Where is Birra Menabrea Bionda brewed?
By Mark Porter Last checked 19 September 2026 How we check
Birra Menabrea Bionda is sold as a beer from Italy. It is brewed in Britain, at Glasgow, Scotland.
What to drink instead 6 beers on the same shelves that are what they say
Listed by Tesco and Ocado when last checked. The product pages are among the sources below.
Every beer on the shelf by strength · How the units are worked out
More about the brand: rights, style, when it was created, where it is brewed at home
Partly verified
At least one of those three claims rests on a secondary source or an inference, a disagreement between sources is still open, or a split supply has a format that has not been read.
C&C Group's corporate product page still describes Menabrea as brewed in Biella, and that page was the source this row previously rested on. Against it, The Grocer reports that C&C moved brewing from Piedmont to the Tennent's brewery in Glasgow in June 2024 and quotes the UK pack as reading 'brewed in the UK the Italian alpine way under the supervision of Birra Menabrea'; the brand's own UK site at menabrea.co.uk carries 'Brewed in the UK' in its footer; and the Tesco packaging line already recorded on this row says the same. The UK-brewed reading is taken as correct and the corporate page as out of date.
Held at partly verified because no supermarket country of origin field has been read since the move, and Glasgow is named by the trade press rather than by the pack, so the exact site is not confirmed from the pack. Owner (Forst group since 1991) and the 4.8% strength on both sides remain verified. Correction reported by Tim Webb of CAMRA, September 2026.
The small print on the base of a current can or bottle, giving the producer name and address, would settle this.
In short
Birra Menabrea Bionda is sold in Britain as a beer from Italy. The cues are Italian brand, Biella and Italian Alps imagery, 1846 founding date. The UK supply comes out of Glasgow, Scotland, brewed by Tennent Caledonian Breweries. It is the same strength here as at home: 4.8%. The brand belongs to Birra Menabrea S.p.A., part of the Forst group. On the recipe: C&C states five ingredients: water, barley, hops, yeast and brewer's maize. The label says: "Brewed in the UK, the Italian Alpine way, under the supervision of Birra Menabrea."
This page is about the packs sold in supermarkets. Draught in pubs can come from a different brewery, and this page does not cover it unless a format table says so.
What to buy instead of Birra Menabrea Bionda
Birra Menabrea Bionda is sold as Italian and brewed in Britain, at Glasgow, Scotland, at 4.8%.
| Beer | Why it is on the list | Strength here |
|---|---|---|
| Peroni Nastro AzzurroFrom the country on the label | Brewed at Rome, Padua and Bari in Italy. 5.1% here, 0.3 percentage points stronger than Birra Menabrea Bionda. | 5.1% |
| Birra IchnusaFrom the country on the label | Brewed at Assemini, Sardinia in Italy. 4.7% here, 0.1 percentage points weaker than Birra Menabrea Bionda. | 4.7% |
| Damm DauraThe same style, genuinely imported from elsewhere | Brewed at Barcelona in Spain. 5.4% here, 0.6 percentage points stronger than Birra Menabrea Bionda. | 5.4% |
| Sabor Premium LagerThe same style, genuinely imported from elsewhere | Brewed in Spain. 4.6% here, 0.2 percentage points weaker than Birra Menabrea Bionda. | 4.6% |
| SagresThe same style, genuinely imported from elsewhere | Brewed at Vialonga in Portugal. 5.0% here, 0.2 percentage points stronger than Birra Menabrea Bionda. | 5.0% |
| M&S Spanish LagerThe same style, genuinely imported from elsewhere | Brewed in Spain. 4.5% here, 0.3 percentage points weaker than Birra Menabrea Bionda. | 4.5% |
Chosen by rule, not by taste, and no beer pays to appear: how the list is made.
