On my recent trip to Vienna, I reserved a day to visit Bratislava as well. It’s an easy one-hour bus ride from Vienna, and I had heard good things about Slovakia’s capital city. As for a tour or activity, guess what? I chose a Craft Beer Tour with Taste Bratislava.
It was the best possible decision, and not only because of the excellent beer. Read on to find out why!
Bratislava and Beer
Bratislava is often overlooked or rushed in favor of its neighboring capitals. The imperial heritage of Vienna, and the beauty of Budapest or Prague, make Bratislava seem small and insignificant. The reverse to that is that Bratislava is a cozy, friendly city that makes you feel at home instantly. And though I am guilty of spending only a small amount of time there, it was enough to make me plan a future trip to Bratislava.
In the beer department, Prague also won the notoriety contest. But, having done both a Brewery Tour in Prague and a Craft Beer Tour in Bratislava, I can safely say that you’re not going to be thirsty in Bratislava.
Taste Bratislava
The tours run by Taste Bratislava combine culture and taste into special experiences. You can not only discover Bratislava, but also Slovak food, wine and beer. They even organize a day trip from Vienna, so it gets really easy to visit Bratislava.
Step by step review
The usual Bratislava Craft Beer Tour covers two places where you get to taste 10 beer samples. Less walking and a lot of beer sounds attractive, doesn’t it?
Anyway, we had a slightly more personalized tour. We visited 4 different places and tasted beers from local producers.
Meeting Point
We met our guide, Daniela, in front of the Radisson Blu Carlton Hotel in central Bratislava. The Radisson is just across the street from the Old Town, and between them was an inviting street food festival that weekend.
Our Guide
Daniela is the founder of Taste Bratislava. She started running tours in 2014. Soon, she realized that it was what she wanted to do. She focused on presenting the best about her city in 2016, and the company has been growing ever since. After a rough patch during the pandemic, the tourists are getting back to Bratislava, and the craft beer tour is the most popular of their activities.
After meeting us, Daniela maneuvered to get us out of the busy central streets. All stops were around the historical center but still out of the tourists’ path.
Craft beer places in Bratislava
Walking tours will always allow you to discover places that you wouldn’t find on your own. That’s one of the best things about them.
First Stop – Klastorny Pivovar
The first stop was a place with a lot of history. At that address, a priory runs a hospital. What does that have to do with our beer tour? Well, the monastery rented out part of the building to what is now one of the biggest restaurants in Europe, Flag Ship. Furthermore, they also use the historic underground cellar to produce their own beer, under the name of Klastorny Pivovar. With the money, the priory can continue to run the hospital and help the community.
The decor is quite impressive and, apart from the beer, they serve excellent traditional Slovak food. We had the locally brewed lager, which was light and perfect for a sunny day. We also tasted a local specialty, a spread with sheep cheese and peppers that goes very well with beer.
Second Stop – Shenk
At Shenk, they love to experiment with their beers. They like brewing with different grains, even rice or corn. As a result, you don’t really know what you’ll find on the menu on any given day.
We were lucky as they had something truly special on the day we visited – A Jasmine Rice Beer. Sounds strange? It wasn’t. The beer tasted like a strong jasmine tea but cold and bitterish. I loved it. I hope all the jasmine teas I’ll drink from now on will taste like that beer.
It was probably my favorite beer of the tour, though the next two places put up a fight for the title.
Third Stop – 100 Piv
Another local gem we would have never found, 100 Piv is a small craft beer bar and shop.
We started with two sour beers. I’m not a fan, but the strawberry one was a pleasant surprise. My favorite here was a good NEIPA from SIBEERIA, a Czech brewery.
Daniela knows a lot about beer, and she shared some of it with us. My favorite story was the one explaining why Slovaks are essentially beer people.
Being a religious people, the Slovaks wanted to know it they could drink beer during the lent periods, since wine wasn’t allowed. So, they sent some local beer to the Pope to ask his advice. But, at the time, the journey to the Vatican was long, and the beer had no preservatives. The beer arrived at the destination spoiled. The Pope tasted the unknown drink, thought it was really bad, and said the Slovaks could drink as much of it as they wanted to.
So, the Slovaks, followed the rulling closely, and beer is still very much a part of the locals life.
Final Stop – The Beerdock
By this time, already had enough beer, so we just tasted the three samples here. Daniela ordered the most interesting things on the day’s menu, based on our preferences as well.
The star was the GOSE-style beer. Gose beer originally came from Goslar in Germany. It’s a sour beer, but what makes it unique is its saltiness (from a salty water-source or added salt). I wouldn’t order it too often, but I never had the chance to taste one before.
The Dockbeer was the perfect place to end the craft beer tour, just before sunset, on a dock overlooking the Danube.
Booking options – Bratislava Craft Beer Tour
The Craft Beer Tour costs 49€, and the price goes down if you are more than 2 persons. For the best price, book on the Taste Bratislava website.
You can also book on TripAdvisor.
Useful info
The Craft Beer Tour with Taste Bratislava takes three hours, just enough time to sample 10 different craft beers.
There are also two craft beer festivals in Bratislava each year, so that’s a great time (or excuse) to visit. Find out the next festival date on their website.
Final thoughts about Craft Beer in Bratislava
If you’re looking for a great afternoon, an intro to Bratislava, and some great beer, you’re in the right place. The Craft Beer Tour with Taste Bratislava does just that.
I’m definitely sold on visiting the Slovak capital again, not only for the sights but also for the local food and the craft beer culture.
Disclosure
I was offered this tour by Taste Bratislava. However, any opinions stated above are my own. Some of the above may be affiliate links. This means that if you click on a link and make a purchase, I earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. I only recommend companies, activities, or products that I use myself. Thank you for your support in keeping my blog live!
Thanks for sharing, this looks a great tour to sample the local beer 🙂
That looks a great tour, as we enjoyed the bars of Bratislava. We did the Slovakian wine tasting when we visited among other things.
I so regret that when we were visiting Prague, Vienna and Budapest that we didn’t make time for Bratislava. Your post makes our erro all the more painful. Perhaps another time. THXS for sharing and keep posting.