The Italians have been drinking Menabrea beer since before they were Italians. The first cask was brewed and sold by Giuseppe Menabrea in 1846 – a good 15 years before the foundation of the unified Italian state. And he would still recognise his brewery today – now in the fifth generation of his family – nestled at the foot of the Alps in the picturesque northern Italian town of Biella, in the Piedmont region.
With the distinction of being the oldest continuously produced beer in Italy, Menabrea stands for continuity, quality, tradition and flavour. Its flagship Birra Bionda (pale lager) is still made to the original recipe: pure, soft water; barley malt; hops; brewer’s maize, giving the beer its rich golden colour; and a bottom-fermenting yeast – the type Menabrea used in his original casks.
