Italian Pilsner and Liberty Bells

I am uncharacteristically on the ground for the Craft Brewers Conference in always sunny Philadelphia. This year I am taking part in a panel discussion, and enjoying the opportunity to see a city I’ve only briefly passed through. It’s not going to leave a lot of blogging time. By way of apologies, let me offer episode number two of One Iconic Beer. We are starting to dial this in, and I think you’re really going to enjoy this one. It features the story of Tipopils, ground zero for Italian pilsners. We hear from the beer’s original creator, Birrificio Italiano’s Agostino Arioli, as well as Matt Brynildson, who helped popularize the style with Firestone Walker’s Pivo Pils.

Here’s the intro and here’s the link.

Walk into a taproom today, and you might see “Italian pilsner” listed on the menu. Have you ever wondered where Italian pilsners came from? Surely this isn’t a reference to Peroni or Moretti, those old 19th century Italian beers? No. The style is more recent—thirty years old in 2026—and it dates back to the earliest days of Italian craft brewing. In a small village ten miles south of Como, Italy, Agostino Arioli established Birrificio Italiano. It was the first Italian craft brewery, beating Baladin by three months. 

On this podcast, we’re going to explore the story of Birrificio Italiano’s Tipopils. It is largely responsible for creating the template for what we now call “Italian pilsners.” We’re going to talk to Augostino Arioli, the founder of Italiano, and how he came to make his influential dry-hopped lager.

We’ll also hear from Matt Brynildson, Brewmaster at Firestone Walker, and the man who did more than any other brewer to popularize Italian pilsners. In 2013, Firestone released Pivo Pils, one of the key beers that helped create an enduring market for what we sometimes call craft lagers. That beer was heavily influenced by Tipopils, and in turn helped bring it even more popularity.