In Sicilia nasce Kidda, la birra con malto da orzo coltivato nell’Isola

A Terrasini in Sicily, a new beer called Kidda is set to be born. The name, meaning "that one" in Sicilian dialect, represents a stronger link between the local brewing industry and Sicilian agriculture. The first batch is scheduled for today, Wednesday 16 September at the Bruno Ribadi brewery. This innovation lies primarily in its raw materials, as Kidda will be brewed with malt made from orzo grown entirely in Sicily, using a supply chain that relies on Italian raw materials.

This initiative stems from a collaboration between Coldiretti, the Italian Beer Consortium, and the Italian Agricultural Filtration, and aims to connect barley growers, hops producers, and breweries. The goal is to create a virtuous model that retains a larger share of the value generated by beer production within the region. Francesco Ferreri, president of Coldiretti Sicilia, explains that the aim is to build a virtuous model, an example to be replicated, capable of establishing an effective interaction between the agricultural and industrial transformation worlds.

According to Coldiretti and the Italian Beer Consortium, there were 60 breweries in Sicily in 2025, 9 of which were agricultural, accounting for 15% of the total. In 2024, there were 5 agricultural farmers among 64 breweries, and in 2023, there were 7 among 65. The number of agricultural farmers increased by one in just one year.

The malt demand also indicates the potential market size. The prospect attached to the project includes 16 companies in Sicilian breweries, with a total malt quantity of 1,000 quintals. The main share belongs to Bruno Ribadi, with 430 quintals, followed by Rock Brewery with 200, and 24 Baroni and Birra Epica with 100 quintals each.

The document also shows a productive network spread across different provinces of the island: apart from Bruno Ribadi, the list includes Birra Epica, Rock Brewery, Birrificio dell’Etna, Compagnia del Fermento, Terre a Sud Est, Paul Bricius, Birra Pasi, Birra dei Vespri, Birra Chinaschi, Hippana, Kinisia, Officina Brassicola Siciliana, Alveria, and Baroni Birra.

The question is how regional agricultural production can be incorporated into the beer production chain. According to Istat, Sicily produces about 130,000 quintals of barley on less than 5,000 hectares. In contrast, the hops industry is much smaller, with only two companies covering a total of 0.11 hectares. Giuseppe "Peppe" Biundo, the founder of Bruno Ribadi brewery, which was established in 2016, says that this project is taking shape and has significant development potential.