Beer tasting in Gdańsk is not only an enjoyable activity but also a fascinating trip into the city’s past. A drop of beer is like a little lump of amber holding inside the history of the place and people. Variety of flavors, brands and pubs can tell you more than history books.

It was already in the city’s very beginnings when beer constituted a natural ingredient of daily diet. As a matter of fact it was recommended as healthier than water. It’s because in medieval times, beer was the only beverage based on boiled water. An ordinary day of a Gdańsk citizen would start with a hot beer soup which provided a substantial dose of energy for the morning. It was also common that part of daily earnings was paid with beer. The beverage was widely used as medicine for variety of diseases. There was even a beer for children, served in a form of a nutritious soup with white cheese and honey at the end of the day. One may risk an assumption that for a few centuries practically ALL inhabitants of Gdańsk would all day long go in a state of lower or higher intoxication. Of course beer was also an indispensable element of festivities, and Gdańsk is proud of its very own historical brands consumed on special occasions and recognized all over Europe. At one point there were more than 150 brewers living in Gdańsk and their guild includes also as famous citizens as an astronomer Jan Hevelius.

It is all history, but the golden days of „the golden beverage” are on again. The beer making traditions of Gdansk are revived in a growing number of small craft breweries. They use traditional recipes and technologies or manufacture their own brands. The culture of drinking encompasses also a variety of places where you can enjoy beer tastings. These can be traditional working class pubs but also stylish beer halls with historical interiors and dozens of taps, or the places which are as if transplanted from the communist era. The beer is literally a part of the city’s substance, as a number of historical streets’ names come from the beer itself or brewing tools, ingredients and professions. If you want to taste Gdańsk, join us for a beer tour. Have a drop of the city’s history and much more…