Drinking Beer in Rome

Though Italy is not exactly a beer drinking destination, there were definitely some good, or at least interesting, beer options in Rome. Where might you find these beers, you ask?

Well, I was able to locate one good beer store. Named somthing like, "Oasi della Birra - Palombi", it's located in the Testaccio area of Rome. (Piazza Testaccio 38/41 - Roma - Tel: 06/5746122). It's hours are roughly: 8-13:30, 17-19:30 for the store, and 19:30-1:00 for the pub. That's right, in addition to being an "enoteca" (wine bar & shop) it also becomes a pub in the evening, featuring probably the widest available beer selection in the country (about 500, though they were out of many when I was there). The pub is downstairs and is rather cozy and crowded.

I had planned on visiting a few other potential beer establishments, but they either didn't exist, or the addresses I grabbed off of the web were wrong. I however, didn't really miss them as decent Belgian beer, especially Hoegaarden, was actually quite common in the little wine shops around the city.

One place that we stumbled upon that was a pleasant surprise was L'Antica Birreria Peroni on Via di San Marcello, 19 (00187 Roma - 06 6795310). The Peroni is really fresh, they serve it in glasses up to 1 Liter in size, and they have an assortment of styles. They also serve what looks like good sausage and other light food. If you've ever had Peroni, and wished it was something different, definitely check this place out.

I didn't try as many beers as I hoped to try, but when you have great wine options and other things to satiate the taste buds it is difficult to seek out beer. So here is a list of the beers that I sampled while in Rome (for a larger list of beers that I have sampled, check out this):

• Grafite - Birra Integrale Scura - porter-like possibly a stout, though much lighter. Good roasted flavor, almost coffee-like
• La Tabachera - ambrata doppio malto - Amarcord Birra Artigianale - decent amber ale
• La Tabachera - rosso doppio malto - Amarcord Birra Artigianale - red ale that needed more hops
  
• La Biere du Demon - 12% - Actually a French beer - very alcoholic almost wine like , no hops, very thin body
• Devil's Kiss - red ale, slight hops (more than most beers here)
• Floreffe - biere de Abbaye double - good solid Belgian double, rather malty
• G. Menabrea a Figli - This amber beer was very inconsistent in the bottle. The first I had was not that good, but the second was much better.
  

One last note, I found a brewpub, but it wasn't open during the day that I was there. It was a 20 minute subway ride from the Pyramide Station down to the coast. Named Birrificio B.O.A. (Birrificio Ostiense Artigianale) it is at Pzza. Dei Ravennati, 1, 00121 OSTIA LIDO (Roma), Tel: 06.5640138. It looks like a very US-styled brewpub with several beers and lots of food. It's right next to the beach and attached to an hotel and about a 5 minute walk from the central subway station in Ostia Lido. If I'm ever back in Rome, I'll check it out when it's open.