Simei is stepping up its focus on beer and has formed a new partnership with the Consorzio Birra Italiana, the leading national association for agricultural producers, maltsters and independent breweries, which will officially feature in the programme of the 31st edition of the event, scheduled for 17–20 November 2026 at Fiera Milano Rho.
Among the new features are the launch of the new Italian Beer Competition and an exhibition area entirely dedicated to Italian-grown hops, which will enhance the historic product categories dedicated to wine, beer, oil and spirits at the biennial exhibition organised by Unione Italiana Vini.
Paolo Castelletti, CEO of Unione Italiana Vini Servizi, said: “This new collaboration consolidates the event’s role as an international benchmark for technological innovation serving the beverage industry. Simei is an increasingly integrated space, focused on sustainability and market development, ready to respond to the growing need for companies to diversify their product range”.
“Simei is the ideal showcase for highlighting the incredible qualitative evolution currently taking place in the Italian brewing sector,” says Teo Musso, president of the Italian Beer Consortium. “Today, the sector is increasingly focused on quality, innovation and the promotion of local raw materials – a focus that deserves to be highlighted and which finds its perfect match at this event in terms of technologies to forge new connections and give further impetus to growth.”
High on the list of highlights at the fair is the brand-new Italian Beer Competition, a contest open to all small independent breweries, judged by a panel of industry experts, tasters and journalists led by the Unione Degustatori di Birre, which aims to promote production excellence and reward the craftsmanship of Italian brewers and agricultural producers. With 19 awards up for grabs, the competition selects the best 100% Italian beers (top- and bottom-fermented), predominantly made with Italian malt and Italian hops, alongside the special F.I.L.O. (Italian Hop and Barley Supply Chain for the Brewing Sector); the awards ceremony will take place on the afternoon of 18 November. Also scheduled for Wednesday is a conference on hop cultivation in Italy, which will see Prof. Tommaso Ganino of the University of Parma lead a round table of industry experts to analyse the state of the sector, with a focus on the progress of the F.I.L.O. research project by the University of Udine and Sant’Anna in Pisa.
Organised by Unione Italiana Vini, Simei is the biennial international exhibition dedicated to the best technology applied to oenology and bottling machinery, which for over 60 years has been the key event for the entire supply chain, offering innovative solutions and proposals throughout the production process. Alongside the debut of Bevertech, the new project dedicated to the world of Liquid Food & Beverage, and the partnership with the Italian Beer Consortium, the 2026 edition will also see a renewed collaboration with Luigi Caricato’s “L’Oleoteca di Olio Officina” for the olive oil sector, and with Distillo, the trade fair dedicated to equipment for micro-distilleries, which will celebrate its fourth edition right within the exhibition. The Innovation Challenge has also been confirmed, the competition that recognises the sector’s most significant technological innovations.
Daniele Toni