Slovenia might not be the primary nation that involves thoughts if you consider beer, however this small Central European nation has a burgeoning craft beer scene that’s beginning to make waves.
Slovenian beer is characterised by its high quality elements, distinctive flavors, and conventional brewing strategies.
The issue that makes Slovenian beer stand out is the standard of its elements. The nation has a protracted custom of agriculture, and this extends to the cultivation of these hops and barley as properly, two of the important elements in beer.
Slovenian hops are identified for his or her distinctive floral and spicy notes, and the nation’s barley can also be of outstanding high quality.
Slovenian beer might not be as well-known as a few of its European counterparts, however it’s definitely value exploring for beer lovers who’re searching for one thing new and distinctive – they even have the world’s first public beer fountain.
With a rising variety of small, unbiased breweries producing high-quality and flavorful beers, Slovenia is rapidly turning into a vacation spot for beer tourism.
Whether or not you’re a fan of conventional kinds or experimental brews, there’s something for everybody in Slovenia’s vibrant craft beer scene.
From “Inexperienced Gold” Comes Good Beer
Do you know Slovenia is among the world’s largest producers of hops, in any other case identified regionally as inexperienced gold?
If Ukraine is called the grain basket of Europe then Slovenia should rank because the hop backyard of Central Europe. They produce 3% of the world’s output of hops, which can not sound an excessive amount of however is spectacular when you think about how small this Central European nation is.
Makes an attempt to develop hops in Slovenia date again to 1844 when Saaz and different Bavarian hops have been dropped at the nation. Sadly, they didn’t develop too properly.
As a substitute, a British hop, the Golding, was imported, which flourished properly within the fertile soils of Slovenia. The ensuing hop, generally known as Styrian Golding, is extra possible a spinoff of the Fuggle hop moderately than the English Golding.
Nonetheless, the Styrian Golding is the hop most related to the Slovenian hop business and it’s stated each twelfth pint of beer worldwide is made with Slovenian hops.
As we speak, Slovenian hop yards cowl over 1500 hectares of land, with the bulk discovered inside the decrease Savinja Valley also called the Valley of Inexperienced Gold.
In keeping with the web site of nationwide tv station RTV Slovenija, Slovenia is now the fifth greatest hop producer on the earth after the US, Germany, China, and the Czech Republic.
Žalec as The Hop Rising Capital
Within the coronary heart of the Decrease Savinja Valley, you can find the city of Žalec, about 55km from the capital Ljubljana or a 45-minute drive away. For those who ought to end up visiting Slovenia as a beer lover Žalec ought to be high of your locations to go to.
With the custom of hop rising and brewing relationship again to the early nineteenth Century, the image for the Savinja Valley is a hop cone. The significance of hops to the area is represented by a museum devoted to hop rising which opened its doorways to the general public in 2009, and the distinctive vacationer attraction The Inexperienced Gold Beer Fountain.
Positioned on the premises of a former hop-drying facility, guests to The Eco-Museum of Hop Rising and Brewing Business can study in regards to the traditions of rising and processing hops in Slovenia together with the assorted meals, clothes, and different hop-related merchandise they produce within the Valley.
You’ll be able to even go to the beer tasting room the place you possibly can pattern the home beer Kulec (Savinja Valley Beer) or attempt a customary hop-pickers lunch.
The Inexperienced Gold Fountain
It could be impolite to go to Žalec and never pattern the beer fountain which operates from April 1st to the tip of October yearly. Often known as Inexperienced Gold the fountain is a superb assembly place for beer lovers and vacationers alike.
The bus from Ljubljana fundamental station even takes you on to the fountain which is positioned within the city park, within the middle of city subsequent to the church and a market.
Constructed by the corporate Remont, the fountain is a very distinctive attraction on the earth which gained the Sejalec Award from the Slovenian Vacationer Board for its innovation.
With a design of two semicircles that resembles a hop flower, you will get 10cl of every of the six completely different beers of the fountain for the worth of 8,0 Euros. A particular glass outfitted with an digital chip prompts the faucet.
You’ll discover a wide range of beers on faucet together with Kukec Savinjsko Pivo, named after the proprietor of breweries in Žalec and Laško, Simon Kukec, on the primary faucet.
A second faucet encompasses a beer merely generally known as Ambassador beer with a conventional beer on the third faucet made utilizing outdated brewing strategies.
On faucet quantity 4 you can find beers from the Savinja and Šalek areas, with the fifth faucet reserved for pattern beers and a last sixth faucet that includes darkish beers.
Historical past of Slovenian Beer – A Story of Two Breweries
Beer has been brewed in Slovenia for hundreds of years, with beer having a particular significance in Slovenia. The primary written data about beer brewing within the space of in the present day’s Slovenia attain again to the twelfth century.
All through its historical past, Slovenia has been influenced by its neighboring international locations, together with Austria, Italy, and Germany, all of which have left their mark on Slovenian beer tradition.
For a few years, beer in Slovenia was dominated by giant industrial breweries, with little room for experimentation or innovation.
