Where I went on a craft beer bar crawl around Sofia

Published on

27/05/2026 - 7:00 GMT+2

When you think about craft beer in Europe, certain cities spring to mind. London, Munich, Brussels and Prague… all big hitters that have dominated the conversation for years.

You probably aren’t thinking about Sofia, especially given it’s part of a region better known for its rakia.

In fact, Bulgaria’s beer scene only dates back to the mid-19th century when the beverage was introduced by immigrants – but that hasn’t stopped the country climbing the ranks to become 14th in the world for beer consumption per capita, according to a Kirin Beer University Report.