The Pivo & Burger Fest (R)Evolution
In expectation of the 17th edition of Pivo & Burger Fest that is taking place at Pogačarjev trg on Saturday and Sunday, September 3 & 4, we are looking into the past and pondering how far we’ve come from the premiere of the festival, that brought together a myriad of curious eaters and drinkers back in October of 2014 and started a unique (r)evolution.
Nowadays, when we are one by one returning from our vacations and the summer heat is slowly subsiding, we more often find ourselves drawn to one of the many terraces of the city’s quality craft beer offering sanctuaries.
When our eyes scan the list of various craft potions from near and far on tap, we might find ourselves contemplating the time, when the rebirth of brewing in Slovenia was just starting. It was the year 2014, when the Open kitchen (then in it’s second season) was getting more and more persistent in convincing the townsfolk and the out-of-towners there was a lot to be discovered in Slovenia’s culinary scene, while constantly presenting new food and beverage trends and keeping an eye out for all the yummy novelties popping up on our land.
It was at that time that we were starting to hear more and more about young, keen teams that decided to step out of the box and present the Slovenian market with quality burgers, overstepping the fast food cliché, or craft beer, brewed in small quantities from carefully selected ingredients. It was the dedication of those individuals, along with the quality of their meticulously composed products, that sparked the inspiration of the Open kitchen team. And thus, Pivo & Burger Fest was born.
Back then, there was only a handful of the more cosmopolitan Slovenians that knew there was more to the world of beer than the choice between light and dark, and it might be that only a few understood that “medium” does not refer to the size of the burger. But just a few hours into the premiere of the festival it was crystal clear that we were hungry and thirsty for discovering novelties, ready to learn about tasting and pairing, and that the gourmet burger and the craft beer are a winning combination with a bright future.
Today, almost 8 years later, our beerology vocabulary is enriched by well established phrases and seemingly cryptic acronyms like APA, blonde ale, cold IPA, DDHPA, gose, helles, micro pale ale, NEIPA, oatmeal stout, porter, saison, rye ale and wild ale, and our burgerosophy dictionary has several entries under each letter. Among them are aioli, brioche, coleslaw, cheddar, demi-glace, dry-aged beef, honey-mustard sauce, medium rare, raclette, sweet burger, smashed burger, stilton, pretzel bun, pulled pork, vegan patties of all sorts, and more. We’ve come so far, don’t you think? And we firmly believe there’s more to discover!
Did you find yourself a bit dizzy while reading our rich vocabulary? Was there a word in there you didn’t find quite so familiar? Or are you one of those who perused the words and felt right at home? Maybe one of the phrases woke up your appetite or made you just a bit thirsty? Are you simply curious as to what’s new? If you answered any of the above with a yes, you’ll fit in perfectly at the newest edition of the festival! And so, we courteously invite you to join us on the weekend of September 3 & 4 at Pogačarjev trg. There our hunger will be satisfied and our thirst quenched by the pioneers of the beer and burger revolution and the trailblazers of the concept’s evolution.
In short - join us, it’s gonna be a blast!
