Read more about craft beer in Armenia at this excellent guide from Abu Dhabi Beer Man
Craft beer in Armenia
Craft beer in Armenia
Category Archives: Beer and travel
Beer guide to Bosnia and Hercegovina
Your guide to craft beer in Bosnia and Hercegovina for 2022. Breweries, craft beer bars and a few tourist tips. Start in Sarajevo and sip your way through Mostar and Banja Luka.
Sarajevo
Sarajevo ! Charming small capital with amazing bars in 1920 speakeasy style and craft beer. Cheap to travel to and the perfect size for a 3-4 days visit. Both wizz air and ryan air runs to Tuzla, Sarajevo and Banja Luka. Sarajevo has around 700 000 inhabitants and the tourism is not too heavy. The town is in the middle of green mountains and pine forests. The river Miljacka is flowing under the famous Latin bridge. Visiting in April can be tricky with temperatures on 15°C (60°F) or snow some days, aim for May to September. Hotel prices are low and most restaurants depends on locals, not tourists. Instead of spending all your money at expensive destinations with expensive beers and food. Come to Sarajevo enjoy the freedom of having excellent craft beers for 2-3 euro each.
Sarajevo is calm, people are welcoming and many speak English. Take a taxi from the airport to the city center, check in and run out. Begin with a cup of espresso or a Turkish coffee. Save time by eating some cevap, the local grilled kebab with delicious bread and chopped onions.
Make sure you have saved all the pins from this guide at your offline map, it’s time to start the journey. Begin along the main promenade and make the first stop at Fabrika which has 6-8 beers on tap and a good selection of craft beer. Delicious mixed meat platters goes perfect with beer. Their own beer should be ready now since it was on fermentation during the time of the visit. Fabrika is small and personal with helpful staff. They do also have happy hour with lager beers.
Continue to the the next craft beer bar which is a few hundred meters away. Gastropub Vucko has an extensive beer list with craft beers from Serbia, Croatia, Belgium and a couple of beers on tap. The sign outside says they have over 150 different beers to offer. Probably the best best beer selection in Sarajevo.
There are two speakeasy bars nearby. Zlatna Ribica (right picture) is a popular place for drinks and beautiful decorated. Balkan Express has live music on week ends and is just 200 m from Vucko. They serve regular lagers and sljivovica, the local spirits made from fruits.
Sarajevo is small and its easy to walk through the city center in less than 30 minutes. But there is also trams. Take tram nr 3 to Dolac Malta which is 300 meters from VOPI, the best craft beer bar in Sarajevo. It’s a three kilometers walk but the road is boring so better take a taxi or tram. If you are early, jump in to one of the beer yoga classes. The bar is situated in a quiet neighbourhood and you can order food from the restaurants near by. The brewer and owner Demir Dizdarevic is always there. He knows about all beers and beer related events in Bosnia. So if you are interested to know more about craft beer, visit VOPI. Pivo means beer and VOPI is just the letters turned around a bit. It’s a new brewery and very interesting to see where it goes. Demir is enthusiastic and involved in many beer events. The first beer registered on untappd was the Mornar pale ale in 2021.
Pi brewery does also play with words, π as in pivo. Pi brewery is from Sarajevo and has been in operation since 2015 and has 19 beers on the beer app untappd and does modern crafts. Beers are sold on bottle all over Bosnia. The imperial IPA Utopia on 8 % is the most consumed.
84 Olympics Brewery is also from Sarajevo and has a handfull of beers, mainly ales and IPA. The 84 Pale Ale is the most popular beer. And yes, the Olympics took place in Sarajevo in 1984.
The third one from Sarajevo is Gelender, also a micro brewery and has six beers with the IPA Vasco Da Gama and the ale Nonchalant as the most popular. Both of them has over 400 check ins on untappd which is rare for many Bosnian beers. The craft beer boom started in 2012 in Bosnia and Gelender brewery in 2014. Gelender means handrail and refers to the balance required to ride it with a snowboard.
The smallest brewery in Sarajevo is probably Shaman Brewery that has three beers so far. It’s difficult to find their beers but they are served at Viking pub. Viking pub offers rock music together with Shaman beer and regional crafts from Serbia and Croatia. No need for a description of the interior design. Vikings + Shamans = …?
Another brewery is Pivara Semizburg that is brewing both beer and other spirits. Semizburg is having their own brand but does also brew for Walter Ego pub 1 and 2. Walter Ego 1 is a bit up the hills but worth a visit.
