Sunday 17th April 2016

Bob Thompson

Where is Kościerzyna? Well, this small Polish market town is around 30 miles (50 kms) inland from the Baltic Sea port cities of Gdynia and Gdańsk. It is in the ancient province of Pomerania (Pomorze in Polish, Pommern in German) which spread along the northern coast of what is now Germany and Poland. Within Pomerania is Kashubia and this is where Kościerzyna lies.

The town’s symbol is a bear under a tree and the bear is replicated in the logo of the brewery.

Kashubia has its own language which is in the Lechitic (West Slavic) group. It has an alphabet of 34 letters. Around 200,000 people still speak the language with about 50,000 using it as a first language.

There are some very small communities in Texas, USA and in Canada where it is still spoken. That said, today Polish is the main language of the region.

This part of Pomerania was part of Germany until 1919 when it was ceded to Poland and the ethnic Germans of the region moved to Germany.

Go back three hundred years and we find that brewing in the area was performed by monks in the various monasteries dotted around the district. This brewery was founded in 1856. It is located on a site with good well water and it took advantage of a great fire in the town in 1840 that destroyed the buildings previously at the location.

It was established by Carl Klabunde but the most influential owner was Abraham Berent from 1888, as it was his name that was over the door. Thus it was known as the Berenter Brauerei whilst it was in Germany. After the First World War its Polish name was Browar Kościerski. It then entered its most prosperous era which lead up to the Second World War.

From the turn of the century it brewed two beers, a Helles (light) and a Dunkles (dark). Under Polish management these beers became Smietanka and Dubeltowe respectively. They extended the range and created Koźlak, also Pelne Jasne, a light lager and Słodowe Pasteryzowane, a malty pasteurized beer. I think the name of this last beer gives a clue that the other products were not pasteurized, and this one was intended for markets outside of the normal distribution area.

Although construction of the brewery commenced in 1856 the last building wasn’t finished until 1872. They malted their own barley which was produced on the land around the town.

After Kościerzyna became Polish there was a great expansion into Eastern Pomerania and bottling plants were established in Kartuzy, Sierakowice and at the two cities of Gdynia and Gdańsk, where the beers were well liked.

The town was almost totally destroyed during the Second World War. The brewery was patched up after but in the communist People’s Republic of Poland there was no money to re-equip it and it ceased brewing in 1948. Thereafter the premises were used for bottling soft drinks and mineral water. Later it was used to produce mead but all activity finished in 1978.

The building laid derelict until it was purchased by a private investor in 2011 and reconstruction work began. The brewery’s original main building was retained and others were added.

It reopened in 2013 and in addition to the bar room also boasted a separate pizzeria complete with wood-fired oven. There is also a late bar in the basement, a brewery shop in a larger shopping centre and a very impressive 3-Star hotel. I was with Steve and Vaughan when we entered and met Patrick later as he was staying in the hotel above.

Entering from the street you have to immediately make a decision. Left to the pizzeria, straight on and up the stairs or lift to the hotel or right to the bar/restaurant. Of course, the latter is the preferred choice if you are after a beer, and that is where we went.

The décor is starkly modernistic but also comfortable. The seating is upholstered in bright orange or a more ambient grey. There is a bar at the end of the room with a few stools around it.

The brewery equipment is on two floors and on the right the top of its burnished copper is visible. On the walls there are photographs of the brewery in the pre-war years.

It is a little difficult to equate these to the present building. About the only visible clue is the chimney and even that has lost its “angel”, the cowl used to deflect the smoke.

Downstairs we found another bar room. This opens at 17.00 daily, or is supposed to. This then takes the pressure away from the main room above which becomes the restaurant, closing at 22.00. When the upper room is quiet, the downstairs room opens later. Closing time is normally 24.00. It has an electronic dart board and table football.

There was a choice of four beers when we visited, three of them regulars. These were Kościerski Keller (5.3%), Kościerski Cienna (dark) (3.9%), Kościerski Pszeniczne (wheat) (5.8%). The seasonal beer was Kościerski Alt (5.0%). I had all of them except the wheat.

The Keller was a good example of the style, the dark was probably the best, tasting like an English Mild with a greater bitter after-taste. We thought the Alt was too thin. The taste was right but it seemed flat and lacking in body.

The food is Polish with some Kashubian specialities. You can order pizzas without going to the pizzeria. I had one on our first night there and it was very good. The next night I had pork shoulder and knuckle and they were very slowly cooked, the right way with the meat melting in the mouth.

Although it is very unlikely that you should be in Kościerzyna, be assured this is the best bar in town. Being close to touristic Gdańsk it offers a decent alternative place to spend the night close to that city, which can be easily reached by road or rail.

Important Information:

Stary Browar Kościerzyna, Słodowa 3 Kościerzyna 83400. Tel: 04858 680 0771

Restaurant: Monday-Sunday 09.00-22.00; Bar: 17.00-24.00. Closing times can vary.

The pub is to be found in the centre of this small town.
It is around fifteen minutes walk from the railway station.
This is served by regular trains to Gdynia, with connections to and from Gdańsk.