Maker · Garfagnana
Meet Birrificio La Petrognola
The Brewery That Brews with Farro
Last updated:
- What they make
- Craft beers, many brewed with Farro della Garfagnana IGP, plus a seasonal chestnut beer
- Region
- Garfagnana
- Location
- Località Tato, Colognola, Piazza al Serchio
- Generation
- First generation; founder and brewmaster Roberto Giannarelli
- Visit possible
- Yes, on weekdays; check opening hours and contacts and call ahead
The Garfagnana is not wine country. The nearest DOC vineyards lie down the valley toward Lucca. Up here, the terraces grow farro and the slopes grow chestnuts. Roberto Giannarelli‘s brewery builds its signature beers around those two crops.
Giannarelli began brewing in 2002 in the tiny village of Petrognola. In 2005 he bought a 100-liter system and set it up in a 4 x 4 m room of his house. That was the start of Birrificio La Petrognola, now based at Piazza al Serchio, in the heart of farro country. Farro went into the recipes from the beginning. In 2006 the brewery’s amber farro beer was named craft beer of the year by Unionbirrai, the Italian craft brewers’ association.
Why farro beer is unusual
Brewers all over the world use wheat alongside barley. Farro is a different matter. It’s an ancient “dressed” grain, still wrapped in its husk at harvest, and it isn’t a standard brewing cereal. The brewery explains its choice on its farro page: the grain identifies the Garfagnana, and it has never been crossed with other varieties. Brewing with a protected local grain turns a brewery into a small piece of the valley’s food story.
A valley in a bottle
La Petrognola’s range follows the valley’s crops. There is farro in several styles, and there is chestnut. There are barley-malt beers too. The result is one of the few places in Tuscany where you can taste the landscape in a glass without a vineyard in sight.
The Products
The farro beers
Most of the farro beers sit in the brewery’s “Territoriali” line. The current range includes SassoRosso (an amber with farro), Sandy (a red with farro), and Metra (an IPA with farro). Cinghiale Nero is a dark beer with farro, and Tambura, an APA with farro, appears among the seasonals. The lineup changes over time. Over the years the brewery has also made a 100% Farro beer, brewed with malted Garfagnana IGP farro as the only cereal, and a Weizen al Farro with 51% farro and 49% barley malt. Check the online shop for what’s available now.
Chestnut beer (“Marron”)
Marron is a seasonal beer brewed with chestnuts and chestnut flour added during mashing, at 6.5% ABV. Chestnuts are the other pillar of the valley’s food culture, which makes it a natural match for autumn chestnut dishes.
What to pair them with
Try a farro beer with torta di farro or a board of Garfagnana cured meats: biroldo, mondiola (a spiced pork salami), and Prosciutto Bazzone. Try the chestnut beer with castagnaccio or necci with ricotta.
Visiting La Petrognola
The brewery is at località Tato, Colognola, in the municipality of Piazza al Serchio. It opens on weekdays and has a shop. It’s a working brewery, not a visitor center. Check current opening hours and phone numbers and call ahead to make sure someone can show you around or sell you beer. You can also order from the online shop.
Getting there
By car, follow the SS445 north from Castelnuovo di Garfagnana to Piazza al Serchio, then local roads to Colognola. By train, Piazza al Serchio station is on the Lucca–Aulla line. From the station, arrange a taxi or other transport to the brewery.
Make a day of it
Combine the brewery with the Renaissance ceramics in Camporgiano’s Este fortress and the living-history tour at the Fortezza delle Verrucole. If you’re driving, buy your beer to take away and taste it that evening.
Information is provided in good faith and may change. Always confirm opening hours, prices, and event dates with the official source before you travel.