Smooth Hoperators: The couple who revolutionized Wrocław’s beer scene
Regarded as one of Central Europe’s favourite beer festivals, today sees the doors open for the latest chapter of the Beer Geek Madness event.
More than just a raucous proclamation of Wrocław’s own love for beer, it can also perhaps be viewed as a subliminal celebration of what has come to be seen as the city’s flagship brewery: the pioneering Stu Mostów.
No other brewery has done more over the last decade to cement Wrocław’s status as the beer capital of Poland.
Acting as the festival’s custodians and coordinators these past few years, no other brewery has done more over the last decade to cement Wrocław’s status as the beer capital of Poland.
“But it’s not just us that have helped nurture this reputation,” says Stu Mostów’s co-founder, Grzegorz Ziemian. “As a city, we’ve got the most beer festivals, a tremendous number of craft bars, a university educating the next generation of brewers and, of course, a large number of other high-quality breweries operating in and around the city.
Launched by husband-and-wife Arletta and Grzegorz Zieman in 2014, Stu Mostów’s commitment to Wrocław quickly proved more than just a cosmetic branding ploy.
“Yet that’s not all,” he continues. “We also have the tradition and history that other cities don’t have. Over the centuries Wrocław has fallen under Czech, German and Polish control, and all three of these nations have left traces of their beer DNA.”
In many respects, it is by connecting to this heritage that Stu Mostów can be described as more than just a brewery, rather a flagbearer and ambassador for the city as a whole.
“From the outset, we wanted to display our love for the city,” says Grzegorz, “and you can see that through the name me and my partner, Arletta, chose – Stu Mostów is, after all, a direct reference to Wrocław’s nickname: the city of one hundred bridges.”
“From the outset, we wanted to display our love for the city,” says Ziemian, “and you can see that through the name me and my partner, Arletta, chose – Stu Mostów is, after all, a direct reference to Wrocław’s nickname: the city of one hundred bridges.”
Launched by the husband-and-wife team in 2014, Stu Mostów’s commitment to Wrocław quickly proved more than just a cosmetic branding ploy.
Stu Mostów can be described as more than just a brewery, rather a flagbearer and ambassador for the city as a whole.
“Even before opening, we’d decided to apply the rule of ‘no compromise’, and that meant adopting world class technology,” says Ziemian. “However, we wanted to apply this to a traditional approach to beer.”
As part of this, it wasn’t solely new-fangled beers that Stu Mostów sought to produce, but also heritage brews as well.
“I’m really proud that we managed to recreate Schops as part of our classic WRCLW line,” says Ziemian.
The Beer Geek Madness festival, of which Stu Mostów is both custodians and coordinators, kicks off in Wrocław today.
First chronicled in 1553 when it was banned in Brzeg, for a while it became one of the dominant beers in Wrocław before seeing its popularity plunge two to three centuries ago due to the rising appreciation of Bavarian lagers. Soon, it had become forgotten entirely.
“We wanted to bring it back,” says Ziemian, “but it’s all well and good saying that in a pub environment, it’s different when you wake up the next day and realise that no recipe exists – we found nothing!”
Undeterred, beer historians were consulted and archives explored. Although the recipe remained elusive, Ziemian and his team uncovered enough information to triumphantly revive a style that had long been extinct.
Now brewing a million litres per year – a ten-fold increase since they tapped their first beer – the portfolio of ten core beers has been supplemented by a host of one-off and seasonal brews, many of which have been fanciful forays down uncharted roads.
Despite victories such as this, it has been Stu Mostów’s forward-facing strategy that has impressed the most, something underscored by the securement of EU funding for, among other things, research and development projects.
“We’ve always looked for better ways to do things, and the launch of a fully-fledged laboratory has really opened the door to big changes,” says Ziemian. “Thanks to it, we’ve seen a significant jump in quality control. It’s been a major game changer.”
Moreover, last year’s launch of a smaller brewery has allowed the chance to focus on mixed fermentation beers and an entirely new set of beer products for their portfolio.
It has been Stu Mostów’s forward-facing strategy that has impressed the most, something underscored by the securement of EU funding for, among other things, research and development projects.
Now brewing a million litres per year – a ten-fold increase since they tapped their first beer – the portfolio of ten core beers has been supplemented by a host of one-off and seasonal brews, many of which have been fanciful forays down uncharted roads: bourbon barrel-aged nitro stouts with hints of peanut butter; hefeweizens with generous wallops of strawberry, guava and coconut; or international collaborations that have brought forth such miracles as the pineapple and dragon fruit pastry sour.
Offering more than just shock value or novelty factor, these are beers that have raised the bar.
Furthermore, although the links to local are heavily pronounced, Stu Mostów’s international forays have led not just to ground-breaking beers, but also strong relationships with foreign craft leaders.
Grzegorz said that by positioning the best of Poland’s craft breweries next to the best from England and Spain, etc, drinkers at the Beer Geek Madness Festival can see where Poland sits in the world of craft beer.
“At the Beer Geek Madness festival you’ll see several of these,” says Ziemian, “and in many ways that makes us special when it comes to Polish beer festivals: by positioning the best of Poland’s craft breweries next to the best from England and Spain so forth, drinkers have a direct comparison as to where Poland sits in the world of craft beer.”
And just where is that? “Honestly,” says Ziemian, “I think Poland’s scene is now among the best. That might sound like an exaggeration, but I don’t think any other country has developed its craft scene with such speed in the same way as Poland.”
First exploding a little over than ten-years ago, it’s a comment that can’t be doubted. “The domestic beer revolution started late, but the way we caught up has been unprecedented,” says Ziemian.
According to Grzegorz and Arletta, the secret to success is to connect locally and tell a story.
“And it’s been amazing to see – breweries that were born inside garages have now become bona fide operations.”
He added: “Craft still only accounts for 2-4 percent of the market, so for sure there’s room to grow. My advice to any brewery: connect locally, tell a story.”
By doing just that, Stu Mostów have emerged as one of the brightest shining lights on the beer map of Poland.
