Polish vodka, great, Polish beer, not so great. That’s not a rare opinion, and one frequently espoused by the staff of In Your Pocket. With the big brands coming from Silesia and Poznan what about local beer?

There is hope. First of all there are the in-house brews at Brovarnia, one of the country’s best microbreweries. And then there is the discovery of a rather smashing local brewery called Amber Browar. Their track record should be proof enough with top prizes for both Poland’s best pale beer (Żywe), best dark beer (Kozlak Amber), and best beer (Kozlak Amber again). The secret of their success? Aside from a master brewer who is clearly a genius they use only the
best ingredients – hops from Lublin, fermentation yeast from Munich and absolutely no preservatives, additives or corn. That’s why you’ll still feel on top of the world following an absolute skinful.

So what brands to watch for then? Żywe looks like it might well become the official brand of In Your Pocket, though do keep an eye open for Zlote Lwy, Kozlak and Amber Classic, while the Johannes beer introduced to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Hevelius’ birth proved so popular that they have decided to keep brewing it.

Find the Amber Brewery represented in Flisak, Cup of Tea and the Goldwasser or Targ Rybny restaurants.