Happy? Have a Beer With Your Friends
Prealpi Biellesi is an interesting area for gourmands but also for beer lovers. Even if little known by tourists - compared to nearby Milan and Turin - they are rich in breweries with genuine drink
You may have noticed that I speak with great enthusiasm about small local producers and restaurateurs in my articles. When someone tells me about a particular place, I also go there to get to know this entrepreneur and his products.
For example, I visited the exhibition of Biellese wines a month ago and met there a winemaker who produces very little wine but his wines are very special: he doesn't add sulphites or anything else, but the wine is practically genuine, only grapes inside. I tasted 4 of his wines in BiWine and I was enchanted. Enough to visit his winery.
We are all tired of industrial foods that force us to eat synthetic products. Many years ago while still young I had severe headache problems. An intelligent person gave me good advice to watch what I eat and see which foods make me sick. I followed this advice and found that I feel bad every time I eat something with synthetic ingredients. Thus began my passion for natural foods.
Well, wine was only an example. This time I would like to tell you about a beer.
In the historic centre of Biella has been located the oldest active Italian brewery, which has been open since 1846. It's called Menabrea and this is the surname of their founders, entrusted actually to the fifth generation of their descendants. The historic plant is now Casa Menabrea, a museum dedicated to the history and tools of brewing. Nearby, a few steps away, a typical restaurant has been created from the old stables. This is the place where you can taste raw beer.
With my friends, I go to this restaurant a couple of times a year, but unfortunately for us, the museum was always closed. This time we were lucky: not only did we eat well, but we also found their museum open.
Another detail of this factory is that they have merged with another company that is across the road, a company that produces cheeses, Botalla. From this union was born a united museum (MeBo) where one wing is dedicated to brewing, the other - to cheese making. The two companies created cheese made with beer, Sbirro. This cheese, but also other interesting types of more delicate flavours and aromas. With flowers, for example.
I must say that this is not the only cheese made with beer in the Biella area. Not far from me, there is a dairy, Rosso, which also has cheese made with beer, BirbaBlu, which is even multi-awarded: Silver @World Cheese Awards 2017 & 2021 / Winner @Coups De Coeur 2020. I spoke to the owner and he told me that the beer is added to the milk. I don't know how they do it. I have to ask if an excursion can be arranged to see the process.
We turn back to the restaurant because the kitchen is really good there. Even if the main reason for our love for this place is above all the beer because we all love it, I have to admit that their dishes are also excellent. The pizzas are as fine as we like and everything we tasted there too.
This time we booked the penne pasta with pesto from Trapani. I tell you the truth: in the 30 years that I live in Italy I have never heard of this type of pesto. You can tell it doesn't show on the plate, but this sauce is transparent and contains sun-dried tomatoes, small pieces of almonds and garlic. You can find precise recipes on YouTube but it’s very simple: just put all the ingredients in a mixer: sun-dried or even normal skinless tomatoes, almonds, pepper, garlic, salt, plus Pecorino cheese and olive oil. The sauce should not be completely blended but with small pieces.
The photo shows this pesto in variation with sun-dried tomatoes. If you make this pesto with fresh tomatoes, the colour of the sauce will obviously be red.
I would like to end this post with the words of Benjamin Franklin (I don't know if they were actually said by him, but they are true :-))
"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy"