The brewery first opened in 2008 within the Convent of the Barnabite Fathers in Piazza Carrobiolo in the historic center of Monza. The building dates back to the 1530s. The original brewhouse was only 2.5hl per batch and in a tiny room off the courtyard; they sell their full line of beers out of a small shop next door.
The brewery–the full name of which is Piccolo Opificio Brassicolo del Carrobiolo – Fermentum–began as a collaboration between the brewmaster Pietro Fontana and the convent. Before opening the brewery Pietro worked at the convent for 15 years as the director of their educational center for poor and troubled youth. The brewery was conceived as a place where graduating students could train, to learn brewing and go on to find other work. Today the main brewing assistant is an orphan and ex-student of the center.
One of the Barnabite fathers is a partial owner of the company, along with 6 other friends. Pietro oversees the entire brewery. A Monza native and now married with 3 children, Pietro has been a beer enthusiast since he was 18 and began collecting beers and bottles (after he drank them of course) in 1990. At that time Italy did not have too much to offer in the beer market so Pietro spent his free time, when school was not in session, traveling around Europe and studying traditional beer cultures: Germany, Belgium, Great Britain and Ireland. These new beers and beer styles opened his eyes to the potential flavors and aromas in beer and heightened his curiosity even further. By 1996 he had collected over 2000 bottles. It was in 1999, in London, that he came across his first homebrew kit, and he knew it had to be his. He returned to Monza with the plastic fermenter and some dry yeast in his luggage and learned the craft by studying various American homebrew sites. Pietro modified a pasta machine to serve as a grain mill, began all grain brewing at home and the rest is history. in 2008 he began his collaboration with the convent to open “Piccolo Opificio Brassicolo del Carrobiolo – Fermentum”
The Slow Food Movement
Slow Food is an international movement founded by Carlo Petrini in 1986. Promoted as an alternative to fast food, it strives to preserve traditional and regional cuisine and encourages farming of plants, seeds and livestock characteristic of the local ecosystem. It was the first established part of the broader Slow Movement. The movement has since expanded globally to over 100,000 members in 150 countries.Its goals of sustainable foods and promotion of local small businesses are paralleled by a political agenda directed against globalization of agricultural products.
“Dear Friends of Beer Carrobiolo
It is with honor that we announce the latest publication on the Italian craft beers organized by Slow Food (“Guide to the Beers of Italy 2011“, published by Slow Food). Out of more than 300 microbreweries existing, only 179 were selected on the basis of quality and philosophy. Among these breweries, our little project and our beers have received great reviews. We will strive to improve even more. It makes us proud, above all, to be one of the four microbreweries in Lombard to have obtained the recognition of “Slow food” that identifies the reality closer to the concepts of good, clean and fair.” – From http://www.birradelcarrobiolo.it/
OG 1111
The OG 1111 is brewed with 8 different malts, mostly Maris Otter and a carefully measured amount of peated malts; the other six are various caramel and toasted malts to cover the range of color and aromatics. The powerful Hercules hop is used for bittering, and a touch of East Kent Goldings at the end of the boil to obtain that ‘rhubarb and quinine’ effect. The full boil lasts 2 hours. An English yeast finishes the fermentation relatively quickly, but then follows a long maturation at cold temperatures and after bottling 6 months in the cellars of the convent.
O.G. 1111 comes in two versions: “Still” 12 x 375ml & “Refermented “ 12 x 375ml
For more information please visit: Birra del Carrobiolo