Beat On The Brat

Brief Bratislava Brew Pub Explorations

Brief explorations as we'd only allowed ourselves one full day and evening in Slovakia's capital city.

Plus, the thermometer peaked at 37°C in the afternoon - not the most conducive weather for traipsing around bars.

After a trip to Devlin Castle and a wander around the Old Town, we made our way for a late lunch in the first brew pub on our list...

Bratislavský Meštiansky Pivovar Dunajská (Dunajska Ulicá 21, Bratislava - web)

A single-storey beer hall, this was a sizeable place; bar at the front, with lots of tables and booths and the brewing kit at the back.
Set in their own grounds behind railings, they also have a leafy, pleasant beer garden to the side.

Traditionally, beers on menu's in Slovakia don't show an % ABV, but instead the OG (original gravity) with many pilsners having a light 10° and a darker, stronger 12° version.  I asked for the 'Special IPA' which was advertised on our table, this turning out to be a red IPA weighing in at 15° - or 5.8% ABV.  Nice, but not a very appropriate selection in the hot weather.

I also had my first encounter with Vyprážaný syr - fried cheese - a vegetarian staple on most menus in these parts.  Filling.  And chewy. 

The bar and beer hall at Meštiansky Pivovar Dunajská

Next task of the afternoon was a trip to the train station to book tickets for the onward journey to Poprad.
Which gave us a chance to check out one of the cities more unusual buildings.

The Radio and Television building in Bratislava

From here a short walk took us to our next brewpub, which had a somewhat unassuming entrance...

 

But once inside this was a fantastic place!
Pivovarský Hostinec Richtár Jakub (Mostkovská 16, 81108 Bratislava - web)

There's no bar counter in the main room, with the taps and shelves of glasses lining one wall. 
The interior looked nice, but the staff ushered us into the back yard, a leafy enclosed garden.  They're busily connecting hosepipes to create sprays of mist to cool drinkers down in these stifling temperatures.
There were 12 beers listed on a blackboard, ranging from €2.10 to €2.50 for 0.4l.  I stuck to  'Jakub', one of their own brews, a pale easy-drinking lager.  Had we been staying in the city longer I'd almost certainly have been keen to settle here for longer and try some of the other interesting beers on offer. 

Tap room at Richtár Jakub

We walked back to Mickiewiczova street then along to the junction where it meets the busy Obchodna steet.

Mestský Pivovar Alžbetka (Mickiewiczova 2242/1, Bratislava - web)

Opened in 2017 this this bar has a smart, modern industrial style in a historic, cream coloured building.  From the outdoor tables (which, without shade we deemed far too hot to sit at today) a wide corridor with tables along it leads back to the main room and brewery.  Most striking is the run of shiny fermenting vessels on show.
This is twinned with Komin brewery in Ružino.  Around half the 10 beers on their menu are brewed here, with my pick being the 5.8% 'Komin IPA', alongside a jug of refreshing cool water with mint.

The fermenting vessels at Mestský Pivovar Alžbetka

Starosloviensky Pivovar (Vysoká 15, Bratislava - web)

In contrast to our previous pub, this was much more of a traditional hostelry, located along a quiet side street less than 5-minutes walk from Alžbetka.  The main room contains the bar and large rustic tables and benches, whilst there's a light, airy side room and pleasant enclosed garden beyond.

As the banner says - Starosloviensky Pivovar - Bratislava

They've been brewing since 2012, although (unless I didn't explore well enough and missed it) the brewing equipment is not visible in the pub. For me, a 'Pressburg 11°' accompanied a cheesy soup served in a bread.

Pivovar Shenk (Namestie SNP484/25, Bratislava - web)

Located in a room on the corner of a market hall, Shenk was a busy hive of activity this evening. It makes a nice change to be able to get served at the bar, which is located in front of four gleaming stainless steel tanks.  Deposits are collected for the plastic beakers you need if you wish to take drinks outside, but we grabbed a super-high table inside which would have benefited from step-ladders to assist you up onto the stools.

I moved away from the pils and IPA's here, picking 'Uršula 13°', a dark lager, possibly not the best pick of the 5 beers, but I don't always get it right.

Tank beers at Shenk.

As the sky darkened at dusk and the wind began to stir the tree branches we made a short walk to the Unothodox beer bar, where we settled inside by the window just before the rain began to fall for a summer thunderstorm.

Be Unorthodox Craft Beer Bar (Panská 245/13, Bratislava)
This is the Tap Room for the cities Unorthodox Brewery, with four of their beers available alongside guests from Mikkeller, Stu Mostow, To Ol and Oud Beersel.
I picked an Unorthodox 'Butcher of Blaviken', an 8% ABV Belgian ale brewed with sour cherries.  An interesting change of style on a day when we'd mostly seen light and dark lagers and IPA's.
Service at the bar again - not with a smile.  
No doubt the guest beers here were all from fine European brewers, but as a visitor I'd prefer to check out Slovakian beers wherever possible, which is why I'd stuck to so many brewpubs today.

I believe there are something like 14 breweries in Bratislava today, plus a ton of highly rated beer cafes.  I knew that we'd miss loads, but I figure we still tried a good variety in the six venues visited.
Next up, Poprad and the High Tatra's...
Na zdravie!