Craft Beer Festival - Event Review

   Last weekend I went to the Főzdefeszt craft beer festival with a group of CEU students. It was a beautiful day; summer surprised with one last encore, a fantastically varied mix of languages were being spoken in every direction, there were smiles, laughing, and more than 150 microbrews to add an extra glow to the festivities. For the first time since arriving in Hungary, I found the bitter taste of an IPA (Indian Pale Ale) on my lips, a sensation I had been dearly missing. I liberally asked new friends and colleagues to sample the many concoctions that swirled in their own mugs, and after trying everything from a sour cherry pilsner to an 11.2% dark stout, I came away with the happy knowledge that the Hungarian craft of beer brewing is still alive and well.

   I also left relieved. Up to that point I had only experienced the rather straight forward, and to my taste, boring beers that you can find in wide supply. I had worried about how I would make it through the cold months without my favorite hometown brews to keep me warm. And I was concerned about getting fat. Let me explain using a quote from one of my favorite movies, SLC Punk.

  “Beer in supermarkets in Utah (a US state dominated by Mormons, who for religious reasons are not allowed to drink alcohol) is weak, 3 points (3% alcohol) instead of the normal 6 points. It’s the religious influence, and a pain in the ass. Now to me it makes no sense. If you’ve got alcohol, you’ve got alcohol. So why 3 instead of 6? You know a drunk’s just going to drink twice as many beers to get drunk, so you not only have a drunk on your hands, you have a drunk who’s fat and gross. There’s nothing worse.”

  While I couldn’t unearth a religious conspiracy backing the relatively low percent of alcohol in Hungary’s beers, it didn’t stop my worrying that between the heavy food and light beer, I would end up filling two seats on the plane next year when I return home!

   Filled with a strong desire to make sure that procurement of these strong and delicious beers wouldn’t elude me after the festival concluded, I undertook a bit of investigating. Where, I questioned the many brewers (who were all too happy to share their knowledge as well as the fruits of their labor), could I find their products again? Their answers made me happy – there are lots of places, they assured me! So here I share with you the three locations that were mentioned again and again.

 · Léhűtő -Craft Beer Bar :: Holló utca 12-14.  Budapest, 1076

 · Élesztő – Craft Beer Kert :: Tűzoltó u. 22. Budapest, 1094

 · Skanzenklub – Bar and Smoke Shop :: Köztelek utca 4. Budapest, 1092

   So far I have only had the opportunity to try out Léhűtő. I loved it and am very excited to find my way into the others as well. As I departed the festival I walked a little taller, feeling even cozier in this wonderful city which I now call home. If you see me around, please say hello, and if we aren’t absolutely buried in schoolwork - let’s go get a craft brew together!

 Graham Patterson, US, Public Policy