A project that unites the excellence of the Valley
CENTO PER CENTO VALLE SUSA BEER IS BORN
Three Alpine breads are also being produced again, including the Barbrial which had disappeared
Mulino Valsusa, Birrificio Solaramà, Caffè San Domenico and Panificio Matteo Marzo: new production chains and the aim of supporting the local economy
One hundred percent Valle di Susa beer is born. The idea is signed by Valsusa Mill of Bruzolo , Solaramà Brewery in Vaie And Caffè San Domenico of Sant'Antonino di Susa . « The idea behind everything is to continue to grow the surface area of land cultivated with grains from the valley in our territory » says Massimiliano Spigolon, soul of the mill, opened a year ago and the only nineteenth-century mill in the valley brought back into operation. If last year, at the start of the project, there were 14 farmers involved, now they have risen to 30. At the same time we have gone from 12 hectares of cultivation, many with ancient recovered varieties, to 35 hectares .
The beer is produced with ancient grains from the valley (traditional ancient grains 100% Val di Susa), an «evolutionary blend» in the field of ancient wheat varieties that they were cultivated in the early 1900s and were subsequently abandoned. In practice, 8-9 grains are sown together, directly into the ground. « Rediscovering ancient traditional grains today and cultivating them in the fields of Val di Susa certainly has more than one advantage: being able to enjoy superior nutritional properties , reactivate new production chains and support the local economy » explains Spigolon.
The brew is from the Solaramà Brewery, a Valsusina company founded in 2004 to produce craft beer: Davide Zingarelli welcomed the project with great enthusiasm. Water, barley malt, 100% Valsusino wheat, hops and yeast give life to a fusion between styles and renowned brewing areas: Belgian Blanche and German Helles, with an alcohol content of 5 degrees. The added touch? Typically made only from barley, a large percentage of ancient unmalted grains, previously toasted, were used for this beer: in addition to the characteristic aroma, they give a light haze.
For this reason, the maestro Roberto Messineo , whose roastery in Sant'Antonino di Susa works for international catering brands and gastronomic excellences. Toasting grains also means expressing their essence, their soul, their true nature, bringing out their aromas.
The name given to the new beer? Gran Dor, with a play on words both to recall the golden wheat and the Dora : this is why the label is blue with gold writing.
The beer, unfiltered and unpasteurised, has a light golden colour, moderately hazy, white foam, fine, compact and persistent. The aroma? It smells of cereals, with fruity notes, floral hints of iris: it is slightly bitter, full-bodied, fragrant, thirst-quenching, with a marked aftertaste of cereals.
At the same time, with another Valsusina excellence, the Bakery of the master Matteo Marzo of Venaus , they have returned to production the ancient breads of the valley that were eaten in the mountains . They are «Alpine breads with sourdough. The line includes three types: there is wholemeal rye, then there is bread with ancient grain flours, an evolutionary blend made up of several varieties of wheat, such as Mentana, Apulia, San Pastore, Verna, Gentilrosso, Gamba di ferro, Terminillo, and finally the Barbrial who had disappeared. It comes from an ancient technique which involved the autumn sowing of a mixture composed of wheat and rye seeds. The mixture is, therefore, obtained not by mixing flours but directly in the sown field where the aromas and particular characteristics also arise from the natural cross-pollination of the two species. « They are one hundred percent Valsusa breads » underlines the master Matteo Marzo, who underlines how in this way a small dream is realized: making bread from the past today for the future.