Yet another beloved international beer loses its “import” status: on Wednesday, Molson Coors announced that it will begin brewing Peroni Nastro Azzurro stateside to supply the U.S. market. The production is set to take off this summer at Molson Coors’ brewery in Albany, Georgia.
“We’ve spent the last few months working closely with Peroni’s talented master brewers to make certain we stay true to the brand’s crisp refreshing taste and honor its original recipe from 1963,” says the company’s chief supply chain officer, Brian Erhardt. “By brewing Peroni at home, we can ensure consumers can get fresh, great-tasting Peroni at even more of their favorite restaurants, bars, shops and events across the country.”
Supply issues and simultaneous brand expansion appear to be factors in the move. According to a Molson Coors spokesperson who spoke with Beer Business Daily, many on-premise accounts claim to be hesitant to give Peroni draft line real estate due to the troubles that come with importing the beer in small quantities. With domestic production, “we can overcome one of the biggest issues to scaling the brand, which is reliable supply,” they said.
According to Molson Coors, kegs of domestically-brewed full-strength Peroni will be available by the end of the summer, with packaged bottles and cans set to hit the U.S. market in early 2025. Peroni Nastro Azzurro 0.0% will continue to be brewed in Italy.
“Peroni’s success has been undeniable,” Molson Coors’ chief marketing officer Sodia Colucci says per the company’s official blog, “and we now will be positioned to fully unlock its potential.”
The pale lager’s shift to stateside production follows a slew of similar cases with other popular imported brands. In 2021, Anheuser-Busch InBev began brewing Belgium’s Stella Artois in the U.S., and in July 2023, Japan’s Sapporo started brewing beer in California. We’re holding out hope that domestic brewers will do justice to the original recipe.
