Via Pisana 3r, (Porta San Frediano) Firenze
Phone: 055-2207057, fax: 055-2306364.
Open every day from 19.00 to 01.00 On Fridays and Saturdays until 02.00h.
Day of tasting: November 8, 2000.

Located in a picturesque corner right next to the San Frediano gate, at about 15 minutes walk form downtown, lies Florence’s first brewpub. Currently 4 beers are brewed: “Riki” a blond ale of 4.5% alc. vol., the amber coloured Axel (6.5% alc. vol) a red ale named “Titan” (5.5% alc. vol.) and a pils type beer by the name of “Ugo” (4.5% alc. vol.). All beers are unfiltered and unpasteurised and brewed with top fermenting English yeasts.

The Riki is a eminently drinkable ale of a milky pale colour with distinct hoppy smell. The beer has a rather subdued bitterness but a pronounced and very pleasant hop aroma, with a long lasting aftertaste. The body is slightly fruity-estery although perhaps somewhat slender in relation to the spectacular hops aroma. Also the amber coloured Axel - the favourite of your reviewer - is dominated by the floweriness of German and Czech noble hops. The smell is malty sweet. Axel rolls onto the tongue with an impressive flowery hopiness and finishes in a well balanced bouquet. The hops are well supported by a full-bodied malt taste. For the Titan instead the brewers have used aroma hops only sparingly. The beer is carried by a malty caramel body with a slight hint of lemon taste. Given that also the bitterness is not very pronounced the beer leaves a slightly unbalanced impression. The pilsner type “Ugo” was not available at the day of tasting.
The Beers are served in three sizes: piccola (0.3l, LIT 6500), media (0.4 l, Lit 7500), grande (0.5l, LIT 8500), except for the 6.5% Axel which comes in media or grande size at the price of Lit 7000 and Lit 9000 respectively. Not available in kegs or bottles.

The brewers are the brothers Daniele and Tiziano Venturi, who two years ago decided to turn their passion for high quality hand crafted beers into a profession. In their quest for the perfect pint the brewers are committed to keep experimenting with new recipe formulations, so the character of the beers described above may change. Future plans include the addition of up to four seasonal beers including beers matured in wooden kegs.
In addition to the beers Il Bovaro boasts a full menu ranging from Panini to main courses and desserts. Indeed Il Bovaro rather qualifies as a brew-restaurant than a brew-pub. Notable among the main courses is a strong presence of game (wild boar, deer, buffalo). Of the few dishes tasted especially the Stinco di Maiale cooked in beer and the Gnocchi with marjoram were rather recommendable especially when combined with an Axel (Stinco) and Riki (Gnocchi).

For a region which rightly takes pride in its high quality food and wines, a brewery in the best tradition of Italian artisan production like “Il Bovaro” constitutes a highly valuable addition to the Tuscan cuisine. Unfortunately, the Florence city administration seems to think otherwise. Almost one year after its inauguration Il Bovaro still lacks the license to operate its fully functional 6 hectolitre brewing plant, and the beers are currently brewed under contract by the Norton Brewing. Production on the premises is foreseen to start in early 2001 though.

Ton Notermans