Feeling a strong pull to return to their homeland, Armelle and Dominique were thinking of an activity they could develop on the island, of an innovative project with a bright future.

Both of them like beer. On a beautiful, hot, starry night, standing at a bar following a concert by I Muvrini in Corte, their wish to drink a Corsican beer gives them the idea: to create a brewery in Corsica and brew a beer that reflects its land of origin.

The conditions are not totally ideal, though. Corsica, with its wine-making tradition, is not a beer-drinking region.

But from this moment on, in spite of many phases of doubt, nothing can tarnish their will to bring this project to fruition.

They then begin a long preparation process, which will last 4 years: structural and financial planning, market studies, searching for investors, fine-tuning the recipe… And of course, studying how best to include chestnut flour in the beer’s production process.

In Corsica, chestnut trees are almost sacred. They are called “bread trees” or even the “tree of life”.

“From birth till death, a Corsican’s whole time is lived under the influence of the chestnut tree”.

This old saying illustrates perfectly the Corsicans’ fondness for this splendid tree. Corsica has even been called “the civilisation of the chestnut tree”.

Corsica is one of the last regions in Europe where the dried fruit of the chestnut tree is still made into flour which is then used in many different dishes: the delicious pulenta or different types of cakes, nicci… As you can see, the sweet chestnut is used as a cereal in Corsica. And beer is mainly a matter of water and cereals.

Through its innovative use, PIETRA contributes to the renewed interest shown today in the Corsican chestnut industry.