OnTap Magazine

48 | Summer 2025 | ontapmag.co.za M y wife Laura and I had the opportunity to visit Iași, a major educational and cultural city in Romania, in May 2025 while I was visiting a university there. We were last there in 2019, and I was keen to see how the craft beer industry had progressed since then. Iași is either the second or third largest city in Romania, depending on who you ask. It is generally considered to be the second most important, as it is the historical capital of the province of Moldova, which united with the province of Wallachia, with its capital Bucharest, to form modern Romania in 1859. I have found that there are many similarities between the beer scene in Romania and South Africa. Being a southeastern European country, it does not have the beer culture of Northern and Central Europe. It is a major wine producer, and the drinking culture is largely centered on wine. Like South Africa, they have mostly had a tradition of major lager brewers over the years, until recently. The Orthodox Church is strong and there are many monasteries in the towns and rural areas. Quite a few have stunning architecture and are well worth visiting. There is evidence that monks have made beer in the past, but not to the extent and style of those in Belgium and other surrounding countries. The monasteries that still make liquor concentrate on wine and Țuică, a plum brandy similar to our mampoer. As mentioned, the overall beer scene is dominated by the large lager manufacturers. Ursus, a historic Romanian beer producer, is the largest. Previously owned by SABMiller from 1996 to 2017, it is now owned by Asahi Europe. Their lager is their most common product, but they also make a pilsner, IPA, and a black lager. There are also the ubiquitous European lagers such as Heineken, Carlsberg, etc. The craft beer industry in Romania started a little later than it did in South Africa. The first modern craft beer, Clinica de Bere, appeared in 2011. The first Bucharest Craft Beer Festival was held in 2016. They haven’t quite gotten as far as launching a magazine or national competition yet, relying on website ratings to determine what is the best beer around, and there are no BJCP judges in the country. The path of craft brewing in Romania seems to have followed a similar path to that in South Africa: homebrew clubs starting at a beer bar, some brewers branching out into craft brewing, opposition from the big brewers, much collaboration between brewers, eventual formation of a craft beer association, some openings and closings, and it all being documented by a Romanian beer journalist named Teodora, and her English husband, Andrew, who together maintained a site called “Beerlogique,” tracking all the latest developments in craft. Craft brewers are concentrated in the four largest cities. A number of these are ‘gypsy’ brewers who make use of another brewery’s facilities, but do all the work themselves, unlike a contract brewer. Bucharest, the capital and largest city, is home to Hop Hooligans, the largest craft brewery in Romania. Their ‘Crowd Control’ IPA is probably the best-known craft beer in Romania and is available in some other countries as well. They Beerhouse Arcu House of Beer BeerZone menu