A new wave of craft breweries are revolutionising Poles’ drinking habits, providing niche alternatives to the omnipresent big players such as Tyskie, Żywiec and Okocim. Here is a selection of best craft beers every beer lover should try when visiting Poland.
Pinta fuelled the beer revolution in Poland with the country’s first craft beer called Atak Chmielu (Hops Attack) – an intense American IPA launched in 2011. It brews its beers in the Browar na Jurze brewery in the Silesia region and has won numerous awards at beer festivals at home and abroad.
Ignacego Paderewskiego 114, 42-400 Zawiercie, Poland
Located close to Poland’s most beautiful city of Kracow, Pracownia Piwa is another award winning brewery. Launched in 2013 by three beer loving friends, it also has a pub in Kracow’s Old Town offering its own brews (rye stouts, American pale ale, smoked stout, witbiers etc) and a great selection of other Polish and international craft specialties.
Tap House, Świętego Jana 30, 31-018 Kraków, Poland
Established in 2012, AleBrowar was one of the first Polish craft breweries. Best sellers include the Rowing Jack (IPA), the King of Hop American pale ale and the Naked Mummy pumpkin ale, which you can taste in AleBrowar’s own bar in Gdynia, which opened last year.
Starowiejska 40B, 81-001 Gdynia, Poland
Named after the Slavic god of lightning and thunder, Perun currently operates in a leased brewery, but will soon move to its new headquarters to the Budziszyn village located 50km away from Warsaw. Its splendid range includes a caramel tasting American Pale Ale called Jasny Grom and a bold and bitter Zloty Strzal Imperial IPA.
The Artezan Brewery is located close to Warsaw. In 2016 it unveiled its own pub in the capital, where you can taste its best selling beers and seasonal flavours such as the Czarna Wolga oatmeal stout, Pacific Pale Ale and cherry Berliner Weisse.
Stanisława Moniuszki 1A, 00-001 Warszawa, Poland