Kontynuacja in Wroclaw. [Photo courtesy of http://wroclaw.gazeta.pl]

Poland, always a country heavy on beer drinkers, is more than Żywiec or Tyskie or Wroclaw’s own, Piast these days.  The craft beer scene from Krakow to Wroclaw is beginning to boom in Poland, and the learning curve is shallow.  In Wroclaw, Kontynuacja, meaning “continuation” or “follow-up”, has an impressive and consistent list of roughly 16 beers that makes it pound-for-pound one of the best craft beer spots in all of Poland.

That’s saying a lot for a region that sets the beer standard high, with everything from Czech to Bohemian to German beer regions a relatively short drive away.  But Kontynuacja holds its own.  Just a couple hundred meters from Wroclaw’s gem of a Rynek Square, it opened in 2013, two years after the city’s first craft beer pub (Zaklad Uslung Piwnych), and immediately became a challenger as the finest craft beer scene.

With Wroclaw set as the European Capital of Culture in 2016, the city is promoting an alternative scene to the more visited Warsaw and Krakow.  Arguably the most underrated city in Central Europe, Wroclaw’s Kontynuacja should no doubt play a role in hosting travelers, more than the touristy Spiz, the city’s first brewery (est. 1992).  The bright interior, high and polished (somewhat) communal tables, vaulted ceilings, and basement gives a vibrant feeling that you are in a beer drinking church.

The range from their small/medium/large batch suppliers is impressive: American and Indian Pale Ales, Belgian and Belgian-inspired ales and wheat beers, amber ale, red ale, Scotch or American or milk stouts, porter, Scotch ale, Polish ale, San Francisco’s Sierra Nevada, and cask beers hand pumped from their two hand pump taps.  The beers range in alcohol content from 3.8% to 10%, with prices ranging from 8zl to 16zl for stronger brews.

Kontynuacja has since expanded to Katowice, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see a Krakow and Warsaw location too.  The only shame is that it might not spread outside of Poland, because surely it is worth being in any city.

But Kontynuacja does not reign as a mere craft beer portal.  Browaru Stu Mostów (see video below) is a Kontynuacja inspiration and a testament to its influence and expansion of the craft beer scene, which is not only good for the beer drinkers but adds to the respect Wroclaw deserves both as a beer city and a must visit destination.

Na zdrowie!

(Note: the video below is in Polish.)