is a nation of almost 39 million people with a very rich but conservative brewing tradition. In 1321 Konrad, the Duke of Olesnica, granted the city of Namyslow in southwest Poland the privilege to brew beer, and the ducal malt and brewhouse were founded. Seven hundred years later, Browar Namyslow, Poland’s oldest brewery, continues to brew its brand Zamkowe on the site of a Gothic castle.

The third republic of Poland has existed for less than a century, and it has undergone a revolution in its brewing industry while surviving Nazi occupation and Communist rule. Nazis confiscated Polish breweries and produced a low-gravity lager for the soldiers on the Russian front. Under Communist rule, brewers were forbidden to sell their beer outside of their region (with the exception of the Żywiec and Okocim breweries in southern Poland, which were allowed to export beer). Poland now boasts some of the most modern and state-of-the-art breweries in the world.

The 1990s were a decade of great change on the Polish brewing landscape. Global brewers entered the market with the first national television and billboard advertising campaigns that the country had ever seen. An Australian conglomerate called Brewpole brought the concept of “Miller Time” to Poland, relabeling it as “EB Time.” By the start of the 21st century the major brewers had basically swallowed up Poland’s most prominent regional players and successfully consolidated the market. What was once a full-bodied, well-hopped pale lager has become a homogenous, adjunct- infused, characterless pale lager in line with the common international pilsner. See adjuncts.

Today, the market is 95% controlled by four large brewers: SAB Miller, Heineken, Carlsberg, and Royal Unibrew. Beer drinkers have shunned their local brewers for the brands of global players who introduced marketing tactics from the Western world.

For those seeking Polish beers with more flavor, there are some beacons of hope. Notable styles that have survived the market upheaval are the Baltic Porter and Kozlak beers. A few independent local brewers have begun producing a non-pasteurized version of their pale lagers, with the first to gain national prominence coming from the Amber Brewery near Gdansk.

The Baltic porter is the most interesting beer style brewed in Poland today. Original gravities for Baltic porter range from 18 to 22°P, alcohol content from 7.5%–9%, and bitterness from 25 to 40 IBUs. The aroma evokes toffee, caramel, sherry, and licorice. The color is copper to dark red, and the flavor is of caramel, dark chocolate, and sour cherries. Baltic porter can be a very complex beer. As with most Polish beers, malty sweetness dominates, and hops are toned down. Baltic porter is fermented with a lager yeast, whereas traditonal porters are fermented with ale yeast. See baltic porter.

Small craft brewers have realized the opportunity to create a niche by producing the above-mentioned styles, avoiding useless battles over the question of who can produce the cheapest golden lager.

Homebrewing has become increasingly popular in Poland. The community of homebrewers now has access to ingredients from all over the world, and homebrewers are beginning to replicate styles from many different countries. The modern Polish beer consumer is open to trying beers from the UK, Belgium, the United States, and beyond, so one imagines it is only a matter of time until more Polish brewers begin producing beers inspired by craft brewing movements worldwide.

After 2004 robust growth has been seen in the brewpub segment of the market. Today there are almost 20 brewpubs in Poland, and that number continues to increase. The very first brewpub in Poland, Spiz, was opened in Wroclaw in 1992. Since then, Spiz has opened two other locations, in Milkow and Katowice. Another brewpub chain is Bierhalle, with locations in Warsaw, Lodz, Katowice, and a restaurant in Wroclaw. Bierhalle offers Reinheitsgebot-inspired beers brewed in glass coppers from the company Joh. Albrecht. See reinheitsgebot.

The Polish brewpubs tend to brew five styles: pale lager, dark lager, honey lager, wheat beer, and Kozlak, a Polish-style bock. Some of the brewpubs produce strictly German-inspired beers such as pils, märzen, dunkles, weizen, alt, and bock.

A style often written about is a smoked wheat ale from the former Grodzisk brewery. This style has died out, although a Polish businessman has purchased the land where the former brewery was located and plans to resurrect the brewery and Grodzisk beer. The worldwide brewing community eagerly awaits this revival. Grodzisk beer was characterized by effervescence, smokiness, and a dry finish, and could be dubbed Poland’s “Champagne of Beers.” The beer was relatively light, ranging from 2%–5% ABV. Although this beer is no longer brewed commercially, Polish homebrewers organize a yearly competition to brew this style in its hometown of Grodzisk. The beer writer Michael Jackson once listed the Grodiszk ale as a “world-class beer.”