Calling it beer may seem reductive. The new production of "Collerosso", the Birra del Borgo project dedicated to experimentation and spontaneous fermentation, in fact, stands out considerably from the traditional production processes of Italian beers. Matteo Corazza and Matteo Del Sordo patrons of La Birra del Borgo explain it this way: “The fascination for yeasts and spontaneous fermentation, with its techniques and its times, combined with our inventiveness are the elements that prompted us to get this new project off the ground which revolves around three elements: man, to whose hands and ideas the creative processes are entrusted; there nature, the wild one that surrounds the brewery which gives the beer character and uniqueness; and the time, that unhurriedly scans the production rhythm”.
Clearly, and then it will be understood why, we are talking about a production intended primarily for high-end catering and the world of enthusiasts attentive to new and natural selections.
Let's start from the nature of the place, Borgorose, the small town that saw the birth of the first Birra del Borgo brewery in 2005, is located in the upper Valle del Salto, in the province of Rieti, on the border between Lazio and Abruzzo. From Borgorose you enter the Monti della Duchessa Nature Reserve, one of the wildest and most spectacular mountain areas in Lazio, with thick beech forests that cover the slopes of the mountains, the beautiful spring blooms that color the green grasslands at high altitudes and the crystalline lake water.
Drawing from the woods, mountains, waters and forests, Birra del Borgo has proposed since its birth in 2005 to think about beer in an innovative way starting from a reinterpretation of traditional styles, which had to combine elegance and balance of the final product, to realize a harmony between product, territory and gastronomic traditions of the territory to which it belongs.
All night waiting for the wild yeasts of the countryside
The evolution of this new frontier of beer is called “Collerosso”: the name is none other than that of the dirt road that connects the new factory which started four years ago, to the historic Borgo brewery transformed into experimental laboratory for research on beers and yeasts.
A name therefore deliberately linked to the territory because the secret – and the soul – of this new beer is there, in the soil and in the air, in the nature rich in perfumes, in the spontaneous plant varieties of these places.
Precisely to dialogue with the surrounding environment, the must is left to cool overnight in the Coolship, la large open-air tub, for it to trigger the spontaneous fermentation. No yeast is added, the only ones present are the wild ones that live in the air of the surrounding countryside and the brewery and are transmitted to the cooked must. An uncontrollable, natural, primitive process. Having let nature take its course, man then intervenes who has studied, in this case, fermentation and long aging in barrels - up to 3 years - providing the beer with the time necessary to slowly acquire character, complexity and depth. Calvados barrels, Montepulciano barrels, Amarone barrels that transfer notes, smells and aromas that make Collerosso beers unique.
The first creatures of this new adventure are called Round Overnight (Alcohol 5,7, price 8 euros for the 37,5 cl bottle) blend of three spontaneous fermentations, three vintages (2015, 2016, 2017) and three different barrels; Brigand (Alcohol 8,8, price 5 euros for the 37,5 cl bottle) a Farmhouse Ale, which ferments and ages for 12 months in 3.500-litre barrels that housed brandies with balsamic floral and citrus notes donated by honey and spice with lemon leaves and gentian roots; Old tripel (Alcohol 10,2, price 5 euros for the 37,5 cl bottle) which ferments and ages for 12 months in large 4000-litre brandy barrels, a beer full of explosive aromas that is characterized by its freshness.
In short, it is clear that we have entered a new frontier, a middle ground between the world of beer and that of wine. Under the motto "Be spontaneous", an invitation addressed to consumers, which appears in the logo created by the Turin illustrator Gianluca Cannizzo.
"Bringing different traditions and cultures together, experimenting with techniques, following instincts, creating new realities - declare Matteo Corazza and Matteo Del Sordo - this is our style and our ambition: to be the avant-garde, pioneers of a world often flattened on standardization of the product".
Borgo beer
Piana di Spedino snc
02021 Borgorose (RI)
Tel. +39 06 95222314
Bottega Birra del Borgo
Via Silvestro Gherardi 19th
00146 Rome
