian Red.

 

Agree with the above post for the most part. However if you are in Bologna check out Eataly's bottle section. There was also a craft beer bar in Bologna in 2013 that was worth a visit. Can't remember the name but I believe it was the only one in the city. They had some good wilds/sours to sip on from Tekus which is an Italian designed glass.

 

You kidding me? Italy has a great craft beer scene. Centered around Rome and the North-East (Milan and Venice). If you're in the south, good luck. Check the Europe forum, but let me leave this by saying that the are insanely passionate and creative with their brewing, and many of their beers do not travel well . Enjoy them while you're over there though!

 

i am going in june than headed to brussels
how is best way to bring beer back ? in suitcase ?

 

Friend is there right now he found some amazing beers at archea brewing.

 

I have had some solid craft Italian beers lately. My brother in-law lives in Rome and always brings me a bottle or two. Things are looking up on the Italian beer front.

 

Also, I had some Italian craft when I was in Milan. There's a brewery called Birrificio Farnese that had some pretty nice beer. Aside from that, however, I mostly drank wine, though there is a craft brew pub in Milan called Sloan Square that has hundreds of bottles (anything from Sierra Nevada and Founders to Cantillon and Westy 12).

 

Oh come on. I had several while I was there and while there are some decent offerings you'll still find better in any grocery store in California.

The point being - if you're in Italy - seek out what they do best. Don't waste your time chasing beer that could be slightly above average at best.

On the same note I'm sure you can find some cheeseburgers in Italy too...

 

Check out my name. I'm a total California homer, and I'm not going to dismiss our offerings, including what you can find in a grocery store (full disclosure, I rep a brewery who sells killer beer that is available in grocery stores!). That said, the Italian scene is wonderful in a very unique way.
Tangent: American brewers still tend to have evolved from the homebrewing tradition, which largely descends from the English ale tradition. Beer is something that stands alone and often is demarcated into clear styles. Italian brewers are unencumbered by years of tradition and styles, and I've found that many tend to approach beer from more of a culinary standpoint. Many beers are either looked at first as vehicles for pairing and contrasting with local food traditions, or many brewers conceptualize flavors based on desired pairings, using adjuncts freely and novelly. These ideas aren't unique to Italy, and I've noticed more American Brewers adopting similar philosophies, such as in adjunct stouts (eg Prairie Bomb!, Hunahpu, Mexican Cake) or beers like Cellarmaker/Tired Hands Taco Hands. That said, I've been incredibly impressed by the adroitness of Italian breweries at pulling incredibly creative beers off. Many of these beers do not seem to travel well, or when they are decent, they languish on the shelves way too long due to prices that are way too high. But if you're in Rome, it's worth going Bir & Fud or Open Baladin and paring some awesome, fresh local beer with great food. Also, just go to Ma Che Siete Vanuti a Fa, because that's a world-class beer bar!

 

@sankykid Bologna has really opened up in the past couple years. There are quite a few places these days serving up some good stuff. Seems to be a new spot opening up every month. There's even a BrewDog pub!

@DrinkNoH2O I'd have to agree that many of the new craft breweries produce some mediocre stuff, and obviously good wine is ubiquitous and fairly cheap, but if he wants to check out the beer there certainly are a few standouts. Loverbeer, as already mentioned, makes some really interesting sours and Birrificio Italiano makes a couple worth checking out, too. TipoPils is a very good american-style craft pilsner and their bock, BiBock, is also very very good.
If you go into an Italian craft beer bar and expect every beer to be great you'll be disappointed, but if you look around there are some gems.

@IRONRakkasan where exactly will you be in Italy? Some areas have a plethora of options, in other towns you'll be hard pressed to find a pint glass just about anywhere.

 

In Bologna:
There are a couple bottle shops with a pretty decent selection. Beer for Bunnies is in the center on Via Pratello.
Astral Beers is out of the center, by the stadium, but it has a much largerselection.
Harvest Pub just outside the center and Green River on Via Petroni are two good entirely craft beer bars. This will include the good(the beer,) the bad(some of the clientele,) and the ugly(the inability to pour a glass of beer in a reasonable amount of time) of the 100% craft scene.
Via Pratello has some good no frills places for beer. There's also La Frasca on Via Saffi just beyond the gates at the end of Via Pratello and a BrewDog pub nearby. BrewDog also has a good little bottle shop.

Can't miss La Tana del Luppolo. Crazy little place run by an eccentric man. Good prices and rotating taps, just be sure to be nice to the owner, Marco.

One of the Irish pubs in the center, The Celtic Druid, also has a few craft taps and some bottles of harder to find stuff as well.

There's a brewpub as well called Birra Cerqua. Can be hit or miss with them though.

Bolzano has more of a beer drinking culture thanks to its Germanic history and so you'll run into a lot of German beer like Andechs and Augustiner along with some of the more local beers(various pilseners and other lagers.)

Never been to Brescia so can't help you there.