Budapest beer festival started with 250 beers – PHOTOS

The 8th Downtown Beer Festival in Budapest’s famous Szabadság Square, only one street away from the iconic Hungarian Parliament, started on 3 September. On the offer, there are more than 250 different types of beer, some produced by 17 small breweries, the others made by big beer companies. Without a doubt, we may taste all kinds of beers in Budapest’s heart in the upcoming four days.

According to Blikk, a Hungarian tabloid, the beer festival on Szabadság Square opened yesterday with lots of different types of beer: lager, pilsner, and stout to pale ale and wheat beer. Moreover, you may also taste Gombóc Artúr’s favourite chocolates. Gombóc Artúr is a well-known and beloved Hungarian cartoon character eating every chocolate he can in the PomPom series. Read about the series in THIS article.

Pompom. Source: Wikimedia Commons/Dargay Attila and Sajdik Ferenc

You may buy your beer cup at the venue. The organisers said most people search for IPA beers, but flavoured beers are catching up unstoppably. They are popular in every season of the year, while people tend to buy lager beers in the summer and dark beers in the autumn-winter period.

Festival Hippie is the official beer of the festival, and you can taste it at SPAR’s booth. SPAR is the main sponsor of the event. Just like previously, fans determined the new taste of the festival beer. Based on their votes, Máté Ábrahám and his team produced the new beer. They used five types of hops from Germany, the United States and Australia. As a result, tropical fruit and pineapple aromas are defining the unique beer type.

Gabriella Heiszler, the CEO of SPAR Magyarország, said their customers need an increasing number of variants and a wide offer. She added she believed Hungarians no longer drink their beer alone, sitting in front of the TV. Instead, drinking beer has become an opportunity for social and family interactions, spending time with the people we love, friends, and acquaintances. Therefore, good quality and taste are essential.

Source: Budapest Beer Festival/FB

Craft and draft beers at Budapest beer festival

Therefore, SPAR stores sell 300 different types of beer, 20% made by small breweries. Among the draft beers they offer at their booth during the festival, guests will find the Horizont Hazy Queen, the Pannonhalma Witbier wheat, the FIRST Belgian Cherry, the White Haze Rafa and the Saint Andrew Almost Mango. Of course, they will offer canned and bottled beers for the fans.

: Source: Budapest Beer Festival/FB

: Source: Budapest Beer Festival/FB

It’s not only craft beers but also alcohol-free beers that are emerging on the popularity index. Dr Sándor Kántor, the director of the Hungarian Beermakers’ Association, said the consumption increase of alcohol-free beers increased by 49% compared to last year. Flavoured alcohol-free beers are also becoming more popular. The trade volume in the latter case grew by 29%.

Source: Budapest Beer Festival/FB

The beer festival is to end on Sunday, and the entrance is free.

Hell Energy sales climb 22pc in H1

First-half consolidated net sales revenue of Hungarian soft drink maker Hell Energy rose 22pc year-on-year to HUF 94.0bn, an earnings report posted on the website of the Budapest Stock Exchange, where the company’s corporate bonds are listed, shows. Material costs increased at a slower pace, growing by 15.5pc to HUF 65.1bn. Operating income was up 30.7pc at HUF 14.3bn.

After-tax profit improved to HUF 13.8bn from HUF 5.3bn in the base period when a financial loss impacted performance. Hell Energy noted that sales volume climbed 14pc to 721m units during the period helped by inventory stocking in preparation for the introduction of nationwide mandatory deposit fee system for designated bottles.

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