By Harley Zipori. Ahhhh vacation. Even we intrepid beer bloggers get to take off for foreign ports and chill out. This time we got a last minute deal for a week in a resort on the Black Sea in Bulgarian. This hotel was geared for Israelis, from the food in the buffet restaurant to the Hebrew signs all over the hotel, including the one not to steal the towels on the bathroom door. I wonder what could have prompted that?
Rumor has it that the hotel was once owned by an Israeli but is now in Bulgarian hands and has gone downhill. It was perfect for our needs so I am not complaining.
Now Bulgaria is not generally known as a brewing powerhouse in Europe. It’s certainly overshadowed by the Czech Republic and Germany. However as all European countries (or any country for that matter) it has quite a bit of beer and the local beer in Bulgaria is quite cheap. You can find a half liter of local beer in a restaurant for the equivalent of about 5 NIS. For those not conversant in Israeli restaurant prices, a half liter of Goldstar will cost around 18 NIS.
I actually didn’t drink much beer on this trip but did manage to taste a few local brews: Kamenitza, Zagorka and Stolichno Bock. The first 2 are standard Pilsner style lager beers and the last a dark Bock style lager. None of the local beers were outstanding. The Kamanitza I tried in both a bottle and on tap and the draught version was far superior. The bottle was too bitter with practically no character aside from the hops bitterness. On tap is was smoother and more balanced. I also tried a couple “imported” beers while there, a Krombacher from Germany and a Starbrno from the Czech Republic. Both were far superior to the Bulgarian brands.
I didn’t see any signs of a local microbrewery scene but that would have been easy to miss given the fact that I was in a touristy area most of the time and I cannot easily the Cyrillic alphabet, which is the alphabet of the Bulgarian language.
Due to my absence I never reported on the Maabarot festival. Not that there is so much to report on. The festival was crowded and there was very little new there. Maybe I’m getting jaded a bit or maybe just too many festivals.
Now that I’m back I will check out the upcoming events and report them.
One thing that I can give you a heads-up on is the final event in the Samuel Adams Longshot competition that I blogged about a while back. This is planned for July 27 and 28 (Wed. and Thurs.) from 6 PM to midnight. The event is organized by Tempo, the company that brings you Goldstar, Heineken and not surprisingly, imports Samuel Adams beers to Israel. This year there is a big jump in the number of content entrants so Tempo is planning a big event open to the public in the Herzliya Marina, near the Arena Mall. I’ll provide more details as we get closer to the dates.
One more thing. There was a brief write-up in the Friday, June 24 edition of Haartez Magazine in English on a brewery in Zichron Yaakov called Pavo (http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/magazine/pleasure-hunting-cook-s-tour-1.369413). I haven’t tasted their beer yet but plan to shortly. Anyway, it’s worth reading the piece and trying out the beer. That’s what it’s all about.
Remember you can always reach me at [email protected].
