Arriving in Milan we already had a couple of places to hit, the recently opened
Baladin and the long established
Birrificio Lambrate, there was also the promise of a couple of Brewery visits and the highly anticipated pilgrimage to
Sherwood Pub.
Having already sampled the delights of Open Baladin in Rome we knew that a short trip on the Metro and a five minute walk would be the perfect end to our first day in Milan. When we arrived we were somewhat dismayed to see that every table had a
reserved notice on it, not a good start. But, as if by magic, first one sign then another were removed as the staff realised that it looked rather silly to have a half empty bar with people looking for somewhere to sit.
I opted for a Nazionale to accompany a tasty Chicken Burger whilst Louise opted for an Isaac to go with her salad. Excellent food and excellent beer, we sampled a few more including Leon, Elixir and Nora.
Service was attentive and friendly, and by the time we left the place was full. Leo certainly knows what he's doing.
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| Lorenzo |
The next day we caught an early train to Lecco to be met by Allesandro, one of the many Italian BSF volunteer staff, who had promised to show us a little of where he lived and take us to a couple of local Breweries. After a coffee and visit to a local cheese shop we were heading off to
Birrificio Rurale to meet Lorenzo, the brewer, and to sample a couple of beers. As with the brewers we met at the Beer Festival in Rome we found Lorenzo to be a passionate advocate of Italian Beer, insisting that copying a style of beer without putting your own twist on it to make it Italian was not something he wished to do. As an example we sampled Seta and Seta Special, essentially the same Belgian Style Wit Bier but with the Special having Bergamot to give it a distinctive twist.
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| Marco |
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| long way from home |
Time to move on to
Birrificio Menaresta and a few more beers to sample. Unlike Rurale where Lorenzo was working on his own most of the time there were a few more staff in evidence and a nice little bar to entertain guests. Marco, the brewer, was a generous host trying to get us to sample as many of his beers as possible in as short a time as possible. It was approaching lunch time, hence the rush. Needless to say the beers were excellent, and despite the contradictory name 'Hoppy Double Kolsch' I rather enjoyed that one. But in Italy everything stops for lunch and we were invited to join everyone as they walked round the corner and into the local restaurant. The first thing I noticed on entering, apart from it being full, was the well stocked beer fridge which even had Westvleteren in it. The next was a rather incongruous hand pump, what was that doing here? It turned out that Marco and Justin are friends, and Justin would be visiting the next day.
Following a leisurely lunch we headed back to Milan thoroughly exhausted by our whirlwind tour and needing a rest before heading out in the evening.
Call it serendipity, but again I had managed to book a Hotel in walking distance of a Brewpub, Lambrate was about ten minutes walk away and the newer Lambrate on Via Golgi, which we were assured served good food, was another five minutes away. Sorted.
The Brewpub was heaving and it took a while to get served, one of the first Italian beers that I remember having at GBBF some years back was Ghisa and I was looking forward to sampling it again, delicious. We decide to move on to the new place but found that to be equally heaving and some local Radio show being broadcast from there. All tables reserved, not a chance of a seat, so it was a good job it was warm outside. Also a good job we weren't particularly hungry, and after sampling three or four beers we decided to call it a day.
On Saturday The Sherwood Pub beckoned, first we had to get a train to Novara where we would be met by Nino who showed us around this beautiful City before taking us to a new bar that had opened recently. There we met up with a couple that I had previously met in Braustelle a few years back. It was part of the plan to ensure we got back to Milan that night! The bar was simple and looked more like a transport cafe, but it's early days and the beer was good.
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| Nino |
The Sherwood Pub is in the small village of Nicorvo, there's not a lot else there, it's small and out of the way and why anyone would open a beer bar there is probably beyond most peoples understanding, but Nino did and it's wonderful.
The pub is a converted barn and on entering you notice the array of taps on the bar, the murals on the walls and the generally welcoming atmosphere. Beer appeared as if by magic. A fine Gran Cru Bruscella 2006? was carefully brought down from the special store to whet our appetites, this was followed by more beer and plates of Antipasti and the best Pizza I've ever had, and more beer. A visit to Nino's cellars left me drooling, so much fine beer. For desert a
Birramisù, coffee then a bottle of
Xyauyù was produced and it was a fitting final beer of the evening. Happy and contented we were taken back to Novara to catch to train back to Milan, a truly wonderful evening and one we won't forget.
So that's it, three Cities in Italy which have great beer and great pubs. And there's to be another bar in Milan as Nino is opening one soon in his home City.
