Slovenian beer
Slovenian beer is all about hops: the country has grown them for centuries and has a young craft scene that is growing fast. At Hoptimaal you'll find Slovenian beer from Clef Brewery, with sour beers full of fruit and dessert flavours, from mango and passion fruit to cherry and cheesecake.
- In stock now3 beers
- Breweries1
Breweries from Slovenia 1
All beers in stock 3
From Laško and Union to more than a hundred breweries
Commercial beer production in Slovenia began in 1825 in the small town of Laško, where Franz Geyer started a brewery. At first he brewed Steinbier by dropping red-hot stones into the mash kettles. In 1864 the competing Union started up. Both brands now belong to Heineken and are still the country's dominant beer brands.
The craft beer boom came relatively late. The first microbrewery opened in 2008: Human Fish in Vrhnika, founded by the Australian Matthew Charlesworth. There are now more than a hundred small breweries. Ljubljana is regarded as the beer capital, with breweries, brewpubs and bars focused on craft beer.
A hop country that started brewing for itself
Slovenia is best known for its hops. Hops have been grown for centuries in the Savinja Valley, around the town of Žalec, and it is one of the largest hop-growing regions in Europe. The hop fields cover about 1,700 hectares and up to 98 percent of the harvest goes abroad. Classic bittering varieties such as Aurora, Celeia, Savinjski golding and Bobek dominate, but the hop institute in Žalec, active since 1952, is working on new, more aromatic varieties. Žalec is also home to the first beer fountain in Europe.
The new brewers use those hops for pale ales and IPAs, but also for more experimental styles. Reservoir Dogs brews a sour gose with mango and passion fruit and Lobik makes a Strawberry Cheesecake Sour. Breweries such as Tektonik and Pelicon are known for their hoppy beers.
Slovenian beer at Hoptimaal
From Slovenia we stock Clef Brewery, a brewery for sour beer lovers. Clef's sour beers are heavily fruited with a sweet accent, in the style of a pastry sour. Think Clef Mellow Yellow, Pastry Sour With Mangos, Passion Fruits, Cheesecake And Vanilla and Clef Cherry Bomb, Cheesecake Sour Ale With Cherries, Tonka and Red peppers. Clef Lambada Pastry Sour With Pink Guava, Mascarpone, Coconuts And Vanilla also falls into this category.
Every brewery in our range has its own page, including Clef Brewery. There you can see everything we have in stock from them.
Frequently asked questions
What is typical Slovenian beer?
The beer market is dominated by the lagers from Laško and Union. Alongside that, the craft scene is growing fast, with pale ales, IPAs and sour beers. Hops from the country's own Savinja Valley play a big part in this.
Which Slovenian breweries are well known?
Laško and Union are the big brands. Among the craft breweries are Human Fish (the first, from 2008), Tektonik, Pelicon and Reservoir Dogs. At Hoptimaal you'll find Clef Brewery.
How much Slovenian hops are exported?
Up to 98 percent of Slovenian hops go abroad, mainly to other European countries. The hop fields cover about 1,700 hectares, mostly in the Savinja Valley around Žalec.
Beer from other countries
- Dutch beer 175
- American beer 71
- Belgian beer 68
- Canadian beer 54
- German beer 37
- English beer 37
- Spanish beer 21
- Romanian beer 17
- French beer 16
- Swedish beer 15
- Norwegian beer 14
- Estonian beer 17
- Polish beer 11
- Irish beer 8
- Finnish beer 9
- Hungarian beer 7
- Latvian beer 8
- Croatian beer 8
- Danish beer 8
- Portuguese beer 4
- Welsh beer 5
- Scottish beer 4
- Brazilian beer 3
- Ukrainian beer 2
- Greek beer 3
- Czech beer 3
