Slovenia

we been over there on holiday 3 times. Bohinj and Kranjska Gora twice. the bars appear to open for morning coffee/tea/beer around 10 and close around 01:00. haven't a clue about Lublyana.

HTH

They have (or used to have) bottled-conditioned lagers that made it to the US a decade ago; perhaps locally they are available cask-conditioned. Look for one with a picture of a mouflon called "golden horn" or "golden sheep" or something like that.

Pierre

we used to like a bottled lager called "zlatarog" which had a picture of a chamois type mountain goat on the bottle. A tasty lager.

Also on the coast you could sometimes get draught "crno pivo" which literally translates as "black beer" which was a dark heavy lagery style beer which was nice for a change,

but this was many years ago (pre 1990 slovenian independence )

Hilda Dedic

Thanks for the replies everyone. I'm looking forward to that dark beer.

Tony

I've just got back. Pretty much everywhere has a light-coloured lager from Lasko (Zlatarog (?spelling), green labels with a goat thing on the bottle) or Union (red labels), either draught or in bottles, and that is more or less it. People told us that Lasko beer is better, though I couldn't really tell the difference.

Some places have a pivo crno (or is crno pivo?) ("dark beer"), it is always worth asking. There are some zero/low alcohol beers, but I didn't try them. Stella and Guinness are widely available, and needless to say fake Irish pubs have made it out there...

There is a pub with its own-brand beer near Ljubljana station, Kratochwill, at Kolodvorska 14.

As for opening times, I've no idea, sorry. I didn't see anywhere close, though I was usually haeding for the hotel by 23:00 or so.

Here is a coincidence. I actually met Tony (the OP) and his wife a few days ago in Slovenia. It was only after I spottted his CAMRA shirt and the fact that he mentioned this ng that I put two and two together.

Anyway as Arthur says Lasko "Zlatarog" and Union are the standard beers (I was told both breweries have merged - Interbrew used to have nearly half the shares in Union) available and for their type I found them surprisingly drinkable. The former has slightly more flavour and a little more creaminess than the latter. Starpomen Pils was also found.

Of more interest to me were the dark "Temno" beers from Starpromen and Lasko which weren't so widely available but most enjoyable. I purchased but haven't yet tried Union's dark offering "Crni Baron".

Top of the pile however was "Sokol" a beautiful, citrus flavoured BC ale of

4.5% and made for Ciril Metodev restautant in Ljubljana. The brewers go under the name "Adam Ravbar" and appear to brew the beer for other restaurants. They have a website: and are located in Domzale.