The Prikaza IPA on 6.7 % is the most popular beer out of the 20 beers they have made since 2018. The main brewer Haris Piknjac was part of the early brewing society in Vietnam 2012 and has been one of few home brewers in Pakistan before returning to Bosnia. Bosnias population is on a steady decline with the exodus of young people. But the outflow is slowing down and there is also many entrepreneurs that return with new inputs.
Gorstak craft brewery has around 10 different ales, IPAs and a hoppy wheat. The brewery in Laktasi is far away from Sarajevo but their beers are sold on bottle at many bars around the country. They define themselves as a nano brewery but most of the breweries in Bosnia would be considered nano. Most of them brew about 100 liters at a time and some less. In USA, micro breweries can brew up to 1.7 million liters a year. Which is more than all Bosnian craft breweries together. The definition in Europe is smaller and often referred to batch size with 100 liters batches considered as nano size.
Maybe you visited all places the first night and feel like having some regular lager to start with the day after? Visit Sarajevo Brewery before 4 PM and get a fresh lager or their unfiltered lager, Nefiltrirano on tap. It’s very nice inside and they have some classic dishes that goes very well with the beer. Combine the visit with visiting the old Olympic bobsled track on top of the mountain. The cable car is not far away from the brewery.
Mostar
The pearl in Bosnia, surrounded by beautiful mountains and the river Neretva passing under the Starimost bridge. The best thing with Mostar is that sightseeing, history and craft beer comes together as one. You have everything within a few hundred meters radius. Craft Beer Garden Imaimoze is just by the Mostar bridge and Old Town. It’s a must visit ! This is Oldbridz own bar but other local crafts is also served.
Oldbridz Craft Brewery is one of the oldest craft breweries in the region and was established in 2012. The brewer Arslan Mesihovic is producing excellent beers and has so far introduced over 30 different beers. The Marakuja pale ale is the most consumed so far. There is often Croatian craft beers available. There is ten times more craft beers in Croatia but the prices are also 50 % higher so the magic Beer-Money rate is lower.
If someone opens a brewery in Bosnia, the first call will probably be to Imamimoze craft beer garden. You can feel the weight and importance when sipping on a beer from the now oldest craft brewery in Bosnia. The question is who the first one was but a hand full breweries has already also closed down. For example Castrum craft brewery closed down recently after a few years of business.
Mostar has two important beverage producers. The second is Cooltura Pivovara that introduced their first beers in 2016 and has made about 10 beers until today. Their beers are sold on bottle in many bars around the country. When walking around in Mostar. Pub Beer Ti&Ja is a safe card for a good beer menu and lies a 20 minutes walk from Imaimoze craft beer garden.
Banja Luka, Srebrenica and Brcko
Brcko is a small town in northern Bosnia where Laufer craft brewery started in 2018 and has two stouts, a wheat and an ale. VOPI in Sarajevo has their beer and many more.
MCB, Master Craft Brewery in Banja Lukas sells beers on both bottle and in keg. They brew very nice beers and their pale ale is excellent. Which was served together with their IPA at Fabrika in Sarajevo. They have nine beers so far and more is coming. Absolutely a must sip !
Silvertown Brewery is one of the smaller ones but has so far five beers and the blonde ale Pivovica on 9 % is the most popular. The brewery is in Srebrenica but more beers are sold in the Netherlands than local. They have a collaboration with Brouwerij Fierbier in Tilburg, a smaller town in the Netherlands. Their beers are available at Craft Beer Garden Imaimoze in Mostar.
Did i miss something ? send me a message or comment . Hope you will enjoy it as much as i self did in april 2022.
Cheers ! / Jonathan aka Abu Dhabi Beer Man
Craft beer bars & bottle shops in Hanoi
Where to sample craft beers in Hanoi? Nowadays it’s easy to find good craft beer in Hanoi and The Bottle Shop will not let you down.
Here are a few bars and a bottle shop with a good selection of local craft beers. Start at Standing Bar Hanoi at 170 Trần Vũ in Ba Đình which has almost 20 taps of beer as well as many craft ciders.
Ibiero Craft beer House at 101 Lang Ha Street, Dong Da Street, 4st Floor, 101 Lang Ha Building Hanoi is good as well as their other two places in Hanoi. There are about 12 beers on tap and many on bottle as well.
The Peachy craft beer pub 87 Hang Dao Street 2nd Floor Hanói. A bit tricky to find but ask for it when you reach the adress.
Even Star Craft Beer Pub. 6/21 Pham Ngoc Thach St Hanoi.
