Craft Beer in Florence

Birre artigianale en Firenze—yes, the craft beer revolution has spread even here, to wine-centric Italy. The beautiful home of the Renaissance sports several microbreweries and bars dedicated to the art of water, malt, yeast, and hops. While Belgium, Germany, and the Czech Republic had our favorite brews of the trip, and other Italian regions may have an edge in overall quality (see Loverbeer or Baladin), there is some fantastic beer to be had in Tuscany, too. Here are some of our favorite spots.

Mastodolce

This birrificio is a quick stroll up Via Nazionale from Santa Maria Novella train station. Behind open garage doors lies a medium sized bar and restaurant pouring five or six varieties of their own brew, made in Prato, which is just north of Florence. Good atmosphere and a mix of locals and tourists. They also feature a full kitchen that was putting out some tasty looking pizza. We enjoyed the Martellina most, a honey red ale with a deceptively strong 7.3% abv. Very drinkable and not too sweet. Other styles included smoked ale, weizen, bock, and stout, all solid. With happy hour from 15:30—19:30, there's no reason not to swing by going to or from a train...or to make a trip for the beer alone.

Enjoying the open air--and of course beers--at Mostodolce.

Beer House Club

Staying north of the Arno but heading west near Santa Croce, you'll find the Beer House Club a stone's throw from the bridge, near several other hip bars and cafes. Ten taps lie at the back of this large bar. Not as inviting to sit in for long periods, unless you have a coveted couch spot, they too feature a full kitchen and aperitivo (the cocktail/buffet hour) to boot. Beers were mostly from Italy but the selection spanned the world. We were excited to see Great Divide Yeti and Titan boxes decorating the walls. A great place to grab aperitivo and watch Florence football.

While you're at Beer House Club, swing around the corner of Via de Benci to visit Kikuya, an English pub with decent beer choices from the UK including the Dragoon, a 10% ABV double ale famed among the locals and tourists enjoying sports here for its strength.

Archea has a variety on tap and bottles to boot.

Archea Brewery

Last but not least is our favorite watering hole in the entire town, Archea, located on Via dei Serragli just around the corner from the Piazza Santo Spirito. The bartenders mostly spoke English, they play excellent rock tunes (Wilco and the Builders and the Butchers both made an appearance), and the beer is great. They are pretty young, founded only a year or two ago, and only have three brews going—a bock, an IPA, and an pilsner. The Hydra IPA is a solid rendition of the style, a good amount of hops compared to many of the weaker European versions around. They also have several other taps with beers from Italia and around the world (Rogue was the only American brew alla spina). We had our first taste of Loverbeer here, a sour that was among the best of the trip. With free bottomless chips, a rowdy local crowd for soccer matches, and students and tourists too, this is a great place to meet people and talk beer while sipping on a few. Happy hour from 18:00 – 20:00 gives you a one euro discount on Archea's pilsner and ale.

So there you have it. Craft beer is everywhere it seems, and Florence certainly has some damn good places to enjoy it. Get out there and let us know what we missed.