Peroni is the Italian beer that is most familiar to those outside of Italy and, while there are more Italian beers that are household names to locals, there is also a craft brewing industry that has become bigger and bigger in recent years, as is the case in many places across the world. Tuscany, in particular, is home to quite a few micro-breweries, brew-pubs, and other small producers of craft and artisanal beers that the foodie and beer enthusiast who has found a villa in Tuscany will be excited to discover. In fact, we have previously written a guide to some of the highest rated craft breweries in Tuscany that can be found here. However, today, we are focusing on one of the region's breweries, La Petrognola Brewery.
Located in Petrognola Piazza al Serchio in the province of Lucca, this craft brewery produces delicious beers that must be shopped by any beer-lovers who have booked one of our villas with pool in Lucca and are spending time in the area.
The brewery was born when Roberto Giannarelli decided to move from brewing beer for fun to making it into a business. Roberto had begun by brewing at home with the minimal tools of a thermometer, a ladle, and a pot his mother had once used to make soup over the fireplace and he first served up these spoils to a few lucky friends who recognised the unique appeal of an original recipe using farro. Then, in 2005, Roberto made a jump to equipment that could produce 100l of beer at a time, located in a 4x4 room in the house. From there, demand for his beer led to Roberto finally being able to make his dream of earning a living from his beer a reality and he set up a brewery in a historic former barn that had a room with Austrian equipment that could produce 500l of beer and two 1,500l fermenters, with a production capacity of 1,000l per week. Since then, the brewery has been set up for production on a much larger scale yet again.
As the business grew in scale, it also grew in acclaim. In 2006, their amber farro beer was named the Best Craft Beer of the Year at the L'Union Birrai prize and continues to win various awards. By 2011, the Petrognola range of beers expanded to include a line of 5 beers made from farro, 5 beers of malt barley, and its Garfagnana “Marron” chestnut beer. Now the line-up also includes over thirteen different beers include a weiss beer, an American pale ale, a red ale, a strong red ale, a blonde, a strong blonde, a red farro, a white farro, a farro IPA, the famous amber farro, a black farro, a gluten-free beer, and a special 15th anniversary edition beer. All bar the gluten-free beer and special anniversary edition can currently be shopped on their website, as well as a tasting pack of the beers.
Once you have found a villa with pool in Lucca and are spending time in the area, however, you should be sure to keep an eye out for these delicious beers in local supermarkets and foodie stores in the surrounding area or you could even decide to go and drop by the warehouse during opening hours to purchase from them directly. While tours of the brewery are not offered as they are in some facilities, this delicious line of high-quality craft beers is made of the finest local ingredients and is something to definitely seek out if you're a beer enthusiast on holiday in Tuscany. There are plenty of delicious wines to try out in the region but don't forget about her amazing craft brewing culture as well: it's not as obvious but we promise you that it is there and worth looking into!
LA PETROGNOLA BREWERY
Località Tato Colognola
Piazza al Serchio – 55035 (LU)
0583 60355
info@lapetrognola.com
Opening hours:
Monday to Friday 9am – 12.30pm and 1.30pm – 5pm
Closed on Saturday and Sunday
The brewery was born when Roberto Giannarelli decided to move from brewing beer for fun to making it into a business. Roberto had begun by brewing at home with the minimal tools of a thermometer, a ladle, and a pot his mother had once used to make soup over the fireplace and he first served up these spoils to a few lucky friends who recognised the unique appeal of an original recipe using farro. Then, in 2005, Roberto made a jump to equipment that could produce 100l of beer at a time, located in a 4x4 room in the house. From there, demand for his beer led to Roberto finally being able to make his dream of earning a living from his beer a reality and he set up a brewery in a historic former barn that had a room with Austrian equipment that could produce 500l of beer and two 1,500l fermenters, with a production capacity of 1,000l per week. Since then, the brewery has been set up for production on a much larger scale yet again.
As the business grew in scale, it also grew in acclaim. In 2006, their amber farro beer was named the Best Craft Beer of the Year at the L'Union Birrai prize and continues to win various awards. By 2011, the Petrognola range of beers expanded to include a line of 5 beers made from farro, 5 beers of malt barley, and its Garfagnana “Marron” chestnut beer. Now the line-up also includes over thirteen different beers include a weiss beer, an American pale ale, a red ale, a strong red ale, a blonde, a strong blonde, a red farro, a white farro, a farro IPA, the famous amber farro, a black farro, a gluten-free beer, and a special 15th anniversary edition beer. All bar the gluten-free beer and special anniversary edition can currently be shopped on their website, as well as a tasting pack of the beers.
Once you have found a villa with pool in Lucca and are spending time in the area, however, you should be sure to keep an eye out for these delicious beers in local supermarkets and foodie stores in the surrounding area or you could even decide to go and drop by the warehouse during opening hours to purchase from them directly. While tours of the brewery are not offered as they are in some facilities, this delicious line of high-quality craft beers is made of the finest local ingredients and is something to definitely seek out if you're a beer enthusiast on holiday in Tuscany. There are plenty of delicious wines to try out in the region but don't forget about her amazing craft brewing culture as well: it's not as obvious but we promise you that it is there and worth looking into!
LA PETROGNOLA BREWERY
Località Tato Colognola
Piazza al Serchio – 55035 (LU)
0583 60355
info@lapetrognola.com
Opening hours:
Monday to Friday 9am – 12.30pm and 1.30pm – 5pm
Closed on Saturday and Sunday
