The fifth edition of Beerfest North took place last weekend.
Last weekend, the northern city of Čakovec was symbolized by good beer, excellent burgers, and even better fun for the fifth jubilee edition of Beerfest North. Held at the Republic Square in Čakovec, many citizens, people of Međimurje, and visitors from the region and neighboring countries were thrilled with the festival’s tastes and a more than entertaining music program.
Over 3,000 top street food burgers, 5,000 liters of craft beer, and excellent autumn weather guaranteed this superb weekend in Čakovec – and it’s safe to say that the city has one of the strongest Croatian craft beer festivals today.
Twelve small craft breweries featured their beers and ciders through nearly thirty different beer styles over the weekend. The highlight of the event was the “hot” beer contest where brave participants drank beer dressed up with hot peppers.
Gustafi, Clone Age and Čakovec DJs were responsible for the calorie burn after the burgers and beer, and the gentlemen in attendance were able to visit the pop-up barbershop Brice which was enjoyed late into the night.
After several great festivals, Beerfest North added “Burgers” to their name to most definitely earn a spot on the Croatian map of great events. The Beer & Burger Fest has thus become one of a number of successful and favorite events in Čakovec. The nice weather also attracted visitors and tourists to enjoy the autumn landscapes of the continental region.
“The festival was great, we are happy with the number of visitors and the even more positive comments on the gastro, music and beer offer. I would like to thank everyone for their attendance, especially those who prepared fine burgers and offered great beer. Čakovec is continually working on extending the tourist season and now we have festivals and events throughout the year which we are proud of. We hope that next year there will be such an interest in the offer of the Međimurje region, and we expect even more visitors from the region because we are sure that Beerfest photos will overwhelm social networks,” said Mayor Stjepan Kovač.
Visitors spent two days at the festival trying dozens of burgers in the organization of five restaurants, while hard-working chefs and grill masters made over 3,000 burgers – remarkable for a street food venture.
From Dubrovnik, there was street food concept bar “Barba” who brought a dash of seafood, while the region’s delicacies came from American Bar Dollar from Varaždin and the famous Central Park, Stari Hrast and Mundoaka restaurants in Čakovec. Of course, tasty burgers need good aperitifs, and guests were able to try local liquors of cherry, anise, sage and even coffee.
“Beerfest North was certainly a logistical challenge. We had a total of 18 exhibitors, over 700 square meters of covered space, two great concerts, and the amount of visitors was surprising to us,” said Krešo Biškup, one of the event organizers.
“We can surely say that Čakovec and Međimurje are open for festivals of this type, but also that we have an offer that can satisfy gourmet palates. We are exceptionally pleased to have participated in the festival with ten Croatian craft breweries, one Slovenian, and the first Croatian cider.”
The festival was a special challenge for small brewers who saw their highest concentration of beer drinkers yet. However, it is also a somewhat understandable that a craft brewery would entail smaller and traditional quality-focused breweries and limited production capacities. Next year’s edition will ensure all breweries prepare enough.
Beerfest North thanks the hosts and organizers, the team from Čakovec brewery ”Međimurski Lepi Dečki”, LM Communications and Stari Hrast, and a special thank you to all of the visitors, exhibitors, partners, the City of Čakovec and the Tourist Association of Čakovec for a great festival, visit and party.
