Craft beer in Zagreb

About Craft beer in Zagreb

By the ULTIMATE Zagreb Editorial Team

Zagreb has a long beer tradition, and over the last decades it has become one of the liveliest craft-beer cities in the region, with brewpubs, beer bars and a new generation of small breweries.

An old tradition

Beer has been brewed in Zagreb for well over a century, and the big lager brewery in the city made Ožujsko one of Croatia’s best-known beers.

A pioneer

In the 1990s, the Medvedgrad brewery began brewing its own beers and serving them in its own pubs, long before craft beer became fashionable. Its pubs, with their long wooden tables and hearty food, are still among the most popular in the city.

Zagreb was drinking craft beer before most of Europe had heard the term.

The new wave

Since then a new wave of small breweries has appeared in and around Zagreb, brewing IPAs, stouts, sours and seasonal beers, and beer bars across the centre pour them alongside guest beers from across the region.

Our advice: start at a Medvedgrad pub for a classic Zagreb evening, then try a beer bar for the new generation of Croatian craft beer. Ask the bartender for something local; most are happy to offer a taste first.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Craft beer in Zagreb before you go.