Ducato and their award winning beers
14/06/12 00:22
We’ve been busy doing lots of beer road trips in search of great Italian craft to bring to you in Oz. The latest was a quick dash down the road to Parma to Birrificio Ducato. Having just been hit by the earthquake we were not sure if they were infact in one piece! We’d heard and read a lot about them so even an earthquake couldn’t keep us away. Ducato is located in Roncole Verdi, a small village in Parma, birth place of world’s renowned composer Giuseppe Verdi and also home land of prestigious food such as Parma ham (Prosciutto) and wines such as Lambrusco and Malvasia. But enough about the music and the wine, we were there for the beer!
Started in 2007 Ducato has quickly established itself as one of the most respected and highly awarded breweries in Italy led by a great partnership between Giovanni Campari, the radical and visionary brewmaster and Manuel Piccoli the brewery’s entrepreneurial mind. Talking about and tasting the beers with Giovanni it was soon apparent the passion and poetry that goes into his beers, from the Pils to the barrel aged stout every beer had an amazing story behind it. Take for example the Viaemilia, their first beer and best seller is an explosion of hop aromas. Giovanni tells the story that like an expectant father he is on call during the hop harvest in Germany waiting for the call from the hop farmers to let him know when the hops are at their absolute prime for collecting. He then “hops” on the plane and gets involved in the harvest selecting only the best most aromatic hops for his beers. Then there’s the smoky Wedding Raunch, created for his wife to celebrate their wedding as she is a great admirer of that style of beer. The idea was to serve it only for the wedding but it was so popular that it is now a regular beer in his impressive portfolio.
All the beers we tried were incredible and the time and effort taken to select and procure ingredients and then the work done with them to make the beers was immediately evident. It was easy to see how they had become one of Italy’s most awarded breweries. With awards such as:
In 2008 Verdi Imperial Stout ranked first at the “European Beer Star” in Germany marking the first time in history an Italian artisan beer has ever won an international contest.
In 2009, Nuova Mattina (the American version of New Morning) was listed as one of the world’s top 25 beers in both “Draft” and “The Wine Enthusiast” magazines.
In 2010, VIA EMILIA won the silver medal at the “World Beer Cup”, the world’s most renowned beer competition held in the USA biannually. Also, The International Beer Challenge in London awarded the Black Jack Verdi Imperial Stout with 2 gold medals. Sally Brown “Baracco” won 2 silver and a bronze. In Italy they were crowned “Brewery of the year 2010” and went on winning 4 medals, with VIA EMILA receiving a gold at the European Beer Star in Germany.
In 2011 Ducato was once again crowned “Brewery of the Year” being the first brewery ever to be awarded twice in a row in Italy. It also won 7 medals at the European Beer Star with Beersel Morning and Sally Brown receiving a gold award each. Pretty impressive!
We were hugely impressed and now can proudly say that Ducato is on board as part of the Birra Italiana family. We’ll be shipping a great range of Ducato beers to Australia in our July shipment, so by August you too could be drinking these amazing beers!
Started in 2007 Ducato has quickly established itself as one of the most respected and highly awarded breweries in Italy led by a great partnership between Giovanni Campari, the radical and visionary brewmaster and Manuel Piccoli the brewery’s entrepreneurial mind. Talking about and tasting the beers with Giovanni it was soon apparent the passion and poetry that goes into his beers, from the Pils to the barrel aged stout every beer had an amazing story behind it. Take for example the Viaemilia, their first beer and best seller is an explosion of hop aromas. Giovanni tells the story that like an expectant father he is on call during the hop harvest in Germany waiting for the call from the hop farmers to let him know when the hops are at their absolute prime for collecting. He then “hops” on the plane and gets involved in the harvest selecting only the best most aromatic hops for his beers. Then there’s the smoky Wedding Raunch, created for his wife to celebrate their wedding as she is a great admirer of that style of beer. The idea was to serve it only for the wedding but it was so popular that it is now a regular beer in his impressive portfolio.
All the beers we tried were incredible and the time and effort taken to select and procure ingredients and then the work done with them to make the beers was immediately evident. It was easy to see how they had become one of Italy’s most awarded breweries. With awards such as:
In 2008 Verdi Imperial Stout ranked first at the “European Beer Star” in Germany marking the first time in history an Italian artisan beer has ever won an international contest.
In 2009, Nuova Mattina (the American version of New Morning) was listed as one of the world’s top 25 beers in both “Draft” and “The Wine Enthusiast” magazines.
In 2010, VIA EMILIA won the silver medal at the “World Beer Cup”, the world’s most renowned beer competition held in the USA biannually. Also, The International Beer Challenge in London awarded the Black Jack Verdi Imperial Stout with 2 gold medals. Sally Brown “Baracco” won 2 silver and a bronze. In Italy they were crowned “Brewery of the year 2010” and went on winning 4 medals, with VIA EMILA receiving a gold at the European Beer Star in Germany.
In 2011 Ducato was once again crowned “Brewery of the Year” being the first brewery ever to be awarded twice in a row in Italy. It also won 7 medals at the European Beer Star with Beersel Morning and Sally Brown receiving a gold award each. Pretty impressive!
We were hugely impressed and now can proudly say that Ducato is on board as part of the Birra Italiana family. We’ll be shipping a great range of Ducato beers to Australia in our July shipment, so by August you too could be drinking these amazing beers!