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Beer in United Arab Emirates
Read the latest news about beer and beer culture in Abu Dhabi and United Arab Emirates at http://www.abudhabibeer.com.
Craft beer in Morocco
There are some activity growing in Morocco but very slow. Lets see how it develops. Follow Bad Bricklayer brewing at www.bricklayerbeer.com. As for now a few people are looking for the first spot in the coming race. Who is gonna be the first to open a brewery?Bad Bricklayer Brewing is just one of many brewers making beer for fun and not for sale so lets see.
cheers !
Guide pour la bière au Burkina Faso
Avec plus de 40 bières différentes, de bons prix sur les bières importées et avec des brasseries artisanales opérant à Ouagadougou, le Burkina Faso est la capitale de la bière en Afrique de l’Ouest.
Bière locales
Les bières locales Brakina, Flag, Beaufort, SO.B.BRA et Guinnes sont fabriquées par l’usine locale de bière appartenant au groupe Castel qui est l’un des principaux acteurs de l’Afrique.
Brakina (4,2% ABV) est la bière la plus largement distribuée et consommée au Burkina Faso. Même dans les petits villages sans électricité, une bouteille de Brakina froide peut être servie à tout moment de la journée.
La culture de la bière est détendue et sociale. Les gens, surtout les hommes, boivent du début de l’heure du déjeuner jusqu’à la fin de la nuit. Beaucoup préfèrent boire de nombreuses bières à faible teneur d’alcool et c’est pour cela que Brakina et So.b.bra sont si populaires, mais aussi grâce au prix d’environ 600 CFA (1 USD) pour une bouteille de 65 cl.
Brasseries artisanales locales
La Brasserie Artisanale De Ouagadougou est la première brasserie artisanale au Burkina Faso. Le suédois Jonathan Gharbi fabrique les bières et les vend ensuite au nouveau Restaurant l’Annexe à Ouagadougou, Zone Du Bois. Les bières sont normalement introduites chaque vendredi. Quand il n’y a pas de bière artisanale, des bières régionales comme Awoyoo ou Doppel Munich du Togo sont servies à la place.
Gaela et Basil de l’Annexe avec Jonathan livrant des bières artisanales et régionales.
La dernière bière artisanale introduite en avril 2017 était l’IPA “Make beer not cars”. La bière précédente était un porter brassé au malt et au sorgho local appelé: Maman, je veux être un Bogan.
Si vous souhaitez visiter un endroit plus local et avoir votre bière à la manière locale, visitez Maquis QG dans 1200 Logements à Ouagadougou. Il y a environ dix bières différentes et la sélection change chaque semaine. Gilchrist, qui est le propriétaire de Maquis QG, obtient la plupart de ses bières du Togo et du Ghana.
Le Maquis QG a un menu varié de bières et les prix sont bas. Environ 1000 CFA pour les bières importées. Le QG Maquis est comme la plupart des endroits à Ouaga; assez difficile à trouver, mais suivez la carte google et vous la trouverez. C’est simple, mais bon pour l’amoureux de la bière. Le maquis est ouvert de 9 h à minuit tous les jours. Il y a des centaines de ces petits établissements de bière appelés maquis à Ouagadougou. Souvent, des bières froides sont servies avec de la viande grillée et des frites faites maison.
Le brasseur secret d’Ouaga
Si vous aimez les bières triples belges et la charcuterie, ceci pourrait être votre nouveau domicile, si vous connaissez quelqu’un qui peut vous montrer l’endroit. Les bières sont des bières belges classiques: la Chouffe, Westmalle, Rochefort et Ploegsteert. Elles sont servis avec un plat de charcuterie fait maison. Les triples belges sont fabriqués chaque semaine et sont servis pendant les heures de repos. Seulement quelques-uns ont trouvé leur chemin ici jusqu’à présent, et ce n’est pas un lieu pour les amateurs de bière locaux. La première bière a été versée en avril 2017.
La brasserie est dirigée par un véritable passionné de bière. Les bières sont bien parés avec la charcuterie. Si vous avez faim, mangez avant. La bière est le point focal. Une dizaine de bières importées sont servies et chacune est également présentée dans le verre de bière approprié. Impressionnant! Comme dit le titre; C’est difficile à trouver, mais ça vaut vraiment le coup!
Bières importées à Ouagadougou
Il y a quelques supermarchés en ville avec de bons prix sur les bières belges, françaises et russes importées. Les meilleurs supermarchés pour la bière sont Scimas et Home Market. Mais comme avec le lait, le beurre et la farine de blé … certaines fois il reste plus rien.
