While Hungarian wines continue to reestablish themselves, Hungary has never really been known as a beer brewer’s paradise, and with practically all of the Hungarian beer market owned by multinationals, it doesn’t exactly look promising. For this reason we were especially pleased to receive a tip from Evan Rail about plans for a Craft Beer Festival to be held in Budapest next month. After getting in touch with Dániel Bart, one of the organizers, who is also behind beer blog Folyékony Kenyér, we found out that the aim of the festival is to counter the misconception in Hungary that small brewers make substandard beer while also highlighting that yes, Hungary does produce some tasty brews, you’re just unlikely to find them on tap at your local kocsma.
The festival will start on Friday, September 24th at noon and run until the following evening on Saturday the 25th, being held at the corner of Király and Hegedű utcas in District VI in the area around the church. Considering how the big Hungarian beers are now owned by SAB Miller, StarBev and Heineken, it shouldn’t be too surprising that the big-name sponsor for the event will be Austrian brewer Gösser, as there isn’t any large scale Hungarian brewer that’s locally owned.
Ten microbrewers will be on hand, with each brewer asked to bring at minimum one unfiltered pilsner and one beer of their choice, with the winner to be placed on tap in the nearby Szimpla Kávézó for the following year. In addition to the unfiltered beers, expect to find:
- Blonder (Vonyarcvashegy) – an undisclosed unfiltered beer
- Rotburger (Pilisvörösvár) – an undisclosed unfiltered beer
- Agro-flott (Békésszentandrás) – Black Rose, Gold Rose
- Bauer (Nagykáta) – Drakula Duplabak, Meggyes Sör
- HBH (Táborfalva) – an undisclosed unfiltered beer
- Osterbrau (Domony)– Gyömbér sör
- Bors Sörfőzde (Győrzámoly) – Ale
- Kissler Sörfőzde (Dombóvár)- Keserű Barna
- Kortyolda (Miskolc) – Korty
- Szögedi Sörfőzde – Red Devil
Considering how our skeptical regular contributor Matt Ellis came away a believer after trying Korty, we can hardly wait, and hope that the shock we experience is not from the beer cups but from discovering that yes, Hungary can brew some damn good beers. Just be prepared for some funny looks if you try to toast with it, even if the 150 years already expired.
If all goes well, Gösser would bring her own fine unfiltered Zwickl on tap, otherwise unavailable outside Austria.
Dear Wolfi,
I decided to respond to you here instead, as you bought up beer. The process of beer brewers being bought out has been a feature of the beer business for a long time. I accept the reality of it. That being said, I still think there are entry level opportunities for new, small local producers. Beer brewing is even done at home, and expanding it to small local production does not take as much investment as many other types of industrial enterprise.
More Hungarians should consider going to a brewing school and learn the techniques of making it commercially. Upon graduating, get a few investors together and start making the stuff in small batches and go from there. There are dozens of different generic types that can be produced.
The reason I think there is always abundant opportunity for newcomers in this industry, is because consumers of craft beer are usually more willing to try a new product. They tend to be more affluent than regular beer consumers.
So let’s say a Hungarian starts out with almost nothing in this business. He builds it up to the point where one of those “multis” thinks it’s attractive and gives him an offer. If he takes their check, what’s the harm? We now have a financially empowered Hungarian! To me, THAT is what it’s all about!
This is great news: especially as it is right around the corner from my apt. But, for the micros to catch on, they have to be able to be found in pubs. With the under the table money the big three pay bar owners to carry their line, exclusively, I don’t see the micro-beers getting a foot hold anytime soon.
Dear Matt!
The process of micros getting a foothold in mainstream pubs have just began. The festival’s beers shall be on tap beforehand in Kaledonia, Szimpla, and a few other pubs. Afterwords in Szimpla presumably for long from now on. Pub owners are invited to a general tasting on Friday afternoon and will come in abudance – presumably.
this all great news!
especially if the microbrews can establish any kind of foothold at all in even a few select pubs,
i would suggest that it would give those few select pubs a defining competitive advantage perhaps forcing other pubs to keep pace,
the budapest “pub crawl” scene is ok, but creating and maintaining “regulars” may be the key to long-term business success in a fleety market,
Dear Matt, Bart and mac.
Good points you people raise. The conspiracy against competition and newcomers goes way back in the beer industry, and the situation you describe is not at all uncommon. In the 19th century, it was pretty standard for large breweries in many parts of the world to own their own chain of bars, thus ensuring distribution for their product.
One effective way for a small new entrant in the business is to start their own “brew pub”, where the functions of brewing, as well as bar and restaurant are combined on one premises. A great many micro-brews have started that way.
The other way to fight back is to find foreign wholesale buyers. It might be for direct export under your own label, or “ghost brewing” for another label. Good, fresh beer is a sellable commodity, no matter what. If I had a million litres and no Hungarian distributor wanted it, the you can bet I would get on the phone and in a few hours that stuff would be loaded onto trucks and barges and leaving Hungary!
I would advise a young ambitious Hungarian to go to a first class brewing school for starters. It’s an involved trade and requires good training. Then get a few investors together and open a brew pub. He or one of his partners must also market the product to foreign outlets as well. It’s called running a business.
Dear Farkas László,
you’re right (as usual) – it would take more entrepreneurial spirit in hungary however and more customers’ willingness to try those new beers …
I’ve been to the Blonder beer restaurant in Vonyarcsvashegy – it is nice but you can’t get their beer anywhere else it ssems.
BTW: In Germany even today many pubs are owned by the breweries and many more have exclusive contracts with those big companies which require them to buy almost everything (including cola and mineral water) from them – often at a higher price than you’d pay in a supermarket. So of course the publicans try to “cheat”, but that’s dangerous …
In this age of globalisation business gets more and more difficult.
I hear that the Beer Festival has been cancelled. It was still on when they held their media conference at The Caledonia on Thursday. Now on Monday we’re told it’s not happening.
We are really sorry for the cancelled festival, we shall make it happen in May.
Until then, come to our pre-New Year’s Eve Party at Szimplaklert to try four kinds of Hungarianm Craft Beer
- Fóti Hoplager
- Fóti Ginger Beer
- Békésszentandrási Black Rose
- Serforrás India Pale Ale
+ three kinds of beer snacks
- A plum and cherry-struck tiramisu for the Black Rose by Pif,
- some crazy sausages for the Miskolc IPA and the Fóti Ginger
cheers,
Főzdefeszt