Menabrea

Commercial Brewery in Biella (BI), Piedmont, Italy 🇮🇹
Owned by Forst

Established in 1846

Contact
Via Ramella Germanin n.4, Biella (BI), 13900, Italy
Description
Menabrea is the oldest active brewery in Italy. A top premium brewery, given the melding of three elements: An original beer recipe, quality raw materials and an inherent beer culture.

Birra Menabrea is part of the history of beer in Italy. Founded in 1846 by Mr. Welf di Gressoney and the brothers Antonio and Gian Battista Caraccio, in 1854 the brewery was rented to Giuseppe Menabrea and Antonio Zimmermann, who bought it in 1864. Following the exit of Zimmermann from the company, it was Giuseppe Menabrea who set up the 6 July 1872 "G. Menabrea and sons". At the head of the brewery is Carlo Menabrea until, in 1896, the company passed into the hands of Emilio Thedy and Augusto Antoniotti, husbands of the Menabrea sisters. From that moment on, the Thedy family will lead the company.

In 1991, the company became part of the Forst Beer Group. However, Birra Menabrea retains its strong identity and independence intact. Since 2005 the director is Franco Thedy, the fifth descendant of the family. In 2017, Franco Thedy gave the go-ahead for the expansion of the Brewhouse with advanced features and a spectacular visual impact. Inauguration is scheduled for March 2019.

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4.8
Appearance - 4 | Aroma - 5 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 5

Bottle. Nice head with good duration. Color is paley yellow. Aroma and taste are malt, grass and hops.

Tried from Bottle on 07 May 2011 at 08:23


5
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 5 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 4

Tap at Il Mediceo in Pisa. Clear brown, pure white head. Aroma of charcoal. Taste is bland, sweet, then bitter.

Tried from Draft on 14 Apr 2011 at 17:51


6
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6

A clear scotch-like amber with a thick light moka head. In aroma, pungeant grain mashed grains with light notes of rye bread, light caramel notes. In mouth, a very grainy malt with rye notes, some nice german hopping, a bit of doughy character, lightly oily mouthfeel. Not bad. 12 on. bottle from MLCC Grant Park, 1.99$.

Tried from Bottle on 03 Apr 2011 at 19:24


6.2
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6

33cl bottle at Zizzi’s, Camberley. Bright gold in colour with a thin white head; fruity aroma; dry with a crisp, fruit malt flavour; and a clean dry finish. Very pleasant.

Tried from Bottle on 30 Mar 2011 at 14:01


6.6
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 6.5

Location: 12 oz bottle at Bacaro, 3/12/11

Aroma: The nose is malty, some spice, toast, and a little earthy hops
Appearance: It pours a clear amber color with a small white head
Flavor: The taste is similar to the nose, sweetness and spice, light bitterness
Palate: The body is medium with a smooth and creamy feel, slightly dry finish
Overall Impression: I saw this one on the menu and I was excited to see something other then the standard Italian restaurant fare (Moretti, Peroni, etc). Anyway, maybe it was just because my expectations were fairly low, but this one was better then I expected. Solid and drinkable.

Tried from Bottle on 13 Mar 2011 at 16:17


4.6
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 5 | Flavor - 4 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 4.5

Bottle at a random Italian Restaurant, Copenhagen. Copper coloured pour with a fading off white head. Bready, malty nose. Thin watery mouthfeel. Flavour was largely sweet malts and had a vague metallic tang in addition to some dark fruit and spice notes. Slight bitterness in the short lived finish. Not great. Should have gone with the wine list.

Tried from Bottle on 03 Mar 2011 at 10:11


3.9
Appearance - 4 | Aroma - 3 | Flavor - 4 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 3.5

Pours pale gold with a small head.Nose shows faint sweet malt and corn. Pretty boring, not much going on at all.Flavours are pretty much the same, no bitterness whatsoever. At least there’s no really bold off-flavours.Very watery body.

Tried on 22 Feb 2011 at 18:31


5.8
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6

bottle from Vinoble-favrskov clear golden, smooth offwhite head. Looks quite nice actually. dry lager aroma, also a faint sour sockey hoppy sensation. The alcoholic in me likes the aroma. lager sweet malty flavor, flowery notes, only faint bitterness (pilsner type bitterness) hops are almost entirely bitter, not much flowers or similar stuff going on. should i describe it relatively it would be a sweet pilsener, only somewhat stronger due to the high alc%.

Tried from Bottle on 05 Feb 2011 at 07:14


4.2
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 4 | Flavor - 4 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 4

Clear dark amber with an off-white head. Aroma is sweet malty rye bread and cardboard. Flavor is very sweet and light bitter. Body is on the thin side. Too sweet. 291010

Tried on 04 Feb 2011 at 12:36


1.8
Appearance - 4 | Aroma - 2 | Flavor - 1 | Texture - 2 | Overall - 1

Boring lager appearance, weak yellow with just a hint of head. Aroma of cardboard and the homeless - I get a whiff of that "begging for change" aroma you catch every so often when some guy with a paper cup starts harassing you. Flavour is all European cardboard - like you went to a recycling plant just outside of Milan and started sucking on the separated pulp bundles hoping to get drunk. Smooth mouthfeel of rice adjuncts. This thing is just horrid on every level.

Tried on 15 Dec 2010 at 06:33