The History of Progetto Open  

Open is an innovative project, created and developed by Teo Musso “to shake the world of Italian craft beers. Our Open project, just like the open source approach, is based on sharing” (from “Baladin. La Birra artigianale è tutta colpa di Teo” – Baladin. Craft beer is all Teo’s fault – published by Feltrinelli).

It all began with a beer called Open, launched in 2008 as the first open source Italian beer. Its recipe, with the right quantities for homebrewers, was published and made available to all on our website. The idea was to share a recipe that would raise people’s interest and help to spread the idea of Italian craft beer. The Open concept later led to the opening of special pubs aimed at disseminating the culture of Italian craft beer, in Turin, Rome and Cuneo. They all offer a very wide range of carefully selected craft and bottled beers. 

2014 is the year of the first edition of the Open Baladin Fest: a festival for brewers and Italian craft beer. Each edition had a special theme, but they all shared the same common thread: promoting the culture of Italian independent craft beer. All brewers were guests and were invited to meet their colleagues and present themselves to the public. All beers were served by Baladin staff, trained to get to know the brewery and the beers that they had to represent. The success of the first edition - with an estimated participation of about 30,000 beer lovers - was replicated until 2016, when the chosen topic was “20 YEARS OF LIVE BEER - 200 BEER AND 200 ITALIAN CRAFT BREWERIES”. All were there as peers. The project is currently on hold because of the complications in organizing such large public events. 

In 2015, the first Open beer kit was presented in two version: hopped malt extract (Open Amber) and all grain (for all three versions - White, Amber and Gold). The kit is intended for homebrewers - non-professional beer makers who brew their beers as a hobby and for their own private, non-commercial consumption. After years of study, it was the result of the cooperation between Baladin and Mr. Malt, an historical distributor of homebrewing equipment. 

In 2017, Baladin Open Garden, the park of Italian craft beer, was opened. A place for sharing where people can experience the connection between nature, agriculture, live beer and much more. A place where you can live quiet moments of rest and peace with your family and friends, in harmony with nature. And a place where people can experience the philosophy of Baladin or find out how cocoa beans turn into chocolate or coffee beans are processed. Carlo Petrini has always believed in the world of Italian craft beer and, through Slow Food, has actively contributed to promote it. Here is how he describes the Open Baladin project: “First and foremost, this is a space devoted to agriculture and the revitalization of a place which – away from large city centers – is once again a meeting place for the community, is always open and available to anyone. The Garden will also host many cooperation experiences with the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo. The University will have a sort of branch here, thanks to the educational facility built by Teo; it will be used to give all students the chance to experience the production of a live beer”.