The Birch Blog

We headed back to Piozo to see if we could check into our room at Casa Baladin. 


 
 
A friendly pup that greeted us everytime we walked by! The Casa was really cool, it was like being in a house tucked away in an alley. I believe there are 4 rooms overall in the casa, we were directed to the four on the second level, there was a small walkway that basically jutted out from the rooms so it was like a loft and you could see into the living area. All of the doors were old and had the skeleton keys with them! Additionally all of the rooms are themed and decorated differently. We stayed in the Africa room!
 



(more photos of the Casa here) 

Also did I mention that Baladin has a line of just about everything? Including:
Shampoo

Body Soap

Regular Hand Soap

Incense, and candles and did I mention they are all either beer ingredient based products, or they smell like one of their beers!? I washed my hair in Nora, how cool is that?


On top of being an awesome place to stay, this was the other awesome thing about the Casa:


Yep, it is right across the street from Le Baladin, meaning we could indulge that evening!

They opened at 5, we had dinner reservations at 7, so we sat at the bar for a few beers, again people thought we were weird.

They also had this awesome wheel! You spin it and it tells you want to do, or what beer to order. (Sometimes I need that for some of our customers!)

Our dinner reservation!

We ate “Stinco” a braised pork shank with beer, and their stew. All of their dishes are made with beer I believe.

It is at this moment the cool part of our Baladin story begins! (Could it get any cooler you ask?) We notice at the bar, Teo Musso (the creator of Baladin, brewmaster, beer celebrity of Italy) is sitting having dinner. He isn’t always in town, in his small hometown of Piozo, and we thought we had seen him when we were checking in to the Casa. 



Ben introduced himself and told him we sell his beers in the US. He says he is going to get a quick bite to eat and then if we want he will take us to the Cantina. So we finish our beer and wait. 

In a very big city kind of way, when he is finished with his meal, he asks us, “Do you want to get out of here?” We nod, yes, and pay our tab.

As a side note: We’re thinking Cantina is another bar he owns, or maybe one that he likes to go to in town. We were not expecting what was going to happen next.

We walk outside and make a right and walk a bit down the street. It is completely dark out at this point and there aren’t many street lights. We make a left into an alley with one light on in a window. Teo runs over to the window and waves, he says it is his mother and tells her that he is showing some Americans the Cantina. 

We come upon this huge door, an old wooden garage door, with a smaller door in it. And he unlocks it and welcomes us to his cellar!! There is a walkway with a few barrels that then gives way to his mother’s restored kitchen from when he was a child. It was furnished with old tiny rounded edged appliances, the odd olive green on the floor and cabinets, and a silver edged table with metal chairs! 

Teo grabs us two Tekus and asks if we’d like to try a few things from the barrels. How can one refuse an offer like that?! So we taste and he explains, the barrels are from all sorts of vineyards and all different years. One of the things he let us taste was out in the hallway, the beer was being aged in a barrel that had turned it into a delicious Rauchbier barleywine! (I believe it was the Xyauyù aged in Laphroaig Scotch Whiskey from 1998!)



He then said he had to return to his car, he had an early day the next day. He walked us back to Le Baladin, we bid farewell, promptly walked back into Le Baladin for a night cap, or two. . :)

Also here is an awesome video of Teo’s Cantina, for a better look!

(and how perfect that Ben just brought me up a Baladin Wayan, which means niece or nephew I believe that is what he told us, we ran into one of the little girls it is named in honor of.)
 
Up Next: Birrificio Troll Vernante (CN), Italy - Birre d’Italia
Previously: Scarampola Cairo Montenotte (SV) Italy - Birre d’Italia

“We saw a case of beer that said Scarampola, and asked if it was nearby. Turns out it was! Paolo called up the brewer and asked if he’d be around to show us his brewery. He would in an hour or so, about the time it would take to get there. Our first brewery in a monastery visit at that!”(from previous post)

Another adventure getting lost in Italy begins here. It was an absolutely beautiful drive, mountains and rivers all around.


