I have a thirst to quench. It’s just as well, then, that I’ve arrived at Birrificio Italiano’s brewery in Limido Comasco, a village 20 miles northwest of Milan, in the far north of Italy. A keen northerly wind whips across the forecourt, though bright sunlight mitigates its harshness. Once inside, the brewery’s founder, Agostino Arioli—whom I first met in 2008—asks me if I would like a beer. I plump for a Tipopils, the beer that launched the brewery 30 years ago. Having drunk deeply of many glorious examples of the pils style across Europe from Brasserie de la Senne’s pristine Zenne Pils to Fässla’s crisp and sprightly example, I still believe that this is still one of the best on the continent, if not the world.