Almond 22, Spoltore (PE) Abruzzo: Saint Patrick’s Day (morning)

I knew it was in Spoltore. I’d seen it on the internet and I hoped we could visit. But there was a problem, I didn’t have the address.

I had a Sat Nav; but a Sat Nav without an address is about as useful as…well you get the picture.

We were heading to the Almond 22 artisan brewery and I wanted to combine that visit with a wander around Spoltore itself. Having passed through Spoltore many times on the way to and from Pescara airport and knowing there are great views from the top of the castle it seemed like a great plan.

There was one problem. I had forgotten to write down the address of the brewery and I’d no access to the internet. For some reason my TIM mobile connection had been dodgy for a few days and now I had no access at all.

Spoltore isn’t big, but the brewery could have been in the town itself or somewhere out in the country.

P saved the day by suggesting I pop into the tourist office and see if I could do a quick search. The ever helpful Mauro in our local tourist office was happy to oblige.

Sat Navs are great inventions but sometimes they’ll send you the wrong way. But armed with the address Via Dietro le mura 36/38, and after asking the locals for confirmation, we found Almond 22.

When we arrived, there was a group of people standing outside the brewery discussing something of great importance.  They stopped talking and eyed us curiously.

Did I forget to mention we were wearing Ireland rugby shirts and had flashing shamrocks?!

It was St. Patrick’s Day (17 March) and although San Patrizio isn’t a big name in Abruzzo, we were determined to introduce him. It was just a coincidence that we were visiting a brewery, honest!

So there we were in Spoltore on the feast day of our patron saint, a little travelling festival, wearing a bit more green than usual – and this is what the people outside Almond 22 laid eyes on.

“Can we buy Almond 22 beer here?” I asked in Italian. One member of the group said “certo” and followed up with “of course”. He spoke excellent English. That was Jurij (pronounced like “Yuri”, I hope I got the spelling right) who proceeded to tell us all about Almond ’22 and the range of beers they produce.

He was enthusiastic about all of them and allowed us to taste before we bought. He did a great job of guiding us to beers that might interest us based on what we were used to.

We went away with a Nigra, an Irie, a few Grand Cru (gifts!), a Blanche de Valerie and a Torbata. Of them all the Torbata was the greatest surprise as it was clear on tasting it that it would be great with cheese or cantucci.

Jurij’s passion became more obvious when we realised that he was discussing bottle shapes with bottle suppliers when we arrived. They were weighing up the merits of a using a brandy type bottle for one of their lines instead of what they normally use, a prosecco bottle shape.

It was fantastic to be sampling beers that had wonderful flavours in the company of a master beer maker who treated his creations in way that you’d only expect from someone who loves what they do.

I think the beer produced by Almond 22 is excellent. I’ve since used it as an alternative gift to bring to someone’s home when invited for lunch or dinner. I think my hosts have been a bit surprised to receive beer, instead wine or a pastry selection plate but they soon realised it’s something special.

We were lucky to have met Jurij and considering Almond 22 usually only sell to the public on a Saturday, we were doubly lucky. Perhaps it was the flashing shamrocks.

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