Those of you who have kept up with my blog over the years will not be surprised by the large breaks between posting periods that regularly occurs. This time my reason for an almost 4 month hiatus is I was walking the length of Romania from mid August to October with my brother. 1400km to be precise! And while we had a wonderful time not much craft beer was drunk. Romania is a country of good ol’ lager and, much like Spain, various regions of the country have their iconic brand. That said, we did find some in my girlfriends hometown of Vatra Dornei, in Romania’s northern region of Bucovina.

While their website is currently down and makes finding information about them difficult the brewery was established in, I believe, 2018. Cearfisă, is of course Romanian and also not spelt as one word. In actuality it is spelt ‘Ce ar fi să’ and is asked as a question, translating to ‘What would it be?’. They focus on a small range of beers, covering the classic bases of styles, alongside offering their own cola which I also tried and was incredibly delicious. The beer for today’s review is their Pale Ale, rocking up at a fairly strong 5.5% ABV considering the style.

The beer pours a clear amber colour with a short but firm off-white head. The nose is full of a light orange peel aroma. Flavour-wise this is leaning towards a more West Coast style pale ale. There is a crisp, refreshing bitterness running throughout the beer, with citrus-grapefruit flavours at the forefront. A slight juiciness is also present adding a nice overall balance.

A quick note on the bottle art: I think the designs for the labels of all the brewery’s beers may be AI. I’m certainly no expert at spotting AI art but it does give me that vibe. If it is an actual artist then apologies for the assumption! AI art in the beer label world has been a topic of recent discussion recently and one that deserves more than a couple lines. It’s a complicated area involving striking the balance of the tight margins faced by breweries and doing the right thing by supporting real artists and their work. Perhaps a conversation for the future!

This beer was quite a pleasant surprise! When it comes to craft beer brewed from outside the UK and US, I am always extra interested in giving them a go. While craft beer is ubiquitous in most venues across the country the brewers, in countries like Romania, are fighting against a long ingrained love for macro lager. Cearfisă have created a very balanced an easy drinking pale ale here. While it’s not breaking any new ground, it is a tasty brew and one I’d happily have again. I hope the continue to do well in the local area and pioneer for more craft beer in Romania!

Score: 7/10

Check out snappier review on my Instagram!

A must try if you are ever in Romania and getting tired of the standard lagers. Does anyone have any interesting breweries from Eastern Europe that they recommend trying? I’d love to explore more craft from that part of the world!

Additional Information:

Style: Pale Ale

Hops: Not Available

Malt: Not Available

IBU: 31

ABV: 5.5%

Gluten Free: No

Vegan: Yes!