Beers brewed with ingredients from the wine-growing world, such as grapes or grape must, can be legitimately marketed as beer, as long as the presence of the characterising ingredient is explicitly stated in the sales description on the label. This is the clarification provided by the Central Inspectorate for the Protection of Quality and Fraud Repression of Agri-Food Products (ICQRF) of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry in response to the interpretative question submitted by Unionbirrai, the trade association of small independent craft breweries.
“The opinion recalls Article 2(4) of Law No. 1354 of 1962 on beer,” Unionborrai writes in an anota, “according to which when characterising food ingredients are added to beer, the sales denomination must be completed with the name of the characterising substance. In practice, in the case of the use of grapes or grape must, the sales denomination must include indications such as ‘grape beer’ or ‘beer with grape must’.”
The clarification, say Unoinbirrai, comes after years in which several craft breweries had been the subject of complaints, seizures and administrative sanctions for the production of beers made with ingredients of vitivinicultural origin, such as fresh grapes, grape must, concentrated grape must, rectified grape must or pomace, often referable to the type commonly defined as Italian Grape Ale.
This is an important step for a production segment that in recent years has seen the interest of craft producers grow, also thanks to experimentation that brings the brewing tradition into dialogue with the Italian wine-making tradition. The Italian Grape Ale, born precisely from the encounter between beer and grapes, “are today considered one of the most original styles of Italian brassic innovation and represent a category that is increasingly well known and appreciated also internationally”.
“Over the past few years, our associates have been faced with a situation of great interpretative uncertainty, with even very heavy objections,’ explains Vittorio Ferraris, general director of Unionbirrai. ‘This is why we felt it necessary to ask for an official clarification that would allow us to have an unambiguous reference valid throughout the country. The ICQRF’s response finally puts an important principle in black and white: the use of ingredients from the world of wine in the production of beer is legitimate, provided that the presence of the characterising ingredient is clearly indicated in the sales denomination and that the information to the consumer is correct and transparent’.
Dining and Cooking