After a dozen or so hangovers (and extra trips to the shop for bog roll), Polish beer generally leaves one with an understanding of why vodka is so popular in Poland. Silesia has the honour of being home to the two worst offenders – Tyskie and Żywiec – which enjoy ubiquitous national distribution and sadly also bear the mantle of Polish beer abroad. Put a half-litre of each in front of you, blindfold yourself and we doubt your palate can discern the difference. Locals will argue that since international buyouts the quality of both has declined, but that’s beside the point. Basically a diet of these two gets boring fast for anyone with a real affinity for beer. What too often goes unrealised is that Poland actually has hundreds of independent microbreweries that produce delicious beer. While their available in Katowice’s shops and bars is still the exception to the rule, that culture is now changing and there are more and more places to enjoy good beer in the city than ever before.

Biała Małpa has perhaps the largest selection of draft and bottled beers in Katowice and will even please the fairer sex with their offerings of enhanced beers (think berry beer, chocolate beer and lemon beer). They offer a constantly changing selection of craft beers from around the globe so make sure to stop in often to discover something new from near or afar. Beer experts, buckle up!

Sure, it’s super trendy, but the beer in ul. Mariacki’s Kato is also super tasty. The selection of bottled microbrews is always in flux but there are plenty to choose from; we recommend Magnus, a sweet dark beer from the Jagiełło Brewery in far eastern Poland. If you’re looking for something more local, head to Latająca Świnia (see International Restaurants) to try a draught from the Castle Brewery in Raciborz. 80km southeast from Katowice, Raciborz is about as far from the city as you can go without leaving Silesia, but Silesian beer it is, and their quality brews include a honey lager, dark bock beer and the mysterious ‘green pilsner.’ In addition to Raciborz, Latająca Świnia also offers Fortuna Porter (from outside Poznań) and fruity ales from Olstyn’s Kormoran Brewery and Cornelius Brewery's 'Grapefruit Wheat' beer (produced south of Łódż).

If you want to stack these national ales against their Czech counterparts make sure to stop into Hospoda  and immerse yourself in a sea of Czech suds from Kozel Dark to Rychtar to Radogast. Dobra Karma (see Vegetarian Restaurants) offers beers exclusively from the Primator Brewery, including a pale ale, wheat, and double porter. Finally, we have to mention that Katowice actually has an impressive microbrewery of its own in Bierhalle, where the beer is produced on site and certainly worth drinking (see Microbreweries). Unfortunately, the former is located in a shopping mall, but it's worth overlooking that fact. Still, in Katowice there are plenty of ways to stay off the Żywiec, so take advantage or start conditioning yourself to be a vodka drinker. Na zdrowie (‘to your health’); literally.