Teo (Baladin Brewery, Turin, Italy), Leo (Birra del Borgo, Rome, Italy), and I hosted a lunch on the new rooftop brewpub Birreria at Eataly NYC today. My favorite pairing was the blood sausage with cask conditioned Eataly brown ale.

We told the story of how our breweries came to work together on Birreria NYC. Leo also talked about The Birreria that will open within the newest and biggest Eataly in Rome, Italy in early 2012. Our three breweries will collaborate on the design and recipes for this brewery as well. It will be twice as big as the rooftop brewery in NYC with a lot more tanks. I'm going back over to Italy later this year to brew the test recipes for Birreria Rome with Leo and Teo. ReAle and Super (from their respective breweries) on tap today were both tasting super fresh and wonderful. The NYC rooftop Brewpub opens to the public seven night a week starting this Friday!

While I was at Eataly, I met and was interviewed by some very nice, smart students from the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo, Italy (that's the Slow Food University). We chatted beer, artisanal production, and the perception of Italian food and beer culture here in the states. The kids are alright.

Posted 6/1/11