Peroni is Italy's most popular beer, and the lighter Peroni Nastro Azzurro is the Italian beer most likely to be found in the United States. However, as the interest in unique-tasting beers grows, many bars are expanding their regional offerings. For better or worse, many of the one-time local beers are now part of international conglomerates allowing for wider distribution. Of course, that isn’t true for every regional beer – to taste every beer on this list will require a trip to Italy.
Menabrea
The beer is brewed in Italy's oldest brewery, but this is something of a misnomer. Technically, the brewery building started brewing beer in 1846 - the year Peroni was founded. But the brewery didn't become Menabrea until two decades later when Giuseppe Menabrea took control of the building. Menabrea uses water from alpine springs and glaciers, and ages the beer in a series of caves near the brewery. There's a blonde lager and a darker amber variety. Menabrea was acquired by the Birra Forst Group in 1991.
Birra Moretti
Another one of Italy's old beer brands, Moretti dates back to 1859 when Luigi Moretti founded the brewery near Udine, Italy. At the time of course, Udine was disputed territory. The Austrian Empire had gained control of the city in 1814, but the local Italians unilaterally declared their independence in 1848. Only after the unification of Italy in 1866 did Austrian aggression come to an end, at least until the 20th Century. In addition to beer, Moretti sold ice, then an essential product for refrigeration and cocktails. Moretti L'Autentica is based on the original 1859 recipe, but the brand also makes a double malt beer known as La Rossa. Morretti is now owned by Heineken, a multinational conglomerate that has helped export it around the world.
Angelo Poretti
Poretti was founded in 1877 by Angelo Poretti in Valganna, Italy. Poretti offers a wide range of beer styles. Beer number 4 is the original lager style and most likely to find stateside, but there are other styles on offer in Italy including a bock, a red, seasonal beers for spring and fall, as well as international styles like American IPA, Belgian Blanche, and Bohemian Pilsner. The Carlsberg Group bought half the company in 1982, and then another quarter in 1998, and the final piece in 2002.
Birra Raffo
Originally founded in 1919 in Taranto, Italy, Raffo was a southern Italian beer at a time when most were produced in the north. Taranto is a coastal town on the heel of the peninsula. The brewery was founded by Vitantonio Raffo, and the family ran the brewery until 1961 when they sold it to Peroni. There were production interruptions during World War II, and allies used the facility as a weapons depot as well. The beer is a local favorite in the area and has sponsored Taranto FC, although production has since been moved to Bari.
Birra Morena
This southern Italian beer based in the city of Baragiano is a relative newcomer to the Italian beer scene. The early Italian breweries were located in the north, making Morena an outlier when it built a factory in Potenza. The beer and the brand originated in the 1980s, and during that time there have been a variety of flavors and styles including red beers, south, and lagers, as well as a “Bio,” an organic beer. The brewery is expanding internationally, especially into the Chinese market. In addition to producing many varieties of beer in Italy under the Morena label, the brewery is also involved in producing private-label beers.
Birra Ichnusa
This Sardinian beer dates to 1912, when it was founded in Cagliari. Although now owned by Heineken, the brand offers some unexpected beer styles. While Ichnusa's Anima Sarda is a typical lager, there are a few other beers in its line up like a hazy, non-filtered beer made from pure barley malt. And to celebrate the company's centennial, it produced the unpasteurized Ichnusa Cruda. There's also Ichnusa Limone, a light radler-style beer with lemon juice.
Ian MacAllen
Ian MacAllen is America Domani's Senior Correspondent and the author of Red Sauce: How Italian Food Became American. He is a writer, editor, and graphic designer living in Brooklyn. Connect with him at IanMacAllen.com or on Twitter @IanMacAllen.