A bustling city piazza, a secluded bay or an olive-covered hillside may be distant daydreams, but with Peroni Nastro Azzurro – still brewed exclusively in its country of origin – the flavour and feel of Italy is always available.
Italians have always valued tradition, quality and taste, and the country’s number one premium export beer prides itself on never delivering anything less.
Born in Rome in 1963 – home of Fellini’s La Dolce Vita, where everything from the clothes to the cars looked better – Peroni Nastro Azzurro was created to capture the energy, exuberance and natural style of Italy’s booming capital.
Underpinning that spirit was over a century of brewing expertise. Established in 1846 by Francesco Peroni, the family-run business was, by the 1960s, in the hands of his grandson Carlo Peroni, having become Italy’s best-known beer brand.
Peroni Nastro Azzurro, the country’s first premium lager, was to be crisper, lighter and brewed to suit Mediterranean tastes. With a lighter colour and a new streamlined bottle, Carlo Peroni felt it reminiscent of prosecco, long the drink of Italian celebrations. Fitting, considering the family’s ambition to create a beer to complement Italy’s resurgence as a powerhouse of fashion and design in the 60s.
The exclusive and innovative recipe and production process of Peroni Nastro Azzurro were the work of Massimo Cavalli, Peroni’s master brewer at the time.
Today, Massimo’s son Roberto is the third generation of the Cavalli family to hold the title of Peroni’s master brewer. With the same recipe, dedication and craftmanship as his predecessors in the Peroni and Cavalli families, he ensures Peroni Nastro Azzurro continues to offer its unwavering superior quality.
Key to the beer’s distinctly Italian taste is its carefully balanced blend of top-quality ingredients: hops, barley, maize and water. All are subject to continuous and exacting quality control with close working relationships at each stage of the long-established supply chain.
Peroni Nastro Azzurro is brewed only with spring-planted barley, the perfect time of year to sow seeds for the best character and taste. In order to ensure a bigger, more regular grain kernel, the barley is planted in double rather than the more common six row system, which ensures the kernel is exposed to more sun – essential for the development of well-rounded flavours. Pale malt, added to the barley grain, ensures Peroni Nastro Azzurro’s traditional clarity and pale colour.
The inspired and unique addition of one quarter of top quality Italian maize to three quarters of malted barley secures the crisp taste that Carlo Peroni and Massimo Cavalli so loved more than fifty years ago.
Grown exclusively for Peroni in the Nostrano Dell’ Isola area close to the north-west city of Bergamo, this traditional maize variety is critical to the beer’s taste and its ability to perfectly complement Italy’s cuisine and climate due to the unique dry and crisp taste it delivers.
Generously irrigated by the Po, Italy’s longest river to the south and melted snow from the Alps to the north, the Nostrano Dell’ Isola area offers the perfect natural conditions for the highest quality maize.
As hops do not grow in Italy, the best of the renowned Bohemian saaz variety is added to provide a refreshing bitterness that doesn’t linger on the palate, ensuring a beer easy to drink as an aperitif or with food.
Finally, Peroni Nastro Azzurro calls for the soft water of the river Po, tasted daily by Roberto Cavalli to ensure its quality.
The master brewer then oversees the transformation of these fine ingredients. In the twice-repeated process of decoction, the milled malt and brewing liquor are heated to convert starch into fermentable sugars. Precision timing and a finely-tuned taste for quality are critical.
The care and skill of true craftsmen, a century of experience and ingredients nurtured by Italy’s rich agricultural heritage come together to make Peroni Nastro Azzurro the world’s favourite Italian beer, and a taste of la dolce vita.
Discover the Peroni Nastro Azzurro story on www.thehouseofperoni.com
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