Close your eyes for a moment and allow yourself to dream in the field of all possibilities.  Imagine yourself in a snow covered village in the Piemonte foothills of the Alps.  Could you make world-class beer, and open a Casa with each room taking you into another world – perhaps Africa, the Orient, or the quiet plains of Zen relaxation?  What are the possibilities of immersing yourself in music composed expressly to stimulate the activity of your yeast, or of creating jellies and cheeses with your own hand-crafted beer?  Could you create a beer that tastes like the best sherry from the original Jerez in Spain?  If that were not enough, might you open a Riad in Morocco from which you may launch trips to explore the Atlantic coast or the dunes of the Sahara on dromedaries?  Engineer beers named after your children?

Teo Musso of Birrificio Le BaladinWhat may seem like a world of fantasy to most people is a world of reality to Matterino (Teo) Musso of Birrificio Le Baladin in Piozzo, Italy.  Teo is a modern day Renaissance man, a maker of dreams.  Since 1986, Teo operated a pub in Piozzo in the province of Cuneo, a region known for its distinctive Asti and Barolo wines.  His interests were not limited by regional influences, however; thus began his journey into secrets that stretched beyond wine, into the realm of beer.   Advised by Jean-Louis Dits of La Brasserie à Vapeur in Pipaux, Belgium and Christian Vanhaverbeke, who had experience at Chimay, Union Grimberger and Achouffe, he installed a small eco-friendly brewery in 1996 – the beginning of his own field of dreams.  Influenced by the class and good taste portrayed throughout the wine industry, Teo used 750 cl bottles with smooth lines and deep base dimples to reflect a superior sensibility in his most finely crafted beers.
 
Impressed with the intense flavor profiles inherent in the original Sherries of the Jerez region of Spain, and understanding the effects of oxidation on beer, he set out to create a beer style of such distinction that it would elicit awe within the beer community.  In 1999, he brewed Elixir with a strong yeast strain that would typically be used to brew whisky.  He wanted notes of sherry and port wine to come forth in the flavor profile.  In an attempt to over-oxidize his beer, he started with a “solera” method of infusing natural oxygen into beer, leaving it open in the backyard.  Eventually, he moved to a closed method with the convection of pure oxygen for a year, and additional aging that totaled 2 yearX Fume and Xyauyu Riserva Teo Mussos before bottling.  The resultant beers are so stable that the bottle may remain open for a year and it doesn’t change the flavor profile.

Says Anna Colombatti of Birrificcio Le Baladin, “So everything started... and developed actually in three different end-products distinguished by the aroma, taste and alcohol degree up to 13%. Thus we have Xyauyu Silver, Copper, and Gold - each with a different approach when poured in a Teku glass!” (made by Rastal)

I tasted two of Teo’s oxidized beers from his repertoire.  Xyauyu Reserva Teo Musso 2005 was brewed in 2005 and bottled in 2007.  It is brewed using only water, malt, hops and yeast, and has a 13.5% ABV.  His 9-year-old daughter Wayan has an imaginary daughter named Xyauyu, after whom Teo has named this beer – “my imaginary granddaughter,” he laughs.  Flavors are smooth and silky, like candied plums and caramel, infused with fino sherry.

X Fume 2006 Riserva Teo Musso was brewed in 2006 and bottled in 2008.  This begins as Xyauyu, with the added 18-day infusion of smoked Lapsang Suochong Tea and the convection of pure oxygen for a year.  Boozy and bready, it possesses the character of satiny smoke and port wine with 14% ABV.

In his search for Baladin Teku Tasting Glassquality, Teo had toured the experimental Italian Farms in which milk production increased when music was played to cattle.  Vineyards, he found, increased grape production by using music therapy, as well.  He began to wonder if music could influence yeast throughout the fermentation process.  By 2007, he had commissioned a tango artist to compose musical movements for the various phases of yeast growth, and gained worldwide attention for placing specially fitted headphones on his fermenting vessels.  When he changed the design of the fermentation tanks, he could no longer continue this experimentation, and moved forward with other ever-evolving ideas.
 
Currently, Birrificio Le Baladin brews 6 bottled beers:   Isaac, named after Teo’s first son – a delicate Witbier with coriander, a peppery profile (from the yeast), and assertive orange – not from Curacao orange peel but from use of the entire fruit; Wayan, named after his first daughter – Italy’s first organic beer, a delicate, earthy Saison brewed with 19 ingredients including ginseng, coriander, and pepper; Nora, named for the mother of Isaac and Wayan – apricot fruitiness with a floral, perfumy profile and spicing with myrrh, ginger, or other secret ingredients;  Super, an 8% Belgian Style ale, a malty aperitif with an alcoholic zap; Noel, the decadent Christmas beer that changes annually, but is now brewed year-round – this may have the fruitiness of plums, pears and cherries, bittersweet chocolate, or rich, espresso coffee notes, varying with the creativity of the Master’s hand ; and Elixir, a dry, peppery Belgian Tripel with less sweetness than its Belgian counterparts.
 
Teo Musso, Owner of Birrificio Le Baladin & Casa Baladin, Italy and Riad Baladin, MoroccoThe brewpub features three beers that are available by draught only:   The herbal, honey-infused Blonde; ESB-style Nina; and the smoky and creamy Brune at 4.7% ABV.  Teo’s newest creation is Open Baladin: a new beer-concept.  The genius behind this beer is that of “open sourcing” for the beer world.   Designed as a beer that can be created on draught or in bottles, Teo’s intent is to create a recipe that will be a living, constantly evolving product available to all brewers on the Internet, allowing professional brewers to “add to” or “tweak” the recipe into higher levels through constant development.  Currently, Open Baladin is brewed with Amarillo, Cascade, Chinook, and Simcoe hops, and is scheduled for release in the Summer of 2009.

Teo Musso also creates Frumage Baladin, specially crafted beer-infused cheeses made at Le Fattorie Fiandino (www.fattoriefiandino.it), Kikke Baladin beer jelly made in Piozzo by Teo and his sister, and Praline chocolates infused with Baladin Noel, made by Rizzati chocolatiers in Ferrara.

He also has created Casa Baladin Restaurant and Hotel in Piozzo, with themed guest rooms covering the   adult fantasy world from North Africa, to the psychedelic 60s, and a Turkish Hammam in a classic tale of the Arabian Nights.  In Morocco, Teo has established Riad Baladin (http://www.riadbaladin.com ), at the center of the Médina of Essaouira, near the beach.  This Hotel has 6 rooms with private baths, in typical Moroccan style and contemporary design.  It also provides guests with WIFI and free Internet access, a Massage Saloon, and home brewed Baladin with the evening Apéro.  From this vantage point, Teo orchestrates three organized Tours for discovering Morocco:  the Atlantic Coast, the Mountains of the Atlas, and the Valley du Draa, complete with palms and a caravan of dromedaries through the sun-searing Sahara. A Renaissance man, indeed!

Cheers!