Italy
In Italy beer is, in a manner of speaking, an unknown phenomenon.
Per capita consumption is low and consumer knowledge of beer is
very poor. Italy is a wine country and many consumers translate
their knowledge of wine into terms of beer. It even occurs that an
Italian will proudly display a bottle of beer that is four years old
and say that he is looking forward to the day when he will open
the bottle
Heineken Italia has spent decades developing a beer culture but
recently launched a new initiative. The brewery is supporting the
Universita della Birra, or the University of Beer. This Universita
was founded by the Italian journalist, pub manager and beer
connoisseur Franco Re.
He set up the school for managers of pubs and other on-premise
outlets in which beer plays an important role. It is the only school
of its kind in the Mediterranean region and is located in an old,
renovated farmhouse in the north of Italy.
The students spend two weeks at the farmhouse and the
University of Beer teaches them everything about beer: the history
and culture of beer, technical subjects such as beer treatment
and management and business, which gives them a greater
knowledge of the beer market and of how to handle marketing
activities such as promotions.