Beaucoup de ces bières ont été servi lors d’un événement de bière plus tôt cette année.
Vous pouvez facilement collecter jusqu’à 20 bières différentes en visitant les supermarchés. Les bières de la région ne sont pas vendues dans les supermarchés, elles ne peuvent être achetées qu’à l’un des endroits spéciaux de la bière / Maquis qui vendent des bières importées. La plupart peuvent être commandés chez QG Maquis et le propriétaire Gilchrist vous aidera. Une autre option peut être le maquis situé en face de l’hôtel Bravia près de l’aéroport, qui aussi vende de la bière au Ghana.
Bières de la région
Le brasseur artisanal le plus proche fait de la bière au Ghana. Vous pouvez visiter la Microbrasserie Intérieure pour avoir des porters et des lagers brassés avec du sorgho et d’autres ingrédients locaux. Sinon, les seuls choix pour le voyageur de la bière sont différentes lagers, stouts et quelques bières spéciales qui sont toutes produites en série. Les bières importé au Burkina proviennent du Togo, du Ghana et de la Côte d’Ivoire. Ne vous attendez pas à des bières du Mali ou du Niger.
Club, Etoile et Château Milk Stout du Ghana avec Togos Awoyoo et Bock de Côte d’Ivoire
La meilleure nation de la bière en Afrique
Avec 206 brasseries artisanales, l’Afrique du Sud est le principal pays de la bière artisanale en Afrique. Pas tellement à commenter, assurez-vous seulement que vous avez le temps de les visiter tous. Pourquoi ne pouvaient-ils pas en partager avec le reste du continent? Il n’est même pas possible de les acheter en dehors de l’Afrique du Sud. Á mi-chemin vers l’Europe, nous avons le Kenya avec trois brasseries artisanales et une nouvelle tendance à la bière artisanale. The Big Five breweries et Sirville Brewery font des lots de 500 à 1000 litres et servent 4-5 bières faites à la main sur pression. Pas de wild cards, mais encore beaucoup plus de goût et de saveurs que les bières ordinaires que vous versez dans votre pot un vendredi après-midi.
Beer guide to Burkina Faso
More than 40 different beers, good prices on imported beers and craft breweries operating in Ouagadougou makes Burkina Faso the beer capital in West Africa.
Local beers
The local beers Brakina, Flag, Beaufort and SO.B.BRA and Guinnes are brewed by the local beer factory owned by Castell group which is one of the mayor players in Africa.
Brakina (4.2 % ABV) is the most widely distributed and consumed beer in Burkina Faso. Even in the small villages with no electricity, a bottle of cold Brakina can be served any time of the day.
The beer culture is relaxed and social. People, mostly men, drink from early lunch time to late night. Women does drink too, many couples eat dinner and drink together. As a foreign women you don´t have to worry that people look down on you if you drink. The culture is so relaxed that mosques and maquis are side by side. In many countries there is a law that forbids beer establishments to be close to a mosque. Not here. Many prefer to drink many low alcohol beers and that’s why Brakina and So.b.bra are so popular with low alcohol and about 600 CFA (1 USD) for a 65 cl bottle. It´s quite rare to se really drunk people. Mostly people drink a few beers slowly but during weekends you need to watch up for all late beer drinkers driving home on motorcycles.
Local Craft beer – Brasserie Artisanale De Ouagadougou
Brasserie Artisanale De Ouagadougou is the first craft brewery in Burkina Faso. Swedish Jonathan Gharbi is making the beers and they are sold at the newly opened Resuarant Annexe a Ouagadougou in Zone Du Bois. Beers are normally introduced every Friday and when there is no craft beer, regional beers like Awoyoo or Doppel Munich from Togo are served.
Latest beer release was the IPA “Make beer not cars” which was delievered in April 2017. The beer before was a 8.5 % strong porter brewed with malt and local sorghum called: Mum, i wanna be a Bogan.
If you want to visit a more local place and have your beer the local way, visit the newly opened Maquis QG in 1200 Logements, Ouagadougou. There you have about 10 different beers and the selection is shifting every week depending on the beers that arrive. Gilchrist who is the guy behind Maquis QG is getting most beers from Togo and Ghana. He has three stouts, Guinness, Trio stout and Castle Milk stout. The 33 cl bottle of Trio extra stout for 500 CFA only is a full bodied and tasty stout, maybe the best in Ouaga.
