ZAGREB, 4 Sept, 2021 - The second edition of the Đakovo Craft Beer Festival kicked off in that eastern Croatian city on Friday evening, with nine Croatian craft breweries participating in this three-day event.

Over a score of craft beers, produced in Osijek, Vukovar, Vinkovci, Slavonski Brod, Zabok and were promoted. Also the association of the Dalmatian Brewers' Association presented their craft beers.

For more on lifestyle, follow TCN's dedicated page.

For more about Croatia, CLICK HERE.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Lucija Spiljak writes on the 9th of November, 2020, Silvijo Regvar is the owner of the new, small Zagorje-based brewery in Desnic - Prostor Brewing, and he hopes to further enrich to growing Croatian craft beer scene in Zagorje and Zagreb.

''Despite the fact that I'm from Zagorje, I've always leaned more towards beer than I have to wine,'' said Silvijo Regvar, the owner of Prostor Brewing which recently presented its first Leisure beer in Gresna gorica. Apart from the fact that Zagorje, especially in the autumn time of picking and pressing, has always been on the Croatian wine list, the north of the country has gradually becoming stronger in brewing. Medjimurje's Lepi Decki, which recently opened a new plant in Cakovec and Zagorska pivovara (Zagorje brewery) from Novi Marof are fine examples of that.

Behind Prostor Brewing are Silvijo Regvar and Mario Podboj, with new member Marko Vidovic, and they entered the craft beer world for the first time last March. The works lasted until the spring of 2020 because Silvijo and Mario did everything themselves with a limited budget. Regvar says he has been intensively trying and researching beers in the US and Germany for 7 years.

"Just at that time, Croatia entered the EU and the western market opened up, so you could buy something from the western craft scene in two or three places in Zagreb. I discovered more ''hopped'' ale styles, American aromatic hops and figured out a totally different approach to brewing, and after a year or two I started making beer in the cellar myself. I normally work in the event industry as a sound engineer and working in a production rental company I didn’t really have much time for hobbies, but one weekend a neighbour, who was also brewing beer, came when I was working on Stout. It was hinted that Mario and I would open a small local craft brewery together. A year later, I decided to quit my job, return to Zagorje and combine my profession and hobby with a craft - Prostor Brewing. The plan was that one day it would be a place where beer would be produced for consumption in a pleasant environment with an art programme and an offer of local products from family farms. This is the second phase of the project called Space for Crafts and Arts,'' Regvar explained.

Production takes place in Desinic in an old family building at the foot of the church, where there was also a school, an apartment, a shop and a bar. "This space is very interesting and we tried to change it as little as possible in order to keep the traces of all of the time it has lived through, and in time we'll also leave our own beautiful traces, I hope. For now, the beer is packed in barrels only, the so-called kegs of 25 litres and such can only be drunk on tap, and very soon there will be cans which will be 0.5 litres,'' explains the young brewer who doesn't want to spread out all over Croatia but only locally, so their beer is available in Zagorje, in the north of Croatia and in Zagreb in cafes. All of Prostor Brewing's beers will be unfiltered and unpasteurised, and their ''entry'' beer is a dry hopped blonde ale called Leisure.

''Blonde ale is a light beer with a harmonious taste and a medium body, and we've modernised our version with dry hops and New Zealand hops, which give citrus aromas and freshness. Over time, we're planning to release some more styles as part of our permanent offer, as well as seasonal specials,'' he explained, adding that their capacities can allow them to produce up to 2400 litres per month. If necessary, they will invest in another fermenter, and the default limit they've set is about 7,000 litres of beer per month. They plan to launch a webshop next year. Prostor Brewing's owner believes that today is an opportunity for small independent breweries to find a sustainable niche.

“Large corporate macro breweries purchase smaller craft microbreweries and take the market share with that purchased brand, leading to confusion so consumers can no longer distinguish an independent craft brewery from corporate industrial ones,” he stated.

The Prostor Brewing team have a clear vision - they want to develop and maintain their identity, stabilise their production and business, refine their base beer, create their own share of the market, launch more beers and surprise craft beer lovers with something unexpected.

For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily. 

Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.

September 14, 2020 – Zagreb craft ale specialists The Garden Brewery celebrate the sale of their 3,000,000th can with a competition to win a year's supply of brilliant beer

Summer hasn't quite gone as planned for anyone in 2020. Some of The Garden Brewery team expected to be spending much of the season on the coast in Tisno. Set up in part by the team that ran The Garden Festival, for them, it should have been another summer of music, dancing, and welcoming thousands of international visitors to the many festivals they host on their site near Murter island. But, all of the festivals were cancelled.

Right at the start of the Coronavirus outbreak, the Garden Tisno festivals faced the unknown and some tough decisions. By mutual agreement with the site, it was decided to put the health and safety of visitors and staff first and cancel all of 2020's events. But, The Garden Brewery is no longer reliant on festival-goers to buy their beer. Just four years into their beer-making operations in Žitnjak, Zagreb, the beer is now exported to 26 countries on three continents. In the past week, they have sold their 3 millionth can of beer.

Despite the hit of Coronavirus, their business has actually grown by 40% in the past year, necessitating the expansion of their production facility in Zagreb (they are installing a new canning line to aid capacity). They currently have over 20 full-time staff at The Garden Brewery – mostly Croatian - and have so far made over 80 different kinds of beer. In 2019 the brewery was named 'Best EU brewery' by Beer 52, a UK-based home delivery subscription service for craft beers. It's the largest of its kind in the world and over 400, 000 public votes were cast in the competition.

To celebrate the milestone of its 3millionth can, The Garden Brewery is giving ale fans the chance to win a year's supply of beer for them and a friend. 24 beers will be delivered each month, for 12 months, to the winner and their nominated friend. To enter the competition, you just need to sign up for The Garden Brewery's monthly newsletter here

For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily. 

Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.

''We want to position ourselves as a company that produces quality handmade beer in a real craft fashion,'' says director Siniša Lukač.

Croats are turning more and more towards craft beer, and this summer many craft beer bars had TV's showing the World Cup, contributing to beer sales.

With the craft beer craze continuing to take the country by storm, have you ever wondered about Zagreb's beer brewing past?

As Croatia's craft beer revoluton continues, one Poreč brewery is doing exceptionally well out of it.

The craft beer scene in Zagreb has been on the rise for the past few years, so it’s no wonder there is a craft beer festival organized in Zagreb.

The competition was held in Great Britain under BJCP rules, where amateur beer makers can submit up to four beers created on hobby equipment

Beer lovers, mark the second weekend in September on your calendars: the 3rd edition of the Medulin Craft Beer Festival is the place to be!