There she stood, in the middle of a field in Chile: muddy boots, blisters on her hands and a realisation – she had to change her life. «I was volunteering on an organic farm. In the evenings I was dead tired but happy, because I could see the result of my daily work. And I understood: working with my hands, creating something new, is my calling», recalls Lidia de Petris of that moment nine years ago.
Until then, this Zurich-born daughter of Italian parents had worked only with her head, completing a law degree in Trento, Italy. «I saw my future in the European Parliament or with a human-rights organisation.» But the change bug had long since crept in: during an Erasmus year in Antwerp, Lidia dives into Belgian beer culture. «Those new flavours, which as an Italian I didn’t know – I was hooked at once.» Lidia packs her bags and trains as a brewer in London at the hip, up-and-coming Beavertown Brewery.
A Contagious Passion
Valeria, the sister a year and a half younger, also studied law but soon lost interest in a legal career. During the university holidays she discovers her love of horses on a farm in Apulia, southern Italy, drops out and goes to Switzerland to work at a racing stable. «I started right at the bottom, mucking out stalls. Nobody was waiting for me.» The de Petris gene soon shows: within a year Valeria is a jockey. Then she visits Lidia in London. «Lidia’s passion is contagious. I read a few books about beer in her flat – and I was hooked.»
On London’s beer scene, no one would have bet on the two young Italian women. «You don’t need a beard and tattoos to brew», Valeria is convinced. Both study the brewer’s craft at the Institute of Brewing and Distilling and prove their skill to the industry’s «tough guys». Lidia rises to head brewer at Beavertown; Valeria opens and runs a brewery outpost in Tottenham Hotspur’s stadium – and falls for the German brewer Max Hartmann, also training in London.
The Big Dream, Part 1
Everything could be fine in the de Petris sisters’ world – were it not for the big dream: their own brewery, and in Zurich, where they grew up. After six years in England, homesickness draws them back; the three of them – the two sisters and Max – move to Zurich. «It was hard to find a place for our brewery», says Lidia, «and no bank was willing to finance us.» With their savings, family support and a crowdfunding campaign, they manage it all the same and found «Bierwerk Züri». They do most of the fit-out themselves, in sixteen-hour days. On 3 July 2021 the bar-restaurant opens on the Europaallee in Zurich; the beer is poured at the counter straight from the tanks.
«We were told: you’ll never get anywhere with this in Zurich. It’s a rich city, people want to be served.» – Lidia de Petris, Bierwerk Züri
But the concept works: the spartan micro-brewery is booming from day one. The secret? «Surely our authenticity – we are what we are, and we make no compromises on quality», says Lidia. And Valeria: «The biggest success is the beer itself. It’s the freshest you’ll find in Zurich.» Four standard styles make up the range, plus a steady stream of specials and seasonals. Above all, the sisters take their time: «At the big producers the beer has to be out after fourteen days. Ours can mature for six to eight weeks.»
The Big Dream, Part 2
Business is good, but the dream isn’t over. Lidia smiles: «Next spring we want to build a production site where we’ll brew up to ten times more beer. A bottling line will then supply restaurants and retailers.» The banks are growing bolder too – «they were impressed by our figures», says Lidia proudly. On the long game, though, she stays level-headed: «Once the new plant is running, we’ll look for fresh funds. But not growth at any price – we’ll stay a local brewery.» Who knows what the next big dream will be.
This article appeared in MEN issue 2/22 (November 2022).