We get to the town and get a bit of pizza since we are still quite early. We drive down the street and the GPS states, “You have reached your destination.” And you know it is the point when she says it you are parked in an apartment parking lot with a dumptruck place nearby, that we aren’t in Kansas anymore, or anywhere near a monastery. We drove up and down the road several times and then back into town for directions. We even stop at a grave yard that had crosses everywhere because hey, crosses mean a monastery right? Ben almost asked this poor old man if he was the brewer before I stopped Ben and told him he was putting flowers on his dead mother’s grave!

We are at the point of giving up and realize that we need petrol. So as we turn the corner to the petrol station, there it is.




There aren’t any signs but this was obviously it. We could hear the chanting from outside. We walk through a garage type doorway and into a courtyard when we see someone. And sure enough it is the brewer, Maurizio.


This was the entire brewery! The tour was short, but that means getting to the tasting faster!

We tried several of their beers, on of our favorites being his sour Amber Haze! The notes are below.






We had a great time hanging out in his little cozy tasting room at the bottom of a monastery. He basically rents out the small space from the monks. The name Scarampola comes from a family that was very prominent in the area the Scarams  (I believe if I remember correctly.) In addition there was also a band by the same name at some time, and that explains the logo of the musicians!

While we were there an inspector arrived, apparently the two had played futbol together, but that only goes so far when health inspections are concerned. Maurizio stepped out to give him a tour and show him the facility. The best part was Maurizio trying to explain to him why he doesn’t pasteurize his beer. We were drinking his lighter beers and the sour Amber haze and he gave them both to the inspector to show the regular beer and then to show a quote “infected” beer. He was explaining it is impossible to get sick from an “infected” beer AND they happen to be quite delicious!

We bid our farewell, letting him attend to his business with the inspector and heading back to Piozo to enjoy Le Baladin for the evening!

Up Next: Le Baladin Piozo (TO) Italy - Birre d’Italia (B&B and Bar)
Previously: Le Baladin Piozo (TO) Italy - Birre d’Italia (brewery)

Onward to Baladin! We were to meet Paolo at the Birrificio at 10am. First we for once find our way to Casa Baladin, the brewery’s Bed and Breakfast and drop off our things. Then the B&B manager said she would show us the way to where the brewery was. We walked down the street and to the left, then down a bit, to the edge of the small mountain that Piozo is situated on. We lean over and she points out that the brewery is down there, see it, it is the white building. The building is covered in solar panels, that later we learn that they power the entire brewery!

Paolo the head brewer meets us to show us around. The brewery is fairly new maybe a year or so and they were still building a tasting room there. So we jumped over boxes and walked down an unfinished staircase and through this door.


^Regular Storage after bottle conditioning

^Barrels for the Baladin Xyauyù

^ The warm room for bottle conditioning


^Bottles conditioning ;)

Then we walked through to view the bottling line, I posted a video of that in a previous blog post. Baladin has recently developed a new cork that doesn’t require the cage on top of the bottles. These bottles are only available in Italy right now but they did give us some corks to take home!


Then onward to the barrel room. It contained three barrels aging Baladin Xyauyù. And Paolo offered us a taste! And the barrels don’t look so big in the picture or in the next but wait until the third!



^That’s Paolo pouring us a taste!

^This was by far the biggest brewery when been to at this point!



^That holds grain! And lots of it!


Then to the specialty malts room. V


^We even tasted a few of the grains, this one had a chocolatey flavor to it.

^The malts room was on the second floor so you could see the tops of all of the fermenters from this window.

^Then we got to check out a mash that was being filtered into a tank. V



^Luppolo means Hop!

Then our tour was concluded. We had quite a few hours to use before we could go to the Casa Baladin and their bar Le Baladin. We saw a case of beer that said Scarampola, and asked if it was nearby. Turns out it was! Paolo called up the brewer and asked if he’d be around to show us his brewery. He would in an hour or so, about the time it would take to get there. Our first brewery in a monastery visit at that!

Up Next: Scarampola Cairo Montenotte (SV) Italy - Birre d’Italia
Previously: Cafe Baladin Saluzzo (TO) Italy - Birre d’Italia

Birrificio Baladin and Casa Baladin were closed on Wednesday, so we decided to check out Cafe Baladin in Saluzzo about an hour and a half away. Again, another one of those, “Birrificio?”-and-awkward-pointing experiences. The road we needed to travel down was a “walking only road,” so we had to park and walk. Of course the Cafe was hidden behind a bank on the main walk, so were missed it about two times and walked in a few circles.

