After oil, wine and flour comes beer in the production cycle of Farchioni, a historic Umbrian company in Gualdo Cattaneo (Perugia).
The brewed product, distributed in the wine shop circuit of large-scale retail trade, travels with the brand name “Umbrian Master Brewers”. In 2017, around 2.000.000 bottles were produced by the company, equal to around 15.000 hectoliters. Turnover amounted to around 6 million euros, with a constant growth of 10% since 2016. Exports, on the other hand, account for around 20% of production between China, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Belgium, Holland, Australia and Mexico . In 2017, the export turnover was approximately 1,2 million euros, with an increase of 30% compared to the previous year. “The trend- says Marco Farchioni, head of the new family production segment together with the brothers Giampaolo and Cecilia seems to be confirmed also in the first half of 2018".
But the real adventure of the entire “Mastri Birrai Umbri” project, which began in 2011, is the recent opening of a brewery with malthouse. The establishment, which is part of the planning of wanting to guarantee the consumer a 100% made in Italy product, has a production capacity of 70 hectoliters for each beer production.”
“Currently – he says though the master brewer Michele Sensidoni– stands at around 25 hectoliters a year, but can reach 60”. From a production point of view, the beers are instead produced with barley of the following varieties: Grace, Sunshine, Planet. For cultivation, Mastri Birrai Umbri has more than 700H for the cultivation of its raw materials.
The production line includes two reference lines: Surplice and Special Surplice. “Our beer – explains Marco Farchioni specifically – starts from the field and reaches the glass to guarantee an authentically artisanal, unfiltered and pasteurized product. And with the malthouse - he adds - we complete the supply chain, in Umbria we cultivate barley, we take care of the transformation into malt and we produce our beer”.
“The beers- he adds - we have called them with the distinctive number of the original recipe that most enthused us. In fact, with our master brewer and my family, we didn't just want to create a good beer, but we wanted to put all our secular experience of taste and passion. So we asked our brewer with great insistence to make a test, then two, then ten and we didn't stop until we were convinced that the cotta, a term that stands for "beer production", was really ready .
“Finally - concludes Farchioni - we made the selection by voting for our best crush, finding ourselves incredibly aligned on 21, 74, 37, 68 and 50. So - he continues - we called them so many times with their number, that it seemed spontaneous to report it on the label". “It is good to point out, he adds lastly, that we have also decided to launch one series of particularly complex beers, inserted in an elegant packaging with a great scenic impact, thus giving light to the Cotta Speciale, proposed in a particular way both to the Horeca market and to specialized pubs".
