Craft beer in Udine: what we found (and what’s next)

It was February 28th, a Saturday, and we were looking for a way to make the day last a little longer. In the morning, an impressionist art exhibition at Casa Cavazzini, one of Udine’s most beautiful museums. In the afternoon, something good to drink with friends. Paulo had already done his homework: a few days earlier he had searched for craft beer in Udine and found Wild Raccoon. He booked a table for four, not quite knowing what to expect.

Good call.

From the outside, Wild Raccoon looks like any small pub. You walk in, and everything changes. The chairs are salvaged from old cinemas, the menu is displayed on a vintage arrivals board, and they bring you popcorn with your beer. The atmosphere is exactly right: warm, a little quirky in the best possible way, with that feeling of having stumbled onto something you weren’t expecting.

We ate too. The menu is short but well-chosen, and the sandwiches were genuinely good. We had two beers there, then did what you do when a place wins you over: we took a stack of cans home. Among them, one we won’t forget easily: the Imperial Stout “È triste essere bravi”, which roughly translates as “it’s sad to be this good.” The name says it all. The beer even more so.

That evening we understood that Udine’s craft beer scene is real, alive, and worth exploring. This is our starting point.

Wild Raccoon: where to begin

Wild Raccoon is young, founded in 2023, and it shows in the best possible way: in the beers, in the attention to detail, in a place that has a very clear identity. It all starts with Filip Lozinski, the founder, who is a passionate cinephile. That’s not a side note: every beer is born with a narrative reference, a visual world, a connection to cinema. The cinema seats, the vintage menu board, the popcorn. It’s not just aesthetics: it’s a coherent identity from the first sip to the last detail.

The taproom, the brewery’s own tasting space where you drink directly what they produce, is at Via Paolo Sarpi 12/C, in the Cussignacco neighbourhood.

The production philosophy is just as deliberate: a few fixed beers and a lot of rotation. Filip chose this from the start, because for him brewing means experimenting, exploring different styles, not making the same ten beers forever. In practice, it means every time you visit, there’s something new on tap. Our advice: ask at the bar what’s pouring that day and let yourself be guided.

Don’t expect only IPAs and hoppy beers: Wild Raccoon works a lot with classic styles too, Czech and German-inspired lagers, stouts, and much more. We brought home a good number of cans, and among them one that stayed with us: the Imperial Stout “È triste essere bravi.” Worth seeking out.

They also serve food: simple sandwiches, made to order by whoever is behind the bar. No elaborate kitchen, but exactly what you need to go alongside a beer without distracting from the main event.

The taproom is open Tuesday to Thursday from 5pm to 11:30pm, Friday and Saturday from 5pm to midnight. Closed Sunday and Monday. Always check wildraccoon.it before you go: hours may vary.

Birrò: a farmhouse brewery for a slow afternoon

Paulo had found Birrò in that same search. An agricultural brewery, meaning one that grows its own ingredients directly on the farm, in San Lorenzo di Sedegliano, a short drive from Udine. We had already written about them in another post, but visiting with time and good friends is a different thing entirely.

It’s an afternoon kind of place. Open outdoor space, beautiful and quiet surroundings, and an immediate sense of family: the whole family works there, the head brewer is a young guy, and you feel it.

We tried three beers. The Summer IPA was light and citrusy, easy-drinking in the best sense, the kind of beer you finish without noticing. The Blanche had a more pronounced profile, with coriander that came through quite strongly: not our favourite, but honest. The IPA, according to Paulo, was excellent. We brought home the Bionda, and it surprised us: balanced, clean, with a character of its own.

For more on Birrò and their philosophy, you can read our article on craft beer in Italy.

Garlatti Costa: how it all started

With Garlatti Costa, it happened like this. We hadn’t been to Forgaria nel Friuli yet, didn’t know the brewery. We were in Polcenigo, at a small and wonderful beer pub called Birroteca Due Muri, one of those places that no longer exists but that you still remember. Before heading home we decided to grab a few bottles from the fridge: they always had good things there, so we trusted the selection. One of those bottles was a Blanche called Opalita.

At home, after the first glass, we looked at each other and said the same thing: we need to find out who made this. That’s how we found Garlatti Costa, and we planned a visit.

