DEMONSTRATIVE VISIT AND TECHNICAL PRACTICAL SEMINAR BE^2R PROJECT

On May 20th, a demonstrative visit to the craft beer production facilities, as outlined in the BE^2R project – "From Field to Mug," took place at OFFICINE BIRRAI in Lecce. The BE^2R project is financed under the Rural Development Program (PSR) Puglia 2014-2020 - Measure 16.2 "Support for pilot projects and the development of new products, practices, processes, and technologies," for an amount of €392,419.28.

According to the agenda, after inspecting the partner company's facilities, the day proceeded with the second training event, a theoretical-practical seminar titled "Craft Beer: from Production (with demonstrative brewing) to Tasting." The speakers were Dr. Francesco Maruccia, master brewer at Officine Birrai, and Professor Antonietta Baiano, associate professor at the Department of Agricultural, Food, Natural Resource Sciences and Engineering (DAFNE) of the University of Foggia, as well as Technical Scientific Manager of the BE^2R project. During the seminar, Dr. Maruccia first explained the process of craft beer production and then engaged the audience in the second trial of scaling up the brewery's production protocols, developed on a pilot scale by Prof. Baiano. Prof. Baiano focused her presentation on the correct procedures for sensory analysis, subsequently involving the participants in a descriptive-quantitative analysis of the beer produced during the first "brew" of scale-up, using a sensory sheet specially produced and fillable online.

The event saw the participation of representatives from the BE^2R project partnership, entrepreneurs from the brewing sector, beer enthusiasts, and students.

The project aims to promote the development of Puglian agricultural beer production by seizing the growth opportunities in this market. The ongoing work involves creating a protocol for the production of agricultural beer with a strong territorial identity, using traditional Puglian cereals and, for example, locally produced hops and self-produced yeasts in the company, with processes suitable for niche productions of high quality.

It's worth noting that Apulia ranks among the most flourishing regions in Italy for brewing production. Regional breweries, increasingly well-prepared from a technical-scientific point of view, feel limited by the need to resort to raw materials destined for mass production or, alternatively, to niche raw materials generally only available from foreign suppliers.

In this perspective, several producers have inaugurated a new trend, represented by giving their craft beers a territorial imprint through the addition of minor (in quantity) ingredients such as, for example, oranges from Gargano or aromatic herbs typically used in regional gastronomy. In this trend, members of the Operational Group believe that the quality leap capable of consecrating Puglian production could be represented by the creation of beers whose characteristics are linked to the geographical environment and its intrinsic natural and human factors since the raw materials are mainly obtained in particular areas of the region.

This implies that, in addition to water, which is also the predominant ingredient that strongly characterizes the sensory quality of beer, it is advisable to use other ingredients that can be: typical of the territory (as in the case of cereals traditionally cultivated locally); not originally from the territory but obtained by adapting cultivation to the specific pedoclimatic environment (in the case of hops); generally purchased in standardized form but can be self-produced on the farm (like yeasts).

The BE^2R project partnership is working organically on all levels of the production chain: from the recovery of ancient cereal varieties to the development of protocols for malt and agricultural beer production, to the recovery of by-products.

The BE^2R Operational Group comprises significant figures from the brewing sector (Birra Salento Società semplice agricola, as the lead partner; Officine Birrai; Soc. Coop. Agricola Valle Verde; Solimando Giuseppe; Birra Salento Srl); the research field (University of Foggia, Council for Agricultural Research and Economics: National Research Council); consulting companies that have been promoting and evaluating innovations in the agri-food sector for years (Aretè Srl, Cassandro Srl); from Dare Puglia (Agri-food Technological District) and CIA Puglia.