The Slovenian beer market remains to be dominated by two main breweries – the Lasko Brewery and Union Brewery, which at the moment are owned by the identical mum or dad firm, Heineken Worldwide. Each breweries produce a wide range of beers however the most well-liked are pale lagers, which dominate the market.
Laško tends to be a extra bitter lager than the Union beer however instructions a 60% share of the nation’s beer market and is the most important brewery in Slovenia.
Pivovarna Union
Union is seen because the beer of the capital metropolis, Ljubljana, with the primary document of brewing within the metropolis relationship again to 1592.
The Union brewery was based in 1864 as a small household enterprise by the Kosler brothers however turned the Union brewery in 1909 via a three way partnership with the Pivovarna Union and an Austro-Hungarian brewery.
When Slovenia was a part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the brewery was nationalized, and in 1963 manufacturing rose to 220,000 hectolitres a 12 months, in the present day standing at round a million.
In 2005, the competitor Laško Brewery acquired the vast majority of shares within the Union Brewery and it subsequently turned a part of Heineken Worldwide when Heineken purchased a majority stake within the Laško Brewery in 2015.
The 2 corporations have been formally merged into Pivovarna Laško Union in 2016.
Nearly all of beer manufacturing was moved to the Laško Brewery in 2022, with the cooling system of the Union Brewery deemed now not appropriate for mass beer manufacturing. There may be nevertheless a smaller brewery and middle of innovation on the location of the unique Union Brewery.
A guided tour takes you contained in the outdated brewery and thru greater than 150 years of picturesque historical past of brewing in Ljubljana and the event of the Union model. Better of all, you possibly can expertise an genuine beer-drinking ambiance on the tasting within the outdated inn.
Laško Brewery
The Laško Brewery is formally acknowledged as the most important brewery in Slovenia and one of many oldest nonetheless working breweries in Europe.
Positioned within the city of Laško about 90 km East of Ljubljana, simply over an hour’s drive away, the brewery was based in 1825 by Franz Geyer, a gingerbread baker and mead producer.
It wasn’t till 1889, nevertheless, that the brewery made a lot of an affect. Purchased by Simon Kukec, a brewer from Žal, they established a brand new kind of beer, thermal beer, which makes use of the water of close by scorching springs.
By many experiments, Kukec discovered that the thermal water improved the style of the beer so he began to brew each mild and darkish thermal beers, a lot of which stay on to today in some spinoff kind.
After WWII resulted in 1945, Laško was the fifth largest brewer in Yugoslavia, and by 1991 it was the most important of Yuglosavia’s 28 breweries. Though they misplaced a lot of their Yugoslavian gross sales in 1991 after Slovenia declared independence, within the latter Nineteen Nineties gross sales rebounded and so they at the moment sit on high of the pale lager market.
Laško Worldwide Beer and Flowers Pageant and a Beer Escape Room
As one of many World’s longest-running Flower and Backyard festivals, Laško Pivovarna is among the key sponsors who flip this right into a Beer and Flowers competition, the oldest vacationer occasion with a steady historical past in Slovenia.
As one of many fundamental facilities of brewing in Slovenia, beer is engrained within the on a regular basis lifetime of the city in a lot the identical methods as hops are integral to the city of Żalec and the Savinja Valley.
Solely the Slovenians may host an Worldwide Flower and Backyard competition and switch it into one big out of doors beer backyard.
Yearly in July, the streets of Laško come alive to the sound of music and you’ll benefit from the beers and different actions too. If you’re planning a go to to Slovenia, July is certainly the time to go for this competition.
When you are in Laško, you might additionally go to the Laško Brewery and Museum and even attempt your hand on the world’s first brewing-themed escape room, which is definitely in the home the place the primary barrel of beer was brewed.
On the close by Thermana Laško you might additionally get pleasure from a wellness remedy utilizing beer for its useful elements.
Craft Beer in Slovenia
Cities like Żalec or Laško are effective if you wish to expertise the normal beers of Slovenia, however if you wish to attempt the widest number of craft beers it’s essential keep near the capital of Ljubljana.
Lately, the craft beer motion has taken maintain in Slovenia, with a rising variety of small, unbiased breweries popping up throughout the nation.
These breweries are targeted on utilizing high-quality elements and conventional brewing strategies to create distinctive and flavorful beers that stand out from the mass-produced choices.
Prime Craft Beers in Ljubljana
HumanFish Brewery – Positioned within the city of Vrhnika, simply outdoors of Ljubljana, HumanFish Brewery is one among Slovenia’s most well-known craft breweries.
They concentrate on experimental, small-batch beers that push the boundaries of conventional brewing kinds. You’ll be able to truly go to the brewery the place they’ve a really cozy taproom if you wish to make the 20km journey, however a better possibility is to hunt for his or her beers on faucet within the capital.
You will see HumanFish beers in lots of common consuming spots together with Cieleto Lindo, Dakatari, Petkovšek, and the Irish Pub – all common watering holes within the metropolis middle.
