Italy (and Rome) are probably best known for pizza, designer hand bags and the Colosseum but it shouldn't come as too much of a surprise that these long term craftsmen (and women) have quietly been devoting time to brewing the world's most consumed alcoholic beverage: beer.

If you are looking to buy beer in Italy here is some information which you may find useful/interesting.

• Beer can easily be found in Rome (and other parts of Italy) with corner stores and super markets always stocking a basic range. I don't know the specifics of their liquor licensing laws and regulations but even mobile street vendors sell Peroni and Birra Moretti alongside packets of chips and coffee. As a result the traditional bottle shop as we know it in Australia is non existent.
• The typical beers most super markets and corner stores have as a guide are:
  • Peroni
  • Birra Moretti
  • Corona
  • Heineken
  • Franziskaner
  • Leffe
  • Guinness
• Some convenience stores have also started to branch out into greater international beer range, sometimes stocking 50 or so foreign beers including the likes of BrewDog, La Trappe and Mikkeller.
• Interestingly if you are bar hopping and are mid beer when leaving ask staff to pour the remainder into a plastic cup as a roadie for the walk. In Italy it is not illegal to drink in public places.
• If you are looking for a beer shop for some take away beers I'd recommend Beer Land Italy located in the Trqstevere areq of Rome. They stock the likes of Rogue, Mikkeller, Beer Here and a wide range of Italian craft beers. At my rough count they stocked about 150 beers and interestingly the store was joined onto a burger takeaway shop. Beers here start around 5 euro.
• My top 3 recommendations for beer bars in Rome - bir & fud - open balladin - pourquoi brasserie

• Italian craft beer consists of 500 or so micro-breweries (as of 2013) which are creating great beers to keep the ever so curious local and international consumer satisfied.

• Like many things the alcohol market in Italy appears to be less regulated than Australia - they still have street corner cigarette machines that an 8 year old could access while standing on a milk crate! (not that I am advocating easy access to tobacco)