QG Maquis is like most places in Ouaga; quite hard to find but follow the google map and you will find it. It is simple but fine for the beer lover and open from 9 AM to midnight every day. There are hundreds of this small beer establishments, called Maquis in Ouagadougou. Often cold beers are served with grilled meat and some home made french fries. You have the simple Maquis with 550 CFA for a bottle and there are the fancy ones where you might pay up to 700 CFA for the same bottle Brakina.
The secret brewer in Ouaga
If you like Belgian triples and cold cuts, this might be your new home –if you happen to know someone who can show you the place. Beers are Belgian, classical beers lika La Chouffe, Westmalle, Rochefort and Ploegsteert are served with a platter of home-made cold cuts. Belgian triples are crafted on a weekly basis and are served during afterwork hours. Only a few has found their way here so far but is only a place for local beer enthusiasts. The first beer was poured in April 2017.
The brewery is run by a true beer enthusiast and the Belgian beers does match very well with the cold cuts. If you are hungry, eat before. Beer is the focus. About ten imported beers are served and each is also presented in the proper beer glass. Impressive! As the title says; it´s hard to find, but well worth the effort!
Imported beers in Ouagadougou
There are a few super markets in town with good prices on imported Belgian, French and Russian beers. The best super markets for beer are Scimas and Home market. But like the milk and the butter and the wheat flour…. some times it´s all gone. Many of these beers where served at a beer event earlier this year. You can easily collect up to 20 different beers just by shopping the super markets. The beers from the region are not sold at the super markets, they can only be bought at one of the special beer places/Maquis that sell imported beers. Most can be ordered at QG Maquis and the owner Gilchrist will help you (he even speaks english). Another option can be the maquis which is situated in front of hotel Bravia close to the airport, they do also sell beer from Ghana.
Beers from the Region
The closest craft brewer is making beer in Ghana, visit Inland Microbrewery to have porter and lager brewed with sorghum and other local ingredients. Otherwise the only choices for the beer traveller is different lagers and a few special beers which all are mass produced. Beers are coming weekly from Togo, Ghana and Ivory Coast to Burkina Faso. Expect no beers from neighbouring Mali and Niger.
Best beers in Africa
With 206 craft breweries, South Africa is the leading craft beer nation. Not so much to say, just make sure you have the time to visit them all. Why couldn´t they share a few with the rest of the continent? It´s not even possible to get them outside South Africa. Then half ways to Europe we have Kenya with three craft breweries and a slow growing small craft beer trend. The Big Five breweries and Sirville Brewery are making 500-1000 liter batches and serves 4-5 hand crafted beers on tap. Not any wild cards but still much more taste and flavours than the regular stuff you pour into your jar a Friday afternoon.
Beer in Nambibia
Namibias German heritage is best enjoyed chilled at one of hundreds of beer places. The location, close to Africas craft beer mecca ; South Africa makes the country very interesting for someone who drinks beer. There are more than 10 locally produced beers in Windhoek, the capital of Namibia. You will find German beers such as Maibok, weizen and Schwarzbeer. The Namibian beer Windhoek lager can also be found in other African countries such as Kenya and Burkina Faso. The craft beer trend has not arrived yet but since its booming in South Africa, soon Namibia will be on that map too.
When in Windhoek, make a visit to Joe´s Beerhouse where you can have beer samples for a proper beer tasting. A handfull lagers on tap and many on bottle. You can also enjoy a zebra steak and other game at the restaurant.
Beer tasting at Joe´s Beerhouse in Windhoek
Namibia has a tough climate but duri ng the winter season, more black and bock beer seems to be availbale. Expect to find a good range of lagers in Namibia but you have to wait a few years until there will be some IPA and heavy Porters available.
After a quick search on ratebeer.com you find two operating breweries; Namibia Breweries making mainly lagers and then Camelthorn Brewing company that brews Märzen, Weissen, Bockbier, Schwarzbier, Ale and fruit beers. Camelthorn does use the description Craft Beer for their products and campaigns for craft beer to become more popular.
A selection of beers in Namibia
Windhoek lager, Windhoek special, Windhoek draught, Hansa bock, Hansa export, Stellenbrau Jonkers Weiss, Namibia Tafel Lager, Camelthorn Red Dune Roibos, Camelthorn Summer Ale, Camelthorn Weissbier, Camelthorn Red and Camelthorn Bok Beer.
Camelthorn did also sell their beer to some Swedes and their Red Ale and Weizen was exported to a Swedish connoiseeur restaurant.
Nambian beer served in a cold Sweden
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