A few of their hottest beers embody the Treska IPA, a hoppy and fruity IPA, and the Mystic Cherry Bitter, a tart and refreshing bitter ale.
Tektonik Brewery – Probably the most centrally positioned brewery in Ljubljana, the Tektonik brewery is on the location the place Slovenia’s most necessary every day newspapers was once printed.
Whereas present well being and hygiene laws forestall you from getting into the brewery, Tektonik does have a newly opened taproom the place you possibly can get pleasure from their beers.
The beers are among the most accessible within the capital and might be bought in meals outlets, grocery shops, and most of the bars throughout Ljubljana. Probably the most recognizable beers of this common brewery embody Iggy (IPA), Dizzy (an American IPA), Hercule (Witbier), and a Pale Ale referred to as Regular.
Pelicon Brewery – Based in 2013 within the city of Ajdovščina, Pelicon Brewery has rapidly made a reputation for itself as one among Slovenia’s high craft breweries, and their beers are straightforward to search out all through Ljubljana.
They use solely the best elements, together with Slovenian hops and malts, to create a variety of distinctive and flavorful beers.
A few of their hottest beers embody a hoppy crimson ale referred to as Out of China, Yess Boss! ( an American Pale Ale), Quantam DIPA and Harvest Moon Ale, a beer produced solely yearly at harvest time.
Additionally they produce a sublime darkish ale referred to as Black Aurora which makes use of Styrian Aurora hops, a more recent Slovene hop varietal.
Bevog Brewery – Though technically primarily based in Austria, Bevog Brewery has sturdy ties to Slovenia and is taken into account by many to be one of many high craft breweries within the area.
They concentrate on brewing high-quality, traditional-style beers with a contemporary twist. A few of their hottest beers embody the Deetz Pils, a crisp and refreshing pilsner, and the Rudeen Black IPA, a darkish and hoppy IPA.
Reservoir Canines Brewery – Named after the well-known Quentin Tarantino movie, Reservoir Canines was among the many first Slovenian craft brewers who rapidly gained an enormous fan base. A base that continues to be to today, with its beers rated among the many finest within the nation.
Once more, the brewery is positioned about an hour’s drive away from Ljubljana, however its in depth faucet room definitely makes it definitely worth the journey to Nova Gorica. Failing that, these beers are so common you’ll nearly discover them in any bar or restaurant within the metropolis middle of Ljubljana.
Though they make some extremely creative seasonal beers like Cum Grano Salis (a Gose), they’re higher identified for his or her collection of beers referred to as The 4 Horseman of the Apocalypse.
Sure, there are 4 of them, together with Warrior (a Pale ale), Grim Reaper (the IPA), Hunger (a Black Imperial IPA), and Conqueror (a Session Ale).
These beers at the moment are making their method throughout the Atlantic and might be discovered in lots of craft beer bars throughout the US. They persistently price on the high of Slovenian beer lists on authoritative web sites similar to beer advocate.com, ratebeer.com, and untapped.com.
Lavatory-blah-nah Brewery – No it’s not a typo, the title of this brewery is a phonetic transcription of Ljubljana for English audio system.
This was the second craft brewery based inside the metropolis limits and, similar to the town itself, it has a dragon for its image. Lavatory-blah-nah beers are seen all around the metropolis and their t-shirts are common, displaying that particular dragon design.
The flagship beer of Lavatory-blah-nah brewery is an English pale Ale that’s very mild and recent as an easy-drinkable ale, and that may remind you of basic London pubs. Additionally they brew an IPA, a Golden Ale, an Amber Ale, and the top brewers’ favourite, a Belgian-style ale.
Different common craft beers in Ljubljana embody the Lobik-brewed beer Champion, which was launched to rejoice the native soccer group Maribor’s entrance into the UEFA Champion’s League, and experimental wild yeast beers from the Barut Brewing and Mixing Firm, similar to their Summer season Snow Brett Berliner, which is each funky and bitter whereas being low in alcohol.
Slovenian Beers – Ultimate Ideas
Hopefully, I’ve impressed you sufficient to make a visit to Slovenia subsequent time you’re on the European continent. It’s fairly central and simple to get to from most of Europe.
Or, a minimum of, I’ve tempted you to attempt to search out out of your native bar or beer retailers a number of of the hoppy Slovenian beers talked about above.
Though there’s each likelihood your favourite brew already incorporates a little bit of Slovenia within the hops it makes use of, it’s no substitute for the wealthy and diversified kinds you can find in Slovenia itself.
Slovenia may very well be an excellent vacation vacation spot, not only for beer lovers however in your spouse or girlfriend too. Who doesn’t benefit from the open out of doors areas, bigger festivals, and soothing spas?
Only a aspect observe, when you do take your girlfriend, then the blokes on the Laško Beer Escape Room may even cover an engagement ring within the room for you. How many individuals can inform the story of how they received engaged in a Slovenian Beer Escape room?
