I am a stories person and I like my food and drink to have stories behind them just to make it more interesting. Allow me to take you on a short journey about my favorite beer and the wicked tale that accompanies it. This a tale that beer lovers tell around campfires while chills run down their spines. Sometimes they even get so caught up in it they forget about their families and become late for dinners and appointments. If you have a loved one who forgot to call or is running late, don't be mad at him/her, maybe he or she is somewhere listening to this story, shaken and afraid. Hug that person when they sober up and comfort them :)

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THE BLACK QUEEN of Medvedgrad

Barbara of Cilli (1392 – 1451) was the queen of Hungary and Bohemia by marriage to Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund of Luxembourg. She married him when she was only 16 but that didn't stop her to become actively involved in politics and grow up to a queen and empress that her contemporary Enea Silvio Piccolomini (pope Pio II.) described as licentious and profane. Some of her estates were located in Croatia, and her favorite one was Medvedgrad. But you don't want to hear the boring official story, do you? You want the mysterious stuff, don't you? You little rebel... Ok then...

Author Jeff Simpson, image location
Six hundred years after her death she is still considered a witch and if you care about your life you won't walk through the woods of Medvedgrad at night. Barbara loved occultism and alchemy, the forbidden sciences of the time and made a pact with the devil himself. She would throw her lovers off the city walls or put them in a dungeon with a wild boar. Sometimes she would unleash her pet raven to attack the villagers. When the Ottoman Empire came to conquer her kingdom she wanted to sacrifice Medvedgrad for the rest of her land and save herself so she screamed at the devil:

"Strike down devil! I will give you Medvedgrad"

Devil stroke but as he was amused by her arrogance, he turned her into a snake when she died and rumor has it that she still guards her treasures beneath Medvedgrad in secret tunnels.

WHO WOULD DARE TO NAME A BEER AFTER HER?

Brewery and beer house Medvedgrad was founded on December 22nd, 1994 in Zagreb and quickly became the most popular place in Croatia for all beer lovers. When they first started brewing their beer they only had the pilsner Golden bear and the dark lager Black queen but now have 19 different ones in a variety of flavor.

Medvedgrad brewery
For more than two decades, the brewery has been making beer in a traditional way, without using additives and is now in four different locations with their pubs. If you get, as many of us do, a bit hungry after enjoying your beer you need not worry because pubs are also famous for their traditional and quality food, they even provide a catering service.

THE BLACK QUEEN - beer review

Keep in mind that this is a subjective review, I encourage you to try this beer for yourself, trust me, you won't regret it. :)

Information:

• TYPE - dark lager
• ALCOHOL - 4,8 %
• COLOR - dark brown verging on black
• EXTRACT - 13 %
• BEST SERVED - at 5°C
• FOAM - very thick
• AVAILABLE - throughout the year
• CARBONATION - medium

Experience:

Whenever visiting Medvedgrad, I always order this beer. I do like to try new things but somehow always end up drinking the black queen. This beer has a roasted malty caramel flavor and it somehow leaves a fruity kind of finish with a hint of cocoa, sweet and bitter at the same time.

Here is a personal photo that was taken in the pub located in the Samoborska road. It's a nice pub, you can watch the beer being made through the glass panels and enjoy food prepared on the traditional grill with wooden charcoal. Oh, and the best thing about this place? You can buy their bottled beer at outlet prices. 🍺

Not much of a photographer, I know, but you wouldn't be either after a couple of these...

So there you go, I hope I captured your attention and got you interested in this beer. If you would like to read more about different beers please visit Beer Saturday challenge organized by @detlev and maybe even submit your own entry. If you haven't figured it out by now, this one was mine :)

Cheers! 🍻