A Man, His Muse and the Beginnings of a Revolution

Fifteen years ago Bruno Ferrari was living the hippy lifestyle in Northern Patagonia, paying his way by selling homebrew out the back of his pickup. Now as Head Brewmaster at Berlina Microbrewery he is responsible for pumping out 15,000 litres of craft beer a month, a meteoric rise but not always a smooth one.

“It was the first time they let me brew by myself and I forgot to add the additional hops to the wort kettle,” says Ferrari, reminiscing about the three years he spent learning his craft in Germany.

"It overflowed and eight hours of work went to the floor. I was sent to the mill for two weeks," he adds with a smile.

Modest and unassuming, Bruno Ferrari is roughly bearded, with dreadlocks escaping from underneath a black beret. He looks part revolutionary, part renaissance artist, which maybe just what the Argentinean craft brewing industry needs.

"The revolution of beer is going to get here that’s for sure," predicts Ferrari partway through our interview (see below). “However, the industry is not growing as fast as it did in the United States twenty-five years ago when the revolution happened there. Within five years it just exploded, ” he says.



Beer in Argentina has historically played second fiddle to its more successful and internationally renowned cousin, wine. The past 40 years, however, have seen Argentina’s per capita beer consumption increase by nearly 200%, up from an almost embarrassing 10.8 litres in the 1970s to a more respectable 32 litres today¹. 

While this figure still pales when compared to the gluttonous Czechs (140.9 L), Irish (124 L) and Germans (110.6 L)², Argentina’s newfound fondness for beer has helped microbreweries like Berlina establish themselves.

In 2004, Ferrari and his two brothers graduated to the professional ranks by opening the doors of the Berlina Brewpub, offering an IPA and Stout to willing customers. Within a few short years they had already exceeded the brewery’s 200 litres a month capacity, despite being located literally metres away from the well establish and popular Blest microbrewery.

Then in 2008, the brothers completed the construction of a 45,000 litres per month brewing and bottling facility in the picturesque Colonia Suiza (Swiss Colony) area of Bariloche, allowing them to meet growing demand while expanding into retail distribution.

However for every success story like Berlina, there are those here who have struggled to make the transition from brewing out of a garage to offering a commercially viable product.

“It’s a big difference between being a craft brewer and a home brewer,” says Ferrari.
“The science is the key. It makes up 95% of the process. The other 5% is art, which can’t be forgotten either,” he says.

Not that that’s likely to happen at Berlina, whose named for a long-forgotten 15th century muse.

“I was talking to a guy in a bar in Prague and he told me a story about how in the renaissance period brewers had their muse much like painters, poets, writers and musicians. According to him her name was Berlina,” Ferrari explains.

“However, with my bad German, him speaking Czech and us being drunk…” Ferrari laughs, trailing off.

Under the steady gaze of Berlina, Ferrari produces three beers all year round – a Munich Ale, an IPA and a Foreign Stout - with quite a number of other beers rotating in and out of production depending on the time of the year. *

“We want our beers to be a good interpretation [of the style] but also to give our own energy and our own shout,” Ferrari says enthusiastically.

“I’m sure you are going to drink any one of our beers and you are going to be sure it’s from Berlina. Not because they’re all the same because they are totally different, but because they have the brewmaster’s stamp,” he says emphatically. 

When asked about the future, Ferrari’s goals are at once understated and ambitious.

“We want to get to lots of different places where people respect us and respect our product,” says Ferrari. “Not in huge quantities but to get to places where people respect Berlina,” he says.

With international distribution talks already underway, getting the beer “there” looks like a near certainty. Gaining respect in competitive international markets will be the greater challenge, a challenge these ambitious brothers are clearly up for.

_{* Seasonal beers include a German Weissbier offered in summer, a Belgium Strong Ale available during winter and smoked and alt beers on tap during Spring and Autumn respectively.}

¹ww.infobae.com
²Kirin Institute of Food and Lifestyle Report Vol. 22, 2008 Beer Consumption in Major Countries, December 21, 2009.