Tomislav - The Beer which made me love beer

I had my first beer with my grandfather as soon as I could walk. I started drinking when I was 13, but it wasn't for the next two years that I realized what the real beer was.
At 15 I was at the concert where my friends band played. Everyone from my high school, who listened to rock, was there. At the time I could already handle 4-5 beers, but I was drinking something I call piss with bubbles right now. A commercial lager from Croatia called Ožujsko.

At the end of that night Hrabren, a friend of mine who is 3 years older gave me a bottle cap saying: "To remember the evening by!". I pocketed the cap without giving it much thought and went on to say my goodbyes for the night.
Once I was in a train on my way home, I took the cap out and it was a goldish cap with only one word in black letters written there: Tomislav.

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A full bottle of Tomislav from that time (on the left), next to the current bottle of Tomislav (on the right)

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I was already intrigued, the name of the first Croatian king is Tomislav, and I come from a small village in vicinity of Tomislavgrad. I thought to myself, Hrabren knows about beers and he is drinking this. I will give it a try next weekend.

Next weekend we were again in the same club, and I ordered Tomislav. I poured it, and pitch black liquid with a thick foam filled the glass. I loved it before I tasted it, that was my first encounter with a dark beer and as a little metalhead how could I not love something that is black!

Then I tasted it. Compared to the bubbled piss I was drinking before it rocked my senses. It's flavor was full, it was bittersweet and it felt thick. It is also strong (7.3%), which I didn't notice at the time. Five of those fuckers later and I was laying in the middle of the road in front of the club, with my earphones on, singing The Man Who Sold The World. I fell in love with dark beers instantly.

From that night I started experimenting with beers, and have drunk hundreds different beers since that time. After all those years I still have huge respect for the king (now I can drink around 10 of those without singing a single verse from The Man Who Sold The World). I consider it a best buy beer in Croatia. It is not as amazing as some Belgian beers, but while you will spend 25-35 kn (3.5 - 5 €) on one of those, Tomislav will cost you 12-18 kunas.

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After honoring the king, by drinking few Tomislavs last night (these in particular costed 12 kn (0.4 sbd) per bottle I went for a concert. It was a concert of the Croatian etno/electro band Kries. Unfortunately they only served the bubbly piss on the venue, so I had to do with a few of those.

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Although the beer on the venue sucked, the band was amazing. They played for more than a two hours, and created a great atmosphere. The concert got us all in high spirits and after it finished we switched the venue for a nearby pub to drink a few more Tomislav's and some rakija (if you don't know what rakija is, well I feel really sorry as mere words can't describe that drink)!

For the end, I leave you with a song by Kries, while I leave for a few more Tomislavs.

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