The place is exactly what you hoped it would be. A production building, and right next to it an open space with a marquee tent: you drink there, with a direct view of where the beers are born. They’ve since added tables inside too, so you’re no longer at the mercy of the weather. In spring and summer they open on weekends, with food on offer, very good focaccia, sometimes a stall with local products. It’s the kind of place where you arrive for an hour and find yourself still there much later.

On our first visit, Severino, the founder and head brewer, welcomed us. We had a beer, and then he invited us on a small tour of the brewery and the beers. It’s not a given, and it meant something.

We tried almost everything. The JAB is a hoppy porter, for anyone who loves dark beers with character: Paulo found his match immediately. The Rushmore, an American Pale Ale, has an aroma that catches you and a drinkability that surprises. The Orodorzo is a Tripel at nine percent, balanced enough to make you forget the alcohol. The Tilt, an American IPA, clean and direct. And then the Rubens, a raspberry beer: for anyone like me who loves fruit beers and sours, it was a real find.

But in the end, you always come back to the Opalita. The Blanche that started it all.

The taproom is open on weekends during summer: check the latest dates on the Garlatti Costa website before making the trip.

Vila Chazil, Zahre and Forum Iuli: three different stories

Vila Chazil is an agricultural brewery that grows its own barley and hops directly on site, and you can taste it in the quality of the ingredients. The place is beautiful and well looked after, the kind of spot you seek out when you want a good afternoon with the right people. We went with friends who, like us, can never resist the idea of discovering a new brewery, and we had a great time. The food was good, and that day they had a promotion on the beers that made everything even better. They’re open Wednesday to Sunday: Wednesday and Thursday from 5:30 to 9:30pm, Friday and Saturday from 5:30 to 10pm, Sunday from 5 to 9pm.

Zahre Beer we visited about five years ago, in a group, with friends and a tiny baby who is now six years old. The beers were good, but the service that evening left something to be desired. Things change, and it might well be worth giving them another try. But we’d rather be honest about what we found.

Forum Iuli is a different chapter. When we visited, the place was genuinely impressive: beautifully designed, with tables looking directly into the production area through a glass wall, and burgers we still remember. The taproom has since closed permanently, but the brewery is still producing and the beers are available on their website. Worth a look.

The craft breweries in Udine still on our list

The craft beer scene in the province of Udine is bigger than what we’ve explored so far. We met Bondai, Foràn and Birrificio Campestre at Sapori Proloco, the event at Villa Manin on May 23rd, and that day stayed with us.

The star of the day was Dove Canta la Rana by Birrificio Campestre: a Session IPA at 4%, incredibly aromatic, with a rare balance between sweet and bitter, and a citrusy, floral flavour that lingers. Easy-drinking in the best sense of the word. It was hot, and that beer was exactly what we needed.

Bondai’s Grande Giove is a Keller at 4.8%, light and easy-drinking, with a flavour that hints at honey. Paulo put it best: “this is what industrial beers of this style were trying to be.” Hard to top that. Foràn’s Hops my Passion is a 6% IPA with a firm bitterness and a floral aroma that hits you straight away. Good, honest beer, but on such a hot day the lighter ones took the top spots. That’s not a final verdict: context matters.

All three deserve a proper visit, with more time and less heat. The rest are still waiting to be discovered, and the list is long: Bire, the Udine brewpub with a visible production plant and a strong Czech identity; Foglie d’Erba in Forni di Sopra, both agricultural brewery and brewpub; Borderline Brewery in Buttrio; 620 Passi in Marano Lagunare; Birrificio di Resiutta; Birrificio Gjulia in Cividale del Friuli; Lanbeer in San Daniele del Friuli; Agribirrificio Aquila d’Oro in Beivars; Dimont in Arta Terme; Il Mastro Birraio di Birrificio Friulano in San Giovanni al Natisone. Names we keep coming across, beers we’ve heard good things about, places that deserve a visit when the time is right.

If you’ve already been to any of them, or know something we haven’t discovered yet, write to us: hello@beersandtips.it. We always love hearing what you find out there.

The scene is there, and it’s worth the trip

Udine isn’t Italy’s craft beer capital. But it has a real scene, and it’s growing. Wild Raccoon is where to start if you want to understand what it means to brew with a precise identity. Birrò and Garlatti Costa show two different ways of making beer rooted in the land. And the province still has a lot to offer, for anyone willing to go looking.

Let us know.

Cheers!