You have to know that the conditions were not favourable: the beer market in France was declining, while Corsica has always been a land of wine, anise drinks and beer has a poor image.

This challenging context didn’t discourage them, though it would take several years for the project to bear fruits.

This not only involved searching for a site, but also for small-capacity brewery equipment that didn’t exist at the time. It had to be invented - the first fermenting vats as well as the brewing room were custom-made by a Corsican boilermaker. Then there was the perfection of a recipe, and of course fundraising, in a climate of general distrust of the project (their families were the first investors). Everything was hard !

They were taken for fools, but Brasserie Pietra opened its doors in 1996, and the Corsican beer was born: it was named Pietra after the small village where the Sialelli family live, Pietraserena.

Armelle and Dominique then travelled in all the corners of Corsica to present thei craft beer at the numerous island’s fairs and markets. Pietra seduced people with its taste and a few years late, you could find it everywhere in Corsica.

The Pietra clan then expanded, with Serena, a beautiful blonde pure malt, Colomba, the brewery’s white beer, Pietra Bionda, Pietra Rossa, Colomba Rosée, Pietra Corsican IPA, more recently Blonde Bio, an organic and a gluten-free ale.