Craft Ale in Romania - Searching for the Holy Grail

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

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

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