Since the dawn of craft beer, there have probably been more attempts at defining it than there are beer styles. All of them constantly evolving and adapting to indiscriminately include as many breweries as possible. And yet, none of these definitions hold water. In today's episode, we're going to take a look at why trying … Continue reading Why is it so difficult to define ‘craft beer’?

For the longest time, Romanians have been a nation of lager drinkers. Not necessarily by choice, but because that's what breweries made and, as a consequence, that's what sold. Things started changing around the time craft breweries made an appearance on the market, and nowadays, a pint of IPA is one of the images most … Continue reading Which beer style defines Romanian craft brewing, and why is it IPA?

At some point last week, we came across a post written by an avid beer drinker, who decided to warn the market about the unpalatable quality of the new brand from Bere Sara, called Sandro Beer. Accusations were thrown left and right, mentions of infections, drain pours, and complete lack of shame on the brewer's … Continue reading When the tone-deaf argue with the semidoct – the curious case of Bere Sara

Romania banned indoor smoking in March 2016. That same year also saw an increase in the number of local craft breweries, a growth that has continued ever since. But are the two related? The following article takes a look at how the smoking ban has influenced consumers, the hospitality industry and craft beer.

Last week, we got the chance to attend the single, most important craft beer festival to take place in Romania this year: the first edition of Haze Fest, in Timișoara. Given the fact that such an event format is unprecedented in Romania, we were also curious to hear some feedback from the breweries who participated. So, we had a quick chat with them about whether it lived up to their expectations, and got the chance to take a look at everything from their perspective.

In the three years we've been keeping an eye on the local craft beer industry, we have often asked ourselves all sorts of questions. 'Should we add this brewery to our database? What makes this brewery 'craft'? Is there even a definition of craft beer in Romania?' So back in January, we sat down and took on an enormous task: trying to come up with a definition ourselves. 

For the second edition of the TMCBF, we decided that attending as mere beer drinkers is not enough, so we spoke to Adi from Bereta about documenting the making of the festival. The result is a timeline of the 48 hours leading up to the event, with all manner of insights, logistical details, as well as the organizers' feedback on the previous event and expectations for future editions.