#ticinomoments 2019

ENJOY — MENDRISIOTTO
39
TICINO IN FERMENT
Don't tilt your glass
when pouring beer!
Local ingredients, like “farina bona” or water from Mount
Generoso, a tradition with roots in the 19th century and with
something that has always made the difference: passion.
In Ticino the world of craft beer is effervescent.
STABIO
In some breweries the first thing that strikes you are the scents,
like that of hops, and in others the music – “Iron Maiden?” – but,
in all of them, you sense passion and friendliness. Yes, because
the world of beer means, first and foremost, sharing and being
together. From the Mendrisio region to the valleys of Upper
Ticino, not to mention Muggio Valley, Onsernone Valley and the
Malcantone region, the Ticinese love to drink beer... and to make
it. There are some thirty breweries in the Canton and, every year,
hundreds of thousands of litres of beer are produced here. In
Ticino and worldwide, craft beer is trendy and sometimes a fad,
but in Ticino blonde, amber, red or dark beer has been produced
for almost two centuries. In 1828, Felice Lombardi of Airolo
asked for permission to brew beer and then, in the following
years, breweries sprang up all over the Canton, especially in
the Mendrisio region. In Mendrisio and Capolago to start and
then in Faido, Lugano and Locarno. The first breweries were
small, but they later grew. In the second half of the 20th century,
major national and international groups took over, but since the
'90s the passion that was stirring in the territory has made a
comeback and now the breweries – and microbreweries - have
begun to grow again. Let's look at some of them.