Pivoslavija

30/08/2024

Wilder Witbeer from Romania's One Two Brewery tastes like the last days of summer.

22/08/2024

It's not even Saint Patrick's Day, and you're drinking green beer? Pivara Tron is hard to find in Belgrade now, but they are still at many beer festivals around Serbia. At CUG festival in Čačak, I tried their unique Dirty Popeye, an IPA with spinach. It's sweet and hoppy, and yeah, tastes like healthy veggies.

15/08/2024

In Sarajevo, craft beer bars are few and far between. Luckily I was next to Viking Pub Sarajevo, where I spent most of my time in the city. The selection of craft beer (including their own) and homemade rakija is great. As well, it has the most authentic, neighborhood vibe of all the craft places in Sarajevo. Here, I sang to ex-Yugo rock and made many friends. Also, there's Vikings.

09/08/2024

This is not a flight at a craft beer brewery in the USA. Welcome to Craft Beer Garden imaimoze in Mostar, the second city of Bosnia & Herzegovinia. Ima I Moze is one of the few craft beer bars in Bosnia, and maybe the only one with flights. It was necessary since Old Bridz Brewery, the brewery they host, is excellent.

1. Oaklandija: American Amber Ale, 6.5 ABV, 30 IBU
Barrel-Aged, charred oak, sweet caramel, and cherry

2. Darkness: Nitro Irish Dry Stout, 4.5 ABV, 25 IBU
Dry and bitter, dark coffee and chocolate

3. Ona To Može: American Porter, 6.9 ABV, 35 IBU
Low body, Bosnian coffee, vanilla, and sweet bourbon

4. Black Devil: Russian Imperial Stout, 9.9 ABV, 75 IBU
Chocolate aroma, hazelnut, caramel, dry sour cherry

01/08/2024

Dogma Brewery celebrated their 8th birthday with eight new beers. Their Double New England IPA depicts a fantasy many beer geeks imagine: Lost In A Hop Field. It was made in collaboration with Serbia's other great Brewery, Crow Brewery It's extremely bitter up front but doesn't have hop burn. It balances between herbal green tea and fruity mango and pineapple. A big fun beer, so Srećan Rođendan, Dogma Brewery!

25/07/2024

I've grown used to encountering new Russian bars in Serbia every week now. Recently, I found Fomin Bar, a new Belgarde local which is a spinoff of the original in Kazan, Russian.

By chance, the brewer of Baltic Bay was visiting there. He poured me a bottle of his special Wild Ale, Out Of Russia (Это было в России.) He said it is their last bottle, so I was a lucky man. Such a complex beer, with green tea up front and some peachy fruit aroma. It has a full earthy flavor with emphasis on sour green apple. Excellent.

#этобыловроссии

18/07/2024

Giving a jolly German bachelor party a single's sendoff on the Pivoslavija Craft Beer Tour. Here they try Serbia's take on traditional Weissebier at the 2nd stop at Gvint Brewery.

11/07/2024

Aristokrator is a Serbian collaboration between Dogma Brewery and Pivokratija Pub. This IPA is 6.5% ABV and tastes of grapefruit infusion. There's a bitter fruit flavor and salt like from the sea. The saltiness is unexpected, but balances with the hop hits well. Available at Pivokratija in New Belgrade, Belgrade

04/07/2024

The first official Pivoslavija craft beer tour of Belgrade was a success. One craft bar, one brewey, a brewpub and a lot of beee drank! The next tour is coming this weekend. Vidimo se i živeli!

28/06/2024

"When it gets too hot in the Summertime
Head to Docker for Applewine"

Docker Brewery has released their refreshing Apple vs Apple Cider just in time for the hot weather. It's very crisp, dry and clean, and a hint of cinnamon starts at the beginning. It finishes with pineapple and a little sweetness.

22/06/2024

Sofia Electric Brewing, in Bulgaria, makes some real heavy brews. Mexica, a Choco-Chipotle Imperial Stout clocks in at a bug 12.6% ABV. It has cocoa husks and Chipotle, so, although it is smoky and chocolately, there's no real spiciness. The chocolate and booze leads to red wine and dark fruit as it warms up. Acquired while in Sofia for the Balkan Beer Bash

14/06/2024

Another trip from Belgrade to Sofia for the incredible Balkan Beer Bash. Here's an update to some of the new craft beer bars, brewpubs and breweries that opened in Sofia, Bulgaria this year.

Sofia Beer Map Sofia's craft beer scene is not just the usual APAs and IPAs. In local beer shops you can find: real British cask ale, Bulgarian wine, artisan coffee, local mead and....mountain bikes? Although Vitosha Boulevard is the main pedestrian street, Tsar Shishman and Patrih Evtimii streets a...

08/06/2024

Nope. It ain't a craft beer. But for me, Beogradski Industrialna Pivo - BIP - is the best of the industrial beers in Serbia. Just a solid light lager .pivo

06/06/2024

Now, in 2024, I spend more time drinking with Russians in Belgrade than I do with Serbs. Here's where us FBI and KGB (*ahem - FSB*) agents like to spend our time getting trashed on craft brew and sharing government secrets with each other.

How Russians Changed Craft Beer in Serbia In these past two years, over 350,000 Russians have moved to Serbia. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has driven this. Most of the Ukrainians relocated to the European Union. However, most of the Russians, on the other hand, had to go outside the European Uni...

