Slovenian beer, from Žalec hops to Kamnik's craft brewers

Savinja hops

Taste Slovenia explains that the Savinja Valley ranks among the world’s biggest hop-growing areas, and that Styrian hops, Štajerski hmelj, hold an EU protected geographical indication. They flavour many beers and are used in cooking too. In Žalec you can walk among the hop gardens, visit the Eco-Museum of Hop Growing and the Brewing Industry and, above all, the Zeleno zlato fountain, which Taste Slovenia calls the first beer fountain in the world, where visitors pour themselves several beers brewed with Slovenian hops. The town is covered in Žalec.

Laško, the beer town

The Tourist Board presents Laško as a meeting point of wellness, health, beer, beekeeping and herbs. By the Savinja river stands Thermana Laško spa, and since 1825 the town has brewed its own beer, which blends into its wellness and food offer. At Thermana there’s a sauna in a brewer’s cauldron, a beer emulsion massage and a Gambrinus bath for two. Every year the town also hosts the Beer and Flowers Festival, which the Tourist Board describes as the largest music and tourist event in Slovenia. More in Laško.

Kamnik and its microbreweries

The Tourist Board bills Kamnik as the place with the most breweries per inhabitant in the world and the capital of microbreweries, with two of the country’s ten largest. The Beer Way to Freedom Tour leaves from Trg svobode square every second Friday, with a local guide, a freedom beer at a secret spot, a walk through the old centre and the green surroundings, four stops with beers from all the Kamnik breweries plus modern street food, and a visit to the biggest of them. The long version, from 11.00 to 18.00, costs €135 per person, and the short one, from 17.00 to 20.30, €85. The long tour adds a sports activity, while the short one sticks to the four breweries and three dishes. The town itself is in Kamnik.

Once your dates are set, check which hotels are still free in Laško before prices climb.

Union, Ljubljana’s beer

Slovenia’s other big brand is Union, and its home is in Ljubljana, at Celovška cesta 22 in the Šiška district. The brewery dates itself to 1864, and the history it published for its 160th anniversary says it was founded by the children of the politician and businessman Johann Kosler when they inherited the family fortune. The company is now called Pivovarna Laško Union and belongs to Heineken, so both of the country’s big beers come from the same stable.

There’s a twist most guides leave out. In October 2021 the company announced it was moving Union’s brewing and fermentation to Laško, because a safety assessment had found the Ljubljana plant’s 35-year-old cooling system was no longer fit for use, and by January 2023 the Slovenian press reported that brewing and bottling had both gone to Laško. What stayed in Ljubljana is the Pivnica Union beer hall, the museum and, since spring 2026, the Mestna pivovarna Union, a small brewery making short runs (IPA, APA, stout, porter and fruity sours) that you can watch through a glass wall.

The visit is called the Union Experience. A guide takes you through more than 160 years of brewing in Ljubljana and the brand’s story, then round the museum, which opened in 1986 and covers over 600 m² according to the Slovenian museums register, and you finish with a tasting in the beer hall. According to its website, tours run Tuesday to Saturday at 13:00, 15:00, 17:00 and 19:00, in Slovene and English and always by booking, and cost €17.50 for adults, €14.90 for seniors and students and €9 for ages 6 to 17. Only adults can join the tasting. I’d call it the easiest beer outing if you’re staying in the capital, since it sits a short walk from the centre next to Tivoli Park; and if you want something genuinely local, the Mestna pivovarna’s beer is what I’d order at the bar. The city is covered in Ljubljana.

Festivals and beer at the table

Taste Slovenia lists beer festivals among the summer food celebrations and counts beer among the country’s refreshing drinks, alongside water, tea and grape must. For me, a Slovenian beer goes well with a hearty stew or with Carniolan sausage; the rest of the menu is in Slovenian food.

If you would rather have a local show you round, book a guided tour in Laško and choose by the reviews.

Beer and driving

Žalec and Laško lie in the same valley, so it’s tempting to link them by car. The drink-drive limit is 0.5 g of alcohol per kilo of blood, and zero for anyone who has held a licence for under two years or is under 21. If the plan is to try several beers, I’d leave the car parked and drive another day.

Once your dates are set, check which hotels are still free in Laško before prices climb.