Another beer!

“mo n pier” or “Monpiër” is Ladin, the language of the Val Gardena valley. It is the simple but unambiguous name of the brewery and the craft beers brewed in Ortisei in Val Gardena.

The brown 0.5l bottles alone, with their stout body, simply feel solid and good in the hand. The labels feature local mountain profiles along with altitude information – Spontaneum Gardenensis Blend 2019 or Urtijëi 1230 Imperial Smoked Porter, for example. Thus they are a dedication and hymn to the beauty of the Dolomites. As we were allowed to test, it was just the right mix of solid craft beer impression and premium aspiration.

The adventure of the friends Carmelo Li Pomi, Tobia Moroder, Jan Piazza and Diego Perathoner began in 2016. The various beers – neither pasteurized nor microfiltered – have been brewed by master brewer Davide Marinoni since 2019.

Thanks to the modular 1000-liter brew kettles, the Val Gardena brewers are fast and flexible when it comes to the varieties. There are currently 15 varieties in the online shop. But this is changing all the time.

In Monpiër’s “laboratory”, low-fermented and high-fermented beers are brewed, as well as spontaneous fermentations in wood. Selected malts and a skilful dosage of aroma hops combined with pure high-mountain water from the Cunfin spring at the foot of the Sassolungo are guarantees of high quality. As the website translates: “Monpiër is proof that craft beer can be simple, drinkable, immediate – and at the same time incredibly seductive.”

Some of these hop juices are also stored in former Lagrein schnapps barrels before they are bottled and matured further. In the Brew Pub LaBetula – Ladin for “the inn” – right next to the brewery, Monpiër beers are of course on tap, a wide selection of craft beers from all over the world are served, and burgers made from pure South Tyrolean meat and sweet beer-based creations, such as birramisù, are dished up.

Conclusion. Go there and try it. Or order online. For craft beer fans, Monpiër de Gherdëina with its Ladin identity is as unique as the Ladin people and their language.