Who has brewed it here
| Years | Brewer | Site | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| ? to 2024 | Not established | Imported from Biella; UK and Ireland distribution by C&C Group | candcgroupplc.com |
| 2024 to now | Tennent Caledonian Breweries (C&C Group) | Glasgow | thegrocer.co.uk |
What changed
- Corrected 19 September 2026: verification level was verified, now partly verified
- Corrected 19 September 2026: pack wording was "C&C describes it as brewed in Biella in the foothills of the Italian Alps", now "Brewed in the UK, the Italian Alpine way, under the supervision of Birra Menabrea" (source)
- Corrected 19 September 2026: UK rights type was "imported_distributed", now "licensed" (source)
- Corrected 19 September 2026: recommendation was genuine import, now not established (source)
- Corrected 19 September 2026: category was "genuine_import", now "foreign_branded_uk_brewed" (source)
- Corrected 19 September 2026: is pretender was no, now yes (source)
- Corrected 19 September 2026: country brewed in was "Italy", now "United Kingdom" (source)
- Corrected 19 September 2026: UK brewing sites was "(none)", now "Glasgow, Scotland (Tennent's brewery)" (source)
- Corrected 19 September 2026: UK brewer was "Birra Menabrea S.p.A., Biella, Italy (not brewed in the UK)", now "Tennent Caledonian Breweries (C&C Group), Glasgow, under the supervision of Birra Menabrea" (source)
- Corrected 19 September 2026: UK supply was imported, now brewed in Britain (source)
- 6 September 2026: home-market strength was not established, now 4.8% (source)
- 5 September 2026: verification level was partly verified, now verified (source)
- 5 September 2026: home-market strength was 4.8%, now not established
Questions people ask
Where is Birra Menabrea Bionda brewed?
The beer sold in the UK is brewed at Glasgow, Scotland by Tennent Caledonian Breweries.
Is Birra Menabrea Bionda brewed in the UK?
Yes. It is brewed at Glasgow, Scotland.
Is Birra Menabrea Bionda really Italian?
The branding is Italian, but the beer sold in Britain is brewed in the UK at Glasgow, Scotland.
Who owns Birra Menabrea Bionda?
Birra Menabrea Bionda is owned by Birra Menabrea S.p.A., part of the Forst group, headquartered in Biella, Piedmont, Italy. In the UK the brand is handled by C&C Group plc under licence.
What strength is Birra Menabrea Bionda in the UK?
Birra Menabrea Bionda is 4.8% ABV in the UK. In Italy it is 4.8%. A UK pint is 2.7 units.
Is Birra Menabrea Bionda weaker in the UK than in Italy?
No. It is 4.8% in both the UK and Italy.
See also
Every beer sold as Italy · What else is brewed at Glasgow, Scotland
Sources
- C&C Group plc (candcgroupplc.com), 5 September 2026: Brewed in Biella, 4.8% abv for Bionda, C&C distributes in UK and Ireland
- The Grocer (thegrocer.co.uk)
- Tesco (tesco.com)
- Tesco (tesco.com)
- Ocado (ocado.com)
- Birra Menabrea (Italy) (birramenabrea.com), 5 September 2026: Brewer's own history page: 'Nel 1991, l'azienda entra a far parte del Gruppo Birra Forst'; 'Birra Menabrea è prodotta a Biella, ai piedi delle Alpi'.
- Birra Menabrea (Italy) (birramenabrea.com), 6 September 2026: Brewer's Italian product page for La Gamma Bionda: 'ALCOOL 4,80% Vol.'
- The Grocer (thegrocer.co.uk), 8 April 2025: C&C Group moved Menabrea brewing from Piedmont to the Tennent's brewery in Glasgow: 'We started brewing in the UK in June 2024 after more than a year of trials'; the 4.8% abv lager had to 'pass a stringent 14-point specification'; UK packaging reads 'brewed in the UK the Italian alpine way under the supervision of Birra Menabrea'; C&C said it was 'unsustainable to continue importing vast quantities into the UK every few months from Italy'
- Birra Menabrea (UK site, C&C Group) (menabrea.co.uk), 19 September 2026: The brand's own UK site for Bionda: 'This 4.8% ABV pale lager'; the site footer carries 'Brewed in the UK'
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