In addition to wine, Milan also offers a number of great addresses for beer lovers thanks to a number of fab drinking dens where you can taste the best hops.
Isola della Birra
Brewery Isola della Birra is an unassuming pub furnished in typically rustic style, a spartan though welcoming venue where you can choose from among a wide range of Italian and foreign beverages, with something new always on offer. Simple dishes – which, on Sunday are substituted with a mouth watering sushi menu from the nearby Gen Kay Sushi restaurant – guarantee an informal though even more flavour-filled evening.
Via Medardo Rosso 18
www.isoladellabirra.com
Birrificio di Lambrate
Reputed throughout the world, the multi-award winning Birrificio di Lambrate continues to evolve while remaining true to tradition. The place is a mix between a typical British pub and a pirate ship displaying photographs, beer mugs and period memorabilia, this Brewpub is a great place to spend pleasant themed evenings, savour refined cuisine and, above all, feel like a special guest as you ask for a refill of your own personalized beer mug.
Via Adelchi 5 – via Golgi 60
www.birrificiolambrate.com
La Fontanella
Located on the Naviglio Pavese, La Fontanella is the ideal place to down a beer in the company of friends, an unconventional tavern where beer and the extravagant beer mugs in which it is served take centre stage: from the crazy-shaped “octopus”, a fish bowl with tentacles which act as pumps for the alcohol so that people can serve themselves simultaneously, to eight different types of mugs shaped like tulips, tankards and many others besides. And for those who are interested, the venue also offers a number of board games to further liven up the atmosphere.
Alzaia Naviglio Pavese, 6
Al Coccio
Al Coccio is a cozy beer pub featuring a contemporary take on the typical stone and rock atmosphere of old-world taverns. The ambience is warmed by the soothing notes of jazz and soft rock and also offers a secluded reading area. At Al Coccio you can allow yourselves to be tempted by six varieties of either Italian or foreign draught beer served in terracotta “cocci” or crocks.
Alzaia Naviglio Pavese, 2
Woodstock
Woodstock: a name inspired by the famous1969 festival just like this pub which was founded during the same era on the Naviglio Grande, a compulsory stopover for real beer connoisseurs. Situated in front of the old church of S. Cristoforo, an array of coloured stools and small sideboards transformed into tables are scattered along the pavement, thus immediately conveying the atmosphere of a real, old-world pub. Carries more than 600 specialties from all over the world and 14 variations of beer tapped directly from the cask.
Via Ludovico il Moro 3
www.woodstock-milano.com
Carlsberg Ol
Music, mega screens, wooden stools and rustically adorned tables fill the rooms of this crowded, open brickwork tavern on two floors. Carlsberg Ol is a place where you can spend a pleasant, entertaining evening enhanced by good food and a garden overlooking the “Chiusa di Leonardo” (the lock designed by Leonardo da Vinci), one of the most evocative spaces of the pub.
Bastioni di Porta Nuova 9
www.carlsbergol.it
A Tutta Birra
A charming shop in the Corso Buenos Aires area, Milan’s commercial artery, furnished in Bavarian style: to appreciate A Tutta Birra you don’t have to be a connoisseur but simply someone with a passion for beer. It offers a wide range of goodies, from the drink itself to everything related to the universe of malt. A store rich in ideas where the owner will be delighted to introduce you to unusual products and more than 500 types of international ales.
Via Lazzaro Palazzi 15
www.atuttabirra.com
