Riccardo Bof, an Italian with a Scottish accent.

This week we’re catching up with Riccardo. Don’t let his Scottish accent and love for Whisky fool you, he is actually from the North East of Italy in a small town that is too small to mention, but it’s somewhere in the Province of Treviso.

He has been with us since mid September and although he may still be the ‘new guy’, we’ve known him since his arrival in Sweden from bumping into each other at Gothenburg Craft Beer events and hanging out with us at our Tap Room on the weekends in the one year he has been here.

After getting his master’s degree in Brewing and Distilling at Heriot Watt and working at Pilot in Leith, Edinburgh, Riccardo spent some time in Korea brewing at Kraemerlee Brewing Co before making his way to Sweden to be a part of the Gothenburg Beer Scene.  We’re glad to finally have him and his impeccable sensory abilities in our brewery team.

Ciao Riccardo, when was the first time you heard of beerbliotek?

Back in 2017 when I had Hip Hops at a small local bar in Canonmills, Edinburgh. 

You like to travel, what are your favourite places you’ve experienced?

I have travelled a lot so I have many different memories from many places, but if i had to choose a few, I’d say New Zealand. For me it’s an outdoor paradise. I could hike and camp daily and get lost in nature for weeks.

My most unique traveling experience has to be Mexico. It was one hell of a trip.

And Taiwan for the Whisky. 

Ah yes, is that where your love for Whisky came from?
I didn’t drink much whisky before I moved to Scotland. And there I fell in love with Scottish Whisky. Any favourites? I like many but mainly the ones without the ‘e’. I’m a Whisky person, not a Whiskey person. As a Scot, I approve.

For our recent Staff Retreat you were tasked with the dinner plans. Why did you choose for us to make pasta from scratch together?

It’s an experience that can bring the whole team together, as it happens in many families in Italy. It’s a family tradition for everyone to come together to shape the dough, make stuffing and put it all together. It definitely was an experience, and the highlight of that trip.

Last question, when you’re not dreaming about beer, what are you dreaming about?

Hiking, travelling…dreaming that I can do my hobby sometime soon.

If you’re in Sweden and want to taste Riccardo’s first beerbliotek beer, Hip Hops, you can find it here.