A Day Trip to Montegioco

After an information-packed, first three days at school, a class-mate suggested we take a day trip to a beer festival. After exclusively drinking Barolo for a week, I was informed that Italy actually has a substantial craft beer industry, as well as interest!

14 of us met on Saturday morning, to cram into 3 cars and drive to Montegioco – a town about 1.5 hours away. The “festival” hardly fit the meaning (I hold) of the term: it basically consisted of a restaurant with some kegs outside. But in true Italian fashion, they were serving fragrant pulled pork and focaccia sandwiches, cheese plates and prosciutto. The amusing contrast – to me – lay between this gourmet food and the cheap, yellow tokens one needed to purchase it.

The beer was actually very good and we even managed to do a tasting at a brewer’s nearby home. We tried 3 kinds of beer and 1 apple cider. They were all incredible – he had even brewed one of the beers with fresh blueberries which resulted in a fruity, caramel-y taste. 

We were at the tasting for almost 3 hours (!) and by the time we walked back to the main “festival”, it was getting dark and we were all tired but content. I was thankful to not be a driver on the way home: the “two-way” streets were barely wide enough for one car and seemed to wind back and forth endlessly. 

But even the ride home was a highlight: a warm car filled with new-forming friendships, racing through the dark night after a truly joyful day.