Brewer of the Year 2022: the winners

The award that has recognized the best Italian beer producer for 14 years has crowned the Brianza brewer for the third time .

Marco Valeriani of the Alder brewery in Seregno (MB) is the long-awaited name pronounced from the stage of the TuscanyHall in Florence during the celebration of the Brewer of the Year, a national recognition that has awarded the best brewer every year for fourteen editions, giving life to a tribute event to Italian craft beer.

It is not the first time, but even the third, record, that the classification identified by asking 100 judges selected by Fermento Birra to vote among experts, journalists, publicans and professionals, projects the Brianza brewer to first place. A judgment that must take into account the production made throughout the year, and therefore of parameters such as technical skill, perseverance, versatility, creativity, all values which in summary find expression in the ability to excite through the glass. There were already two titles that Marco could show off on the bulletin board, conquered in 2016 and 2018 at the time at the helm of the Hammer brewery. This time, however, there is something new, namely "the shirt" with which he conquers the title. In fact, in 2019 our brewer decided to change and set up on his own by opening his factory in Seregno in Brianza, and thus returning home. Alder Beer Co. was born, a reality that immediately stood out for the production of two styles belonging to two geographically distant worlds: the United States and Germany. A choice that is also reflected in the name which has a Teutonic pronunciation but an English-speaking meaning, that is Ontano, a tree widespread in Brianza. Marco's style is undoubtedly influenced by his past as a food technologist with experience in the food industry and in quality control. A mindset that leads him to create beers first of all without defects, with well-defined sensory profiles, very clean, sometimes philological in an attempt to adhere to a style. An approach that requires study, maniacal technique, research, which gives life to perfect beers, surgical in their execution. An aspect that has certainly played a role especially among the judges involved in the sector, who know how to appreciate the constancy, reliability and quality of a product. Beers that always maintain a balanced profile, where all the ingredients are felt in a concert without false notes, where the conductor dictates the times and the score is perfectly executed. The cellar of the house is decidedly deep and always full of novelties, focused on the can format, with many references on the cartel whose presence also varies according to the period. Among the most productive branches we find the German one, where it is worth mentioning the "Hering" (German Pils with Tettnang hops also used in dry hopping), the Keller "Lewis" (the first Alder beer dedicated to Marco's father, Luigi Valeriani) , the Bock "Zander" or the Schwarz "Imbiss", dark with low fermentation. Not to mention the vein dedicated to the IPA universe, present in its many variations, such as the very fragrant "Rockfield", one of the best Italian expressions of the American IPA genre, the "Green Lobster" American IPA with the addition of oats and wheat, or the muscular "Death On 2 Legs", explosive Imperial IPA produced with typical New England techniques. But we must not forget the "dark" side of the Lombard brand, which presents beers such as the "Deltacolt" Milk Stout, the Breakfast Stout "BAR", produced with the addition of specialty coffee infusion, Ecuador Nacional Acriollado cocoa beans (Brave Beans) and Bourbon vanilla pods, or even the "Bollner", Double Chocolate Milk Stout with the addition of cocoa beans and vanilla. Less beaten, but equally full of satisfactions in terms of the results achieved, the territory of Belgium which this year has been excellently explored with the "Greg", a complex, fragrant, spicy and fruity Saison at the right point, with a deadly drink. Brewer of the Year 2022 ranking 1st Marco Valeriani of the Alder brewery in Seregno (MB) 2nd Giovanni Faenza of the Ritual Lab brewery in Formello (RM) 3rd Enrico Ciani of the Birra dell'Eremo brewery in Assisi (PG) 4th Matteo Pomposini and Cecilia Scisciani of the MC77 brewery of Serrapetrona (MC) 5th Samuele Cesaroni of the Brasseria della Fonte di Pienza brewery (SI) 6th Luigi Recchiuti of the Opperbacco brewery of Notaresco (TE) 7th Josif Vezzoli of the Birra Elvo brewery of Graglia (BI) 8th Conor Gallagher Deeks of the Hilltop brewery of Bassano Romano (VT) 9th Marco Sabatti of the Porta Bruciata brewery of Rodengo Saiano (BS) 10th Marco Raffaeli of the Mukkeller brewery of Porto Sant'Elpidio (FM) 11th Emanuele Longo of the Lariano brewery of Sirone (LC) 12th Luca Tassinati of the Liquida Brewery of Ostellato (FE) 13th Vincenzo Follino of the Bonavena Brewing brewery of Faicchio (BN) 14th Pietro di Pilato of the Brewfist brewery of Codogno (LO) 15th Agostino Arioli of the Italian Brewery There mido Comasco (CO) 16th Luca Dalla Torre of the Bondai brewery of Sutrio (UD) 17th Lorenzo Guarino of the Rural Brewery of Desio (MB) 18th Mauro Salaorni of the Birra Mastino brewery of San Martino Buon Albergo (VR) 19th Luca Maestrini and Luana Meola from the Birra Perugia brewery in Perugia 20th Gino Perissutti from the Foglie d'Erba brewery in Forni di Sopra (UD)

