Off the train and into the heart of Milan, we grabbed a rental car at the station and hit up A Tutta Birra for a quick grab of Italian bottles. At that we made haste through city traffic to escape the metropolis into the Lombardy countryside. The destination was Birrificio Italiano.

Twenty-five miles north of Milan we arrive in Lurago Marinone. It’s afternoon now, and this village of three thousand is asleep. We duck inside the brewery taproom to have a word with the bartender. There are posters and banners on the wall from Colorado breweries located not far from where I live. Funny. The bartender talks us into staying for dinner when the kitchen opens that evening.

For the wait we take patio seats and throw down tall, cold glasses of Tipopils, a 5.2% pilsner that sits somewhere between German and Bohemian in character. Widely regarded as one of the best pilsners in the world by those with a thirst for lager, this is the beer that had me infatuated with Birrificio Italiano, and the reason for this journey to the source.

Rigid head; Lip-smacking crispness; vibrant noble hop character; exceptionally clean malt. And fresh from the source, no doubt about storage, transport or serving effect. No other method will do.

	beer name	abv	my score

Dinner is cured meat, local cheese and vegetables and pork. Glasses were had of the weizen beer and the Fleurette, and 3.8% pilsner malt and rye beer spiced with elderberry and black pepper and hopped with East Kent Goldings. And more Tipopils.

Satiated, we drove on to Novara to grab a room, before heading east the next day to Udine, to eat and drink the Friulian culture and plan our entrance into the bordering wine country in Slovenia.