Warsaw, Poland (1)

It is the annual summer holiday, my destinations this year are Poland and Norway.  It may sounds a strange combination, but at least geographically the two countries are not far away.  And the two cities I visited, Gdansk and Bergen, followed the similar trade history in its involvement in the Hanseatic League.  Poland is always my love, and I headed to Norway for its natural scenery.  I don't expect I bumped into so many microbreweries along the way.

Two Glasses of Zywiec and One Glass of "Vodka"

I tried three bottles of Polish beer and bought two more from a huge beer store (which sells almost a thousand, literally, types of beer) during my first day in Warsaw.

You cannot avoid the brand Zywiec when you talked about beer in Poland.  It is the most popular beer brand, and when you order a beer in a bar without mentioned any brand (because you don't speak any Polish) the bartender will probably get you a glass of Zywiec.  Therefore I had my first glass of Zywiec beer just after I checked in a hotel in Warsaw, after I mentioned the word beer to a bartender.  Beer poured in a branded glass, placed onto a branded coaster.

Zywiec is a city in south Poland, somewhere near Krakow.  The brewery was originally founded by Habsburgs in 1852, and started operating in 1856.  You could still find the Habsburg crown and a couple dancing Krakowika (a traditional dance of the area of Krakow) in the logo.  It was nationalised during Communist era.  And later in 1990 acquired by Heineken International, and becomes a very modern brewery nowadays (open for visitors too). 

Zywiec pale lager tasted nice, but I liked the porter much more.  It's almost 8.5% ABV, as I remember. Very refined, but not over-roasted.

I cannot find, from internet research, a commonly-recognised second most popular beer brand in Poland.  It may be Tyskei, or maybe Warka, as I saw quite some advertisements in the streets.  Anyway, I had my third glass of beer, Warka, at dinner, when I actually tried to order a glass of "vodka".  I guess the old man in the restaurant misunderstood my poor English.

(To be continued)