Finally, we arrive, just before they close. The Italians tend to close up shop for a few hours in the afternoon to relax, I suppose. So we had a few sandwiches (remind me to post those photos later.) And the beers on draft we hadn’t sampled before.

^ Draft List ^

Then we found a place to stay and took a nap, and ventured back out in the rain to the Cafe. Here is what the other room looks like. It almost had a coffee shop feel to it, mixed matched chairs, coffee tables in addition to regular ones, cozy lighting and lamps out of beer bottles.



The Beers:

^A beer with cherries for Teo Musso’s mother. (Teo is the owner of Baladin, more on him in a coming blog!)

^Nazionale: An all Italian Ingredient beer.

We knew we weren’t going to be able to make it to Del Borgo so we ordered this beer while we were there.

^DuCale- a robust Scotch Ale, darker maltier beers are hard to find in Italy.

^We were also fed in the course of the evening without ordering anything!


^This beauty is distilled Noel!

^Our cozy corner.

The bar.

So there ends our Cafe Baladin visit.

Up Next: Le Baladin and Casa Baladin Piozzo (CN)
Previously:Grado Plato Chieri (TO) Italy - Birra d’Italia

Tuesday night we ventured into Chieri in search of Grado Plato. We didn’t get a chance to visit their brewery, so the brew pub was the next best thing. We put the address into the GPS, and drive into town. Of course, we can’t find it. We end up having to rely on asking a store owner, that we hoped was just down the street. He points down the way a bit and says they don’t open for another hour. So we wait. Here it is:

Yep, in a parking lot, hidden off the main road. And then my thought was, “How does that little space house a brew pub?” Well, the brew pub is under ground.

People had said on the trip so far, that the Grado Plato pub is a locals kind of joint. You go there for a beer after work or out with your friends for a few pints.

This is the Sticher, an all Italian ingredient beer. It was sweet and malty, a traditional Red Ale if you will.





Nanoro is a beer brewed to benefit a charity in Burkina Faso. It is based on a traditional beer brewed by the women there with Orzo. It had lovely citrus aromas and was light and crisp. It was a perfect accompaniment to the pub’s specialty: SNAILS! We had the sampler option: fried with veggies, on top of greens in a dressing, on top of bread with tomatoes and olive oil, and with cheese sauce. Delish!

Most of the people gathered at the pub that evening were young adults. This is the pub we learned that it is weird to sit at the bar in a pub. Most Italians stand at the bar to avoid the “table service” charge. So sitting at the bar is definitely weird, and automatically labeled us as foreigners. But we didn’t mind, we like to watch the bartenders pour beer! A gentleman standing at the bar, who soon moved to a table, said Italians feel like they are eating at a desk when they sit at a bar as well.

Did I mention that you don’t tip in Italy? It just isn’t done, and you can tell they aren’t working for tips. They get your order, bring it to you, and that is it. If you need something else, you flag them down. They aren’t in any hurry and that can either be relaxing or vexing, depending on how you embrace their culture!

Up Next: Cafe Baladin Saluzzo (TO) Italy - Birra d’Italia
Previously: Pausa Cafè Grugliasco (TO) Italy - Birra d’Italia

After a much needed long night’s sleep, we were ready for some more beer tasting. About 30 or so minutes toward the West there is Birrificcio Pausa Cafè’s restaurant. 

As an aside for those of you who may not know much about Pausa Cafè, it is a social cooperative that promotes fair trade coffee and “social and professional reintegration pathways for the inmates ”Lorusso e Cutugno” of Turin and ”Rodolfo Morandi” of Saluzzo. They teach the inmates how to roast coffee and brew beer. And while we were there the manager of the restaurant informed us that these are not just petty crime inmates, these are murder, homicide, etc convicts. (Therefore the reason you need clearance a month in advance to actually visit the prison brewery)

From the outside it looks like a campus coffee shop, floor to ceiling windows, coffee bar on the left, beer bar and restaurant on the right. 

They had quite a few beers on the menu that we had never heard of, a some on tap that we’d never tried on draft. This is when Ben and I have to alternate selections so we can try them all! 

