Sicilian manna is not something most beer drinkers have ever heard of, let alone tasted. It’s a pale, faintly sweet sap that seeps out of ash trees in the Madonie mountains, and for centuries it was one of Sicily’s most valuable exports. Today it’s rare enough to carry Slow Food Presidio status, and it happens to be the ingredient behind two of our beers. Here’s what it is, how it’s harvested, and why we bother with something this fussy.
What Sicilian manna actually is
Manna is the hardened sap of the manna ash, Fraxinus angustifolia, a tree that grows across a handful of villages in the Madonie mountains south of Cefalù. In midsummer, local frassinicoltori (“ash growers”) cut shallow incisions into the bark with a tool called a mannaruòlu. A bluish, resinous sap bleeds out and, under the summer sun, hardens into pale stalactites that are scraped away days later with a flat blade called a rasula. The purest grade, manna eletta, forms without ever touching the bark on its way down, and it’s this grade that carries the Slow Food Presidio mark.
A sap that only turns into something usable after days of sun, patience and a very specific incision — that’s Sicilian manna.
A harvest that’s nearly disappeared
Manna harvesting was once a lifeline for entire families in the Madonie after the Second World War. Today only a small number of frassinicoltori still keep the tradition alive, mostly around Castelbuono and Pollina, working trees that in some cases their grandparents planted. It’s slow, physical, weather-dependent work for a product most Sicilians under forty have never tasted. That fragility is exactly why Slow Food stepped in, and exactly why we think it’s worth putting in a bottle rather than letting it quietly disappear.
How we use Sicilian manna
We use Madonie manna in two of our beers: a Weiss, where it adds a soft, honeyed roundness that plays well against the wheat, and a Wheat Ale brewed alongside apricots from Scillato, another Madonie village. In both cases it’s a supporting ingredient, not the headline — a few kilos per batch, sourced directly from Presidio producers, doing a quiet job of making the beer taste unmistakably of somewhere specific.
Taste Sicilian manna in Palermo
We don’t have a taproom, so if you’re visiting Palermo and want to taste Sicilian manna for yourself, the easiest way is our six-bottle Tasting Box, hand-delivered the same day anywhere in the city. Message us on WhatsApp with your address and we’ll build a box around the two manna beers, or mix them in with whatever else you’re curious about.
Six million years in the making for the salt, a few days of summer sun for the manna — Sicily doesn’t rush its ingredients.
Frequently asked questions
What does Sicilian manna taste like?
Mild and honeyed, with a faint woody, slightly bitter edge. It’s much more subtle than honey or sugar, which is why it works as a background note in beer rather than an overpowering one.
Is manna the same as the biblical manna?
Only in name and legend. Sicilian manna is a real, harvested tree sap; the association with the biblical story is a centuries-old local legend, not a botanical connection.
Where can I buy products made with Sicilian manna?
Our Weiss and Wheat Ale are both brewed with Madonie manna and available through our online shop, or as part of the Tasting Box delivered same-day in Palermo.
Is Sicilian manna a Slow Food Presidio?
Yes. The Madonie Manna Slow Food Presidio protects the traditional harvest method and the small number of producers who still practice it.
Curious about the other Slow Food ingredients we brew with? Read more about our approach to brewing, or go straight to the full shop.