Szent András Brewery reinforces with a playground of brewers

The tradition-follower, yet a brave experimenter with beer types and ingredients, Szent András Brewery has reached another milestone. In the new project of the Békésszentandrás-based beer manufacture, ‘TestAndras’ (TesztAndrás), the brewery focuses on small batch series of experimental beers, so bold but even more exciting ideas can be realized. If anything, it’s a real playground for brewers.

The lockdown period was spent useful in the Szent András Brewery, one of the pioneers of Hungarian small-scale breweries. During the restrictions, much was about the improvements and the exploitation of new opportunities. The first step in this process was a completely new project, which is also the dream of every brewer at the same time: a playground designed for this purpose, where everything is possible. According to the brewers of Békésszentadrás, "there is no impossible beer, only uncooked beer". In addition to the usual staff, highly appreciated brewers Tomi Mátyus and Máté Kiss, who also work as home brewers, joined the work of the experimental lab called ‘TestAndras’. The main goal of the project is to rethink the old recipes of the brewery, to realize the dreams cherished so far, to experiment with new ingredients and to get unforgettable experiences by the aspect of both brewers and the consumers.

In this workflow, limited edition small-batch series of just a few thousand bottles are made, which, sometimes, come from playing with raw materials, a re-thought beer, pushing the boundaries of the brewers’ imagination, (and sometimes the technical) limits of the tools. The first pair is a double cold-hopped west coast IPA ‘Beta.03’ fragrantly playing with smells, and the non-complicated s.m.a.s.h. IPA ‘Beta.11’, which brings almost coconut character notes, cooked with Sabro hop. During the project, the brewery plans to experiment with more styles and many exciting ingredients.

Collaborations and experiments with selected ingredients from all over the world have never been far from Szent András Brewery. The dream of the beer series ‘Vári Sisters’, which was a sort of introduction to the TestAndras project, was also marked by the names of two guerrilla brewers. The special recipes of the multi-part beer series Vári Sisters' were elaborated by Gergő “Armando Ochoa-Csakajósör” Kővári and László “Ogre” Marosvári, who worked together with the brewers of Békésszentandrás.

The small-scale beer manufacture in Békésszentandrás has always had a strong relationship with its consumers, be it about professional education, such as Uncle Ogre’s Brewery University, where participants could take part in brewing lectures or beer history, but also helped beer lovers who stayed home due to the lockdown. Related to TestAndras beers, however, they are preparing for another hit, and the closed Facebook group ‘TesztAndrás Klub’ (TestAndras Club) will soon be launched, where the focus will be on the customers’ opinion. Members of the group can get information about the new TestAndras experimental beers first-hand, take a look behind the scenes, ask questions, get information from the brewers, join private online events, share their experiences of experimental beers, and even shape the  future small batches.