The Croatian craft beer revolution. It’s real, and it’s awesome. Just a few years ago you could only find your Karlovačko and Ožujsko, and Laško was everywhere (although harder to find now). With the ever growing population of craft beer aficionados and simple beers being, well, too simple, we present you with our Croatian craft beer series – introducing you to a new craft brewery each week.
Photo courtesy of Zmajska
We’re kicking it off with Zmajska Pivovara (also known as Dragon Brewery) out of Zagreb, and essentially the pioneers of the craft brewery movement in Croatia.
Perhaps the first Croatian craft brewery, Zmajska was founded in 2013. A beer made with only ale, water, yeast, malt, and A LOT of hops, Zmajska pale ale has a unique taste, with refreshing accents of citrus and mango.
Definitely a full bodied beer, Zmajska contains 5.3% alcohol and has just the right tinge of bitterness. Using four kinds of hops from the New World, this Zmajska pale ale boasts an orange-amber color, and a bottle label that makes you feel like a bit of a badass.
In Zmajska’s first year, they were listed in the top 10 of newly opened breweries in the world, and according to the web portal “RateBeer”, Zmajska was rated in the top 15 in the world for porters.
Photo courtesy of pivnica.net
Zmajska is available in over 100 cafes and bars in Croatia and the surrounding region, with a convenient little Zmajska locater on their website so you’ll never go without one.
Don’t walk, run to your nearest Zmasjka – and encourage your local pub to carry it if they don’t!