 

Martina is a Fruit Lambic brewed with Martin Sec pears, grown in Aosta not too far in the North. It was 5.5% ABV, tart, and extremely pleasant to drink. The mouthfeel was very wine-like, with a few bubbles that made it even more refreshing.

(The martin sec is a small and uniformly shaped pear. Its skin is rough and rusty colored and the flesh is whitish and grainy, not overly juicy but very aromatic and fragrant. It is a fruit that is primarily used in syrup; when cooked in wine, it assumes a red color like its skin and attains a specialsoftness. source) 

We hadn’t ordered anything to eat yet, and the Italians like to see you “manga, manga” so out came these delicious dough-nut like puffs with tomato sauce on top. The manager said it was a type of regional street food and that they like to offer localized options such as this, on their menu. They had quite a few selections that were highlighted as a “Slow Food Movement” entree.

 

T.I.P.A. from the draft, their second best seller after the P.I.L.S. It is a 7.4% IPA, a very malty one at that. The malts came through on the nose quite a bit, but the first sip was all hops, more like wet hops, than dry. It reminded me of a Scotch Ale IPA, or almost like a hoppy Old Ale.

Something we noticed about Italy is that there are those beer styles that a brewery feels it has to brew to stay in business, a Wit, a Bitter, and a Pilsner. Almost every brewery we went to had one or all of these styles to offer. And who doesn’t like a tasty session beer!?

 



We ended up taking the FUORI! back to our B&B. FUORI! means “outside, or let out” so it is quite a clever pun, since it is a collaboration between six different breweries, including Almond 22. It is a schwartzbier and was quite roasty. Everyone there was very excited to have a dark beer enter their line up, although the supply was only 20 cases! 





We ended our evening with the Speriamo, a perry, to celebrate our one year anniversary!  

P.S. I mentioned they roasted their own coffee as well! We couldn’t leave without trying some espresso!

Up Next: Grado Plato CHIERI (TO) Italy - Birra d’Italia
Previously: Loverbeer Marentino, (TO) Italy - Birra d’Italia

We arrive in Milan around 8:40 in the morning, and quickly head to the “Car Hire” portion of a very confusing airport. We acquire our tiny Fiat Panda and our GPS and type in Loverbeer’s address. “No Results Found.” Uh-oh, this is going to be a long trip directions-wise, I can tell, and if there is anything Ben hates more than macro beer, it’s getting lost! We eventually get a street near the brewery in to the GPS with the help of the Budget Rental fellow, and we’re off. 

It is a cloudy drizzly day, which doesn’t help the fact that we’ve been up for half a day already. The roads are nice and yes, Italians do drive fast. After an hour or so we come upon a neighborhood and drive to the end of the street.

“Scusi, Birrificio?” (Excuse me, brewery?) Is a phrase we learned to use a lot. The phrase also included blank stares and crazy round about directions.

Loverbeer was just two houses back. Oops. 

Valter Lovelier, and his wife Elena, were there to greet us! First up, the brewery tour. A brewery consists of a few basic elements: a boiler, a mash tun, fermenters, and maturation tanks. So most breweries look very similar, the difference is usually the size an amount of equipment. We were shown all of these with the addition of their oak maturation tanks! Most of Loverbeer’s beers are aged on oak.

You can see the below maturation tank on the left. (Don’t know where my picture went!)


(source: http://www.loverbeer.com/)

Valter also has a large bottle conditioning room that was piled high with boxes of bottles! His storage boxes were the first of its kind I had seen, beautiful wooden boxes all stacked neatly in rows throughout the brewery!

And then for the best part of brewery tours: tasting! Here are my notes!

We then went out for lunch, which is very difficult on Mondays because like in the US most places are closed. We went to Cantina del Convento, a beer bar in Chieri, about 20 minutes from the brewery. We ate pasta and tasted our first Toccalmatto beer, their Sibilla saison. (more on them later) 

Valter and Elena then took us for a walk around Chieri and then directed us to a lovely Bed and Breakfast, where we promptly took a very long nap!

Thank you again to Valter and Elena for being wonderful hosts and for kicking off our Italian Beer Tour!

Up Next: Pausa Cafè Grugliasco (TO) Italy - Birra d’Italia