Interview with our Master Brewer Enrico

Una birra artigianale che sappia distinguersi nasce da grandi ricette e ingredienti semplici ma ricercati e soprattutto dalle sue persone. Il nostro motore? Passione e artigianalità, studio e cura del dettaglio, tanta voglia di crescere e di perfezionarci.
E se è di persone che stiamo parlando, oggi vogliamo presentarvene una speciale per Birra Flea: il nostro Mastro Birraio Enrico, che con un calice in mano è qui a raccontarci la sua storia.

First of all, we’d love to know how your passion for craft beer began and how you got into this wonderful world.

My passion began during my college years, initially as a consumer, but then, thanks to a close friend who got me involved in his homebrewing activities, I became increasingly fascinated by the brewing techniques. We had lots of projects and plenty of enthusiasm; I particularly enjoyed finding ways to mechanize the home brewing process, trying to apply what I was studying (mechanical engineering) to the simple pots and ladles we had available in our home setup.

Do you remember when and how you decided you wanted to do this for a living?

My passion turned into a career when a Venetian company specializing in brewery equipment—which was launching a microbrewery—called me for an internship, and within a few days I already knew that this was what I “wanted to do when I grew up.” The collaboration lasted 10 years, filled with wonderful experiences. The brewery started out as a showroom but soon became a school for future brewers; many young men and women came for a full immersion, and it was a great opportunity for growth—not only teaching production techniques but also sharing the daily life of the brewery to delve into the logistical and managerial aspects of running a business.
It was truly wonderful to be involved in the development of the brewhouses, the software, and the malting machines. The most rewarding part was undoubtedly overseeing the commissioning of the brewhouses and malting machines. I had the pleasure of working with so many young people“full of ideas and enthusiasm,”just as I had been before them, and of helping to make their dreams a reality.

And then you ended up here in Gualdo Tadino! What aspects of Birra Flea impressed you and motivated you to work with such dedication?

Flea Beer is incredible. It has an impressive facility, a fascinating concept, and people who are fully committed to bringing that concept to life. For me, it was love at first sight.

Flea Beer is an unpasteurized beer that undergoes secondary fermentation in the bottle. Can you explain what that means?

It is called "unpasteurized" because the product is not pasteurized; in other words, our beers are "live," retaining all the organoleptic characteristics developed during primary fermentation and evolving over time, maturing and refining day by day. Bottle conditioning is the natural process that gives the beer its characteristic effervescence. Precisely because our beers are alive, the tiny amount of yeast present in the bottle continues to work even after bottling, metabolizing simple sugars and naturally producing the CO2 that the beers need.

A question you must be tired of hearing: What's your favorite beer?

Ho attraversato diversi periodi in cui mi sono infatuato di stili molto diversi tra loro ed è stato bellissimo scoprirne sempre di nuove. Dopo essere passato anche dagli estremi, oggi apprezzo con molto gusto le birre “leggere”, quelle dove se ci fosse un minimo difetto sarebbe evidentissimo, in pratica quelle più difficili da fare. La nostra Costanza è l’esempio calzante, la adoro.

What's the secret behind Birra Flea?

Respect for the production process, the meticulous application of scientific controls, and the love of those who devote their passion and dedication to it, without even realizing they are working.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to get into this field?

Theory is extremely important and must be taken seriously; the internet can be a helpful resource, but it can also be very misleading. Personally, I believe it’s essential to move quickly to the practical side, by any means necessary—even using large pots at home. I believe that knowing the raw ingredients well makes all the difference, as does tasting as many beers as possible to understand their “secrets”; the goal must be to identify the contribution of each ingredient and attempt to replicate them, until the desired results are achieved, using an approach that is as scientific as possible.

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