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Ground Zero - In more than one sense.

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I met my work colleague's son, Bogdan, recently and got onto the subject of craft beers in Romania (as you do).  He suggested I visit the Hangar Gastropub, also the location of the Ground Zero brewery.  It seemed a good plan... Using my trusty Google Maps app, I ended up in a developing office area of north Bucharest - a couple of Metro stops from where I stay.  The app directed me around the back of a small industrial estate to a location where it was sure a brewery existed.  This took some believing as the photo of the apparent location shows below: Spot the clearly signed entrance It was only the collection of tables and chairs behind the seacontainer that gave it away.  I peered through the blue door and, yep, sure enough it was a deserted bar/brewery. The brewery was in the back room and was an impressive selection of stainless steel (as one should expect).  The barman confirmed they were open and I set about the menu. Must get busy at other times
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Mikkellar in Bucharest

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On Saturday, following a recommendation from a work colleague, I walked up to the Mikkeler bar on the Piatsa Charles de Gaulle.  I'd not heard of the place so a bit unsure of what to expect.  All I knew was that it was a bit pricey. It is a small bar upstairs over a popular coffee shop.  The balcony was full of a group celebrating something (I later figured they were Germans here for the weekend). Bar Menu Seemed most of the beer was imported from Denmark, hence the prices (31 Lei = GBP 5.60 for 400 mls) - probably the most expensive beer I have had in Romania. They also had a couple of local craft beers (Ground Zero's Morning Glory and Hop Hooligan's Crowd Control). Weird Weather I stated with a Mikkeller Weird Weather, a light IPA with moderate IBU.  It was very good, easily quaffable though at a hefty 6.7% according to the menu. I moved onto the now-empty balcony for the next, which was Green Gold, their hoppiest beer.  This was darker in colo
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The Beers

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The Beers - obviously The Beers is an interesting bar/restaurant, only let down by the less-than-imaginative name.   It's a sister pub to the Happy Pub, located 200m further down the road from it at 11 Str. C aderea Bastili ei.  It's opposite some of the faculty buildings of the university so gets a lot of passing trade from there, I believe. Not too much to look at from the outside it does have a large terrace and equally sized interior.  They serve 'bar' food without being too pretentious.   Inside is OK, too. The Bar Inside there's a largish bar with a clear menu.  These are the draft beers, and a good selection at that.  Several of the excellent Glarus beers (from Bulgaria) as well as a good smattering of Romanian ales.  Too many to try in a sitting - they should consider offering flights as samplers.  This wasn't the full selection.  I discovered that the indoor list wasn't the same as the outdoor list...
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Fabrica de Bere Buna - Romanian Craft Beer

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Fabrica de Bere Buna (maker of good beer) is located at  Calea Victoriei 91, 93, București 010091.  Though there are tables on the pavement outside, it's not a great seating place due to the imposing buildings all around and the speed of passing traffic. Inside, however, is an excellent bar serving a wide range of Romanian craft beers, draft and bottled.  Drafts There's no brewery on site but it is the main outlet for Zaganu ('Bearded Eagle') beers, brewed in   Maneciu Ungureni, Prahova County .  There were 7 of their draft beers on tap when I visited.  The Bearded Eagle is now extinct, legend having it that Nicolae Ceausescu shot the last... Bottled I didn't try any of the bottles but noted there were some of the excellent Perfektum beers and more from Zaganu.  Hop Hooligans brewery is also worth testing at some time.  They do a wide variety of seasonal/limited edition beers.   I went for the 4 x 150 ml flight, the numbers on the flig
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Berestroika

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I decided to visit the Berestroika microbrewery on Saturday afternoon.  Logic was that, being in a busy downtown location near lots of government offices, it'd be quieter at the weekend.  How true that was.  Tucked behind the main courthouse is Berestroika, on  Aleea Căuzași , No. 57.  It was quiet.  It's a fair sized building with a large outdoor courtyard.   There was only two other tables occupied, two chaps having beer and a couple drinking wine (? ) Inside, up the steps in the picture, is the restaurant, brewery and bar.  I met Andre, the brewer who generously gave me samples of each of the four beers they brew there.  They don't keg or bottle it, this is the only outlet.  The owner, Anita, kindly gave me a guided tour of the brewery including the restaurant in the cellar which looked a great place for a night out (see 4th picture). They serve four unfiltered beers, Whitie (wheat), Blondie (a Pilsner),  Rosie (red) and Blackie (yes, a Porter).   At
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The Happy Pub

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The Happy Pub is the nearest bar to my apartment selling 'craft' beers (I'll use this North American term as 'real' ale isn't much better).  The Happy Pub sits along Strada Căderea Bastiliei, in Bucharest. It has a small yard at the front with tables.  The bar stretches back 3 rooms and is very casual and popular in the evenings.  Picture was taken at night with a phone so not great quality.  It's a cheerful place with attentive bar staff.  It's sister pub, the imaginatively named 'The Beers', is 200 m further on (but that's for a different post). The tap menu varies quite a bit, the one for last Wednesday is attached.  Navindra and I called in for a couple after work.  I went for the Glarus English ale (from Slanchevo, Bulgaria) while Navindra opted for the Amistad Indian Passion (from the Voluntari district of Bucharest). Despite their apparent attentiveness, the server brought me a Glarus Porter.  Porter isn't my favourite howeve
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A start

I was at an early Halloween party last Saturday when I got talking to a fellow guest about craft or, as it used to be called, real ale and how the market has shown significant growth in recent years.  One only has to note the excellent Cat Asylum brewery in Collingham. We chatted about the pubs of Newark and I got onto the craft beer situation in Romania, where I tend to work these days.  It was my fellow beer drinker who suggested a blog about the search for craft beer in Romania and, in particular, the oft fruitless search for it.  Hence the title. Whether anyone else reads this - I don't know. But it gives me an opportunity for extensive research on the subject and, dear reader, you can rest assured that I shall leave no glass unturned in my search for craft ales. It is out there - and so, freshly armed with my bicycle in Bucharest, I shall do my utmost to record my research activities as accurately as possible such that when you visit Romania, this blog may prove to be an
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