My expectations for dining in Miskolc couldn't have been lower, partially due to the prevailing opinion amongst Budapesters that Hungary's third largest city is the arm-pit of the country: something like America's Pittsburg during the '80s. Well, Miskolc may be an industrial town on the decline, but there is also a lot to like there. I was quite surprised to find diverse styles of architecture - marvelously, if unintentionally, juxtaposed; a lauded if nascent punk scene, and the best micro-brewery in Hungary. It has probably been a long time since Miskolc has had the best of anything so I will say it again: for the best Hungarian beer head north to Miskolc.

Budget Budapest are suckers for a good beer, especially the locally-brewed sort. It is no secret that Hungarians are far more able wine-makers, leaving beer to multi-nationals who churn out most of their predictable and utterly average ales and lagers. Even the home-brews that can be found around Budapest, (at places like Mister Söröző, Wickman, and a few odd büfés), are wanting in flavor and body. What a surprise to come by Sör Forrás, sold through their small pub on Miskolc's main square and at the excellent restaurant Kortyolda on the banks of the Szinva stream that wends through the city.

Though I wasn't entirely clear on their exact relationship, Kortyolda is clearly a huge fan of Sör Forrás' several varieties of micro-brew, and with good reason. At Ft 400 for a pohár of their red beer, it is not the cheapest, but considering it aspires to the quality you find in far more expensive trappist beers, it is well worth the price. Utilizing extracts from the aszú grape from Tokaj in the recipe, the flavor is both sweet and tart, crisp and malty; the color is that of burnt amber or well-finished redwood, with a frothy spume-like head. The pilsner, too, is a superior brew, and at Ft 400 a korsó, a great deal. It has a surprising, nutty flavor, heavier than the Czech pilsners, but highly quaffable on a hot day.

Luckily, the restaurant lives up to the promise of the beer. The Fiatal Tikfi, (which the waiter explained was jérce, or pullet), came wrapped in home-cured bacon from Kolozsvár. It was wonderfully cooked, though the bed of vegtables it rested on had been boiled into the colorless mash typical of so many Hungarian eateries. Also on offer are wild boar stew, trout, goose dishes and a variety of salty beer-snacks. Meats for grilling are kept marinating in oil behind a display counter, looking like some culinary Damien Hirst project.

They obviously take pride in serving their own take on Hungarian standards, which comes through in the details: for instance, the side of kovászos uborka (fermented cucumbers) came covered in ice to keep them crisp, along with some pickled garlic. The wait-service, though lacking language skills, was friendly and professional. In a city with dwindling job prospects, you sense they are just more invested in their work than your typical blasé Budapest waiter.

If I were to have to live in an industrial city on the wane, it would be Miskolc, with its collage-like city planning, and their wonderful micro-beer in which to drown my sorrows.