We will we will Wrocław

On the Saturday evening of my weekend in Wrocław I left the festival to give the city proper a token once over. I was accompanied by Martyn Cornell who had joined an earlier pub crawl late on the Thursday and was keen to catch up on what he'd missed.

Our first stop was Pinta's local outlet, in a smart modern building on the periphery of the old town. Pinta has grown to become the establishment of Polish independent brewing, moving Boston-Beer-like from having no breweries to having two now. Their Atak Chiemlu IPA, which I'll admit to not being a fan of, is something of a national icon.

I didn't go hoppy on my visit; I went sour. Well, it's Poland: you know yourself. Kwas XY is flavoured with passionfruit and delivers loads of it: a big burst of tangy tropicality which still delights me about passionfruit beers, even though I've had dozens. I got an echo of Irish classic Castaway though it is sweeter, but it's just as bright and summery. I can forgive Poland's aversion to real sourness on this occasion.

Our next call was to 4Hops, a bicycle themepub not far away. From the crowd inside and outside, that's not just a fashion statement, it's where the two-wheel gang actually gathers to drink. What's on the menu? Nothing I recognise so, randomly, a Minister Na Targu by Browar Minister. I must have been in the mood for tropical fruit (it was sunny) because this is a mango and kiwifruit flavoured pale ale. It's a deep hazy orange colour and heavy and resinous, in the vernacular created by Atak Chiemlu back in the day. The fruit does throw a positive spin on this, balancing the bitterness with a sprinkling of Starburst chews. The sweetness never takes over and, at 4.9% ABV, it's quite relaxed drinking. Not a double-thumbs-up, but definitely a could-have-been-worse.

We arrived in the pretty main square next, on one corner of which is the rambling Złoty Pies ("Golden Dog") brewpub. They've gone all-in on the dog theme, with large-format dog prints on the wall, flat screens carouselling more doggy action pics, and a succession of dog puns in the beer names. I had a Bockser. I doubt it qualifies as a bock at just 4.5% ABV. It's more like a normal central European brewpub lager, yellow with a slight haze; tasting of wax and honey. Pleasant and easy going, it's a great conversation beer. I'd have stayed for more but Martyn had another place on his to-do list.

Which was closed. Rather than backtrack, we opted for the branch of the Bierhalle chain which occupies a large footprint on the square, including a beer garden where we set up camp. I'd been to a Bierhalle before, in Łódź: they go for a generic yet charming Germanic vibe. This one didn't have its A-game running though, being slow on service and missing all the seasonal beers. There's no sign of a working brewkit either so I'm not sure if my Marcowe (Märzen) was brewed on-site. It was the right colour of darkish amber anyway, but rather bland beyond that, despite a substantial 5.8% ABV. There's a vague noble hop greenness but nothing I'd call character. Still, I shouldn't have come to Bierhalle expecting to be wowed.

Not far from the dead centre of town is Kontynuacja, a definite outpost of Craftonia with its high ceilings, whitewashed walls, cooler-than-you barstaff and an ever changing blackboard of local and international beers. A New England-style IPA seems only appropriate.

Mine was Juicilicious from Piwne Podziemie. It certainly looked like juice, all headless and opaque. And it tasted exactly like orange juice too: one of those situations where I'm momentarily entertained by the special effect and then disappointed because what I wanted was a beer. A few modern beery elements creep in after a few sips: a concentrated buzz of garlic and a gritty yeast bite. With a little cleaning up this would be an archetype for the style, and I confess I did enjoy my glass of it. I wanted a beer next, though.

Not that I had a choice. Martyn had spotted Maryensztadt's Brytyjskie on the board and two glasses of that were required. There was a beer engine on the bar but I think this came from the regular tap. Still it was headless and rather flat, so may as well have been a Polish take on cask bitter. A tangy orange flavour goes in the good column; a dusty staleness in the bad one. Overall it was convincing as a bitter but not convincing as a beer anyone would like to drink. Someone from the brewery must have had terrible luck drinking in England if they came away thinking British beer tastes like this.

And with that we headed back to the festival for a nightcap I described in Wednesday's post.

Just one more beer before we finish: I couldn't leave without a swift pint of the local macro lager Piast, once brewed in a handsome 19th century building across the way from Stu Mostów but since moved out of town by owners Carlsberg. It's a rich gold colour and has a significant noble hop character touching celery and spinach. 5.5% ABV gives it more depth and heft than most industrial lagers, and although there's a slight syrupy quality, it's smooth enough to be easy drinking. Definitely one for the Better Than It Needs To Be file.

Thanks for Tomasz and the Wrocław Cultural Centre for putting me up and allowing me to take an intensive tutorial in the Polish beer scene in 2019. I do need to explore this country further, though perhaps at a more relaxed pace next time. Meanwhile, the Wrocław festival is well worth your time next year if you haven't been.