Emerging Brewer 2022 The award aimed at emerging young people, i.e. those brewers with a few years of experience at the helm of a brewery, ends up in the hands of Mirko Giorgi of Shire Brewing in Pomezia (RM). On the podium also Francesca Pertici of the Doctor B brewery of Livorno, second, and Enrico Girelli of the Radiocraft Brewery of Albano Laziale (RM) third, followed by Claudio Turcato of the Vertiga brewery of Rossano Veneto (VI), fourth, and Christian Barchetta of the brewery Styles of Monte Urano (FM), fifth. The winner is therefore a young twenty-five-year-old brewer, an admirer of traditional beers, out of time, but fortunately still sought after and appreciated. The protagonists of this beautiful brewing tale called Shire Brewing are Mirko Giorgi and Gianluigi Paolone both residing in Porciano, a small mountain village of about 250 inhabitants in the municipality of Ferentino (Frosinone, Lazio). It all began in 2017, the year in which the two fueled their passion for homebrewing by buying a small home brewing system with three vats. Over time, things begin to get serious: in addition to studying in 2019, Mirko carries out a 4-month internship at Kwantlen Polytechnic University in Vancouver (Canada), attending an intensive course in Brewing and Brewery Operations. Upon his return to Italy, Shire was born, a brand that leaked the passion for "The Lord of the Rings": the County (Shire, in fact), was the small village surrounded by greenery where the hobbits lived, and above all for the beer culture British. The first steps were taken in March 2021, thanks to the knowledge of Flavio Rossi (Partenocraft) and Erasmo Paone, owner of the Oxiana brewery in Pomezia, who immediately opened the doors of his company wide, entering the ownership of the brand. A brewery within the brewery that demonstrates that it has clear ideas by dusting off some historic British styles that will become the three flagships of the brewery: "Ecbert" (Best Bitter), "Macclesfield" (Dark Mild), "Spancil Hill" (Irish Dry Stout). From the desire to produce Lager, but from the initial impossibility of doing so due to the lack of an osmosis system, the Zwickelbier "Gelbe Strasse" was born, a collaboration beer made with friends from BiRen (Dosso, Ferrara). Shortly after, Oxiana too acquired water treatment technology and the "Decumano Est" (Kellerbier) arrived, followed by the "Profanator" (Doppelbock) and then the "Matka" (Tmave Pivo). The "Ultimo Focolare" (Scotch Ale) was added to the range, with the arrival of St. Patrick also the "Westland Row" (Oyster Stout), and then again the first hopped of the house inspired by old school IPAs called "Second Skin ". Emerging Brewer Ranking 2022 1st Mirko Giorgi from the Shire brewery in Pomezia (RM) 2nd Francesca Pertici from the Doctor B brewery in Livorno 3rd Enrico Girelli from the Radiocraft Brewery in Albano Laziale (RM) 4th Claudio Turcato from the Vertiga brewery in Rossano Veneto (VI) 5th Christian Barchetta of the Styles brewery of Monte Urano (FM)