16/05/2024

Since the war began in Ukraine, there has been a massive influx of Russians to Serbia. This has resulted in many new Russian bars and craft beers debuting in Belgrade. This brew, Ostray Zavisimost, from 4Brewers, has been one of my favorite Russian craft beers. It's a super spicy Tomato Gose. Just imagine a delicious full hot Bloody Mary! .ru

#остраязависимость

09/05/2024

I've never quite gotten fruited sours. But I have to acknowledge the work that went into putting loads of real fruit into this beer. Dogma Brewery's Fantastic Four is a tribute to the lovely people who work at one of Belgrade's best beer shops, BeerSheep.

The sourness is heavy, of course. And there's practically no beer taste in this brew. Yet if you like fresh strawberries, raspberries, aronja and more, this is perfect for you. Literally, I got a strawberry seed stuck in my teeth while drinking this.

Really, this beer is about the four who run Beersheep. While choosing from their hundreds of beers, have a chat with the staff. You'll love it even more.

02/05/2024

A beer in the hand always writes the next song. Зајечарско пиво and rakija all night long at Ciglana Klub ljubitelja teske industrije

25/04/2024

The only thing I drink more than beer is coffee. So when I get coffee in my beer, it's never enough. Romania's Hop Hooligans has paired with Roastery Slone to make this delicious Hair Raiser Imperial Stout.

Smells like a creamy macchiatto with caramel. It still tastes like a strong roasty stout with more caramel and a little vanilla on top.

12/04/2024

Kabinet is back with another big bold beer. This time they did it in collaboration with homebrewer, Soulcash. Maksim Imperial Porter has a base blend, and this variety with cacao nibs and vanilla.

The aroma is bitter, with lots of rich leather and dried red fruit, like prunes. There's not much chocolate but the vanilla is strong, and there's plenty of delicious dark coffee. It finishes clean for such a big beer.

03/04/2024

Raleigh Bruce & Halter Band // Saturday 06.04 @ 20:30hr

Raleigh Bruce is an American playing classic American music in Serbia. The band plays country, blues, rock and Raleigh's own original tunes.

Kompas Brewery is an American brewer brewing American craft in Serbia. They have 5 unique craft beers on tap, including an original American style, the California Common.

They had to come together. Come this Saturday the 6th at 20:30hr for blues and brews! .bruce

29/03/2024

Saint Louis, Missouri, in the USA, is home to the largest Bosnian population outside of Bosnia itself. Due to this, there are many great Balkan restaurants here, including Balkan Treat Box, voted St. Louis's #1 restaurant of 2023.

Local brewery Urban Chestnut Brewing Company made a Helles Lager, the "Balkan Lager" for them. Although my Serbian friends may not agree with the map, they would agree this is a great take on a classic German lager. It's crisp and clean, with a good balance of corn adjust that gives it an old-school flavor.

#

15/03/2024

When I smelled this beer, I thought, "What soapy car wash am I getting into?" But I've never had a sahti beer before, so I continued.

Wow, what a surprise. UGAR Brewery made a traditional unusual style, the sahti, and named it Liquid Fruite Bread. Heavy cereal and malt flavors, like a bowl of Fruity Pebbles, but not over the top. There's lots of blueberry, apricot and strawberry, yet they slipped a little bitter hoppiness in at the end.

Such a strange beer, but delicious nevertheless.

08/03/2024

Four years ago, we had craft beers in my town, Belgrade, Serbia. Now, finally, Hungary's pub crawl master, Kocsmaturista, and Pivopslavija reunite over new beers at Keleti Waiting Room in Budapest, Hungary.

28/02/2024

At the farthest end of New Belgrade, just next to the Student City, lies a little hidden craft beer bar called Pivokratija. They have 10 taps, all Serbian craft beer, and have full 1.5 Liter bottles to go.

We definitely got a bottle, but not before playing a round of the very American bar game, Co****le. How does one say "co****le" in Serbian?

****le

22/02/2024

Serbian Spider-Man vs. Vojvodina Venom. Today Spidey is enjoying Dilemma Brewery at the Slaninijada (Bacon Festival) in Kačarevo.

This Strata NEIPA is dry and bitter, with a little black pepper and minty aromas. Drink a few, and you'll be swinging from the buildings in no time.

16/02/2024

I just visited Kompas Pivo at their new location, so I thought it would be good to go back to one of my first visits here, when the brewery celebrated their first birthday in 2018.

The Barbaroga, the Russian Imperial Stout, is no more. But there is a new Smoked Porter, for those with a taste for bacon beer.

As well, their regular taps are still there, including the California Common under a new name and recipe. Everything is in a new location, although it's just a few 100 meters from the first place.

Why are you in Serbia? As an American who lives in Serbia, I get this question every day. Recently, I met the owner of Kompas Brewery, Jason, in Belgrade. He's also from the USA, so he, undoubtably, hears this question often. My answer: I came here for Serbia's craft beer, and found love. His answer...

15/02/2024

Stouts on Skadarlija coming this summer. Where is the best place to drink beer in Belgrade?

09/02/2024

An update for 2024 to the craft beer bar, brewpubs and breweries in Sarajevo and Mostar, Bosnia.

Sarajevo & Mostar Beer Map Yes, it's difficult to find craft beer in Bosnia. The availability of any alcohol, let alone craft beer, depends on whether you are in a predominately Catholic, Orthodox or Muslim part of the country. Regardless, you will enjoy Balkan hospitality no matter where you travel...