Poznań has always had a strong brewing tradition. Before being revitalised as the Stary Browar urban lifestyle hub, the Hugger Brewery dominated the city centre, while the mass-market Lech Brewery continues to operate on its outskirts.
After a few sips of Lech, however, you might be ready for something a bit more flavourful. Fortunately, Poland has seen a huge boom in craft beer production recently, resulting in a remarkable number of regional breweries supplying Poznań’s many multi-tap bars and bottle shops.
LOCAL BEERS & BREWERIES FROM POZNAŃ
Grodziskie - Wielkopolska's Signature Beer Style
Before we get into where to drink, let's touch on what to drink. As it happens, Wielkopolska is actually known for creating one of the only true Polish beer styles: grodziskie. Named after its place of origin - Grodzisk Wielkopolski, just 40km west of Poznań - this uniquely Polish style of beer dates back to at least the 14th century. Light and low in alcohol, grodziskie is a smoked wheat beer known for its golden hue, crisp carbonation, and subtle smoky flavour. Popular across Poland until WWII, the style has seen a revival in recent years and now features in the portfolios of many local breweries. Although perhaps an acquired taste, give it a try while in town.
The Big Brand
When it comes to beer from Poznań, one name looms large, of course, and that's Lech. The city's major label beer, Lech has been produced in a modern brewing facility near Lake Malta since the 1980s, and is practically ubiquitous around town thanks to its sponsorship of the local football side. Not long ago you could tour their facilities, but the Lech Brewery is no longer open to the public. That's all well and good, since Lech is your typical Euro lager, and that's not really what we're talking about hear. Still, it requires mentioning since it is basically the official beer of Poznań.
Fresh from the Tank
Certainly the city's premier brew pub these days is the Ułan Brewery, located in the 19th-century complex of brick military barracks in Łazarz known today as 'City Park.' In addition to brewing their own range of award-winning old school and new wave brews on-site, Ułan also features delicious locally-inspired pub grub, two stages for concerts and events, six billiards tables and plenty of teles for watching sports. With plenty of space and a laidback vibe, it's worth making the short trip west of the centre.
Local Craft Breweries & Brands
There is plenty of good beer to go around, as the immediate region surrounding Poznań is loaded with small but excellent craft breweries. One of the absolute best in the entire country is Browar Golem; though a contract brewery, the label is based in Poznań and their vast and diverse portfolio of beers can be found in most shops and many multitaps in Poznań.
The list goes on. Szreniawa and Nieczajna are also from the area and appear regularly on the tap of local craft beer bars, as well as doing special contract beers for local restaurants. is another local contract brewery that creates bespoke beers for Finally, Browar Za Miastem is a Poznań brewery near the airport whose large portfolio of craft beers enjoys widespread distribution, particularly in major supermarkets like Carrefour, Lidl, Kaufland and Auchan.
If you're a beer fanatic looking for a specific brand or brew, or just have to know exactly what's on draught in each of Poznań's multitap pubs, there's actually a website and app for that: ontap.pl - further proof that Poland's beer culture is headier than ever. Na zdrowie!
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