SLAVONIA AND BARANJA WITH A FOAMY HEAD Senka and the three beers Published 01/06/2026

SLAVONIA AND BARANJA WITH A FOAMY HEAD Senka and the three beers

SSome of the most common questions about beer include its health benefits and potential weight gain. Experts agree that all is good in moderation and recommend up to one beer a day for women, and up to two for men. Guided by this, we present three Slavonian craft breweries: the “female” one – Black Hat, and two “male” ones – Beckers and Stric.

The Black Hat Craft Brewery was established in Đakovo in 2015. Its first lady and head brewer, Senka Matijaković, is a food engineer with years of experience in the industry. Hardworking and always cheerful, a passionate biker and president of a vintage motorcycle club, Senka produces beers such as Blond Ale, Black IPA, and Munja (Amber Ale).

You can find them in Đakovo at pizzeria Lipizzano, Larisa bar, kamp Borovik campsite, hotel Đakovo, and Loora bistro, while the festival beer Spakovo (DDH Pale Ale) is available on special occasions – at beer festivals and events in the area, such as the Đakovo Craft Beer Festival in early September.

The Beckers Craft Brewery in Osijek was founded by true beer enthusiasts, and it shows. You can experience this firsthand at the General von Beckers pub on Holy Trinity Square in Osijek’s old town. With prior notice, they’ll even organise engaging guided tastings of their acclaimed beers: American Pale Ale, Komancheros (Kölsch-style beer), Session IPA, and Mangulica Schwarzbier/black, lager), named after the breed from which the famous black Slavonian pig originates, highly prized among local smokehouse masters.

Interestingly, both the brewery and the pub were named after one of Osijek’s most notable historical f igures, Johann Stephan baron von Beckers, a military commander who completed the “modernisation” of the city walls in the early 18th century to defend
against the Ottoman army. A local legend has it that the general liked to spend his free time in a tavern at the eastern entrance to the fortress, where he tragically fell in love with a charming barmaid named Marija. That tavern is today simply called Beertija, and there – as well as in another pub of the same name near Osijek’s main square and co-cathedral – you can try another local beer: the Osječko unfiltered (Osječko nefiltrirano). Just be careful, as locals will tell you that in the small hours of the night they might have seen none other than the famous general himself roaming the old town streets…

Stric Craft Brewery from Našice run by brothers Josip and Danijel Uremović is the result of enthusiasm and years of home brewing in their basement and garage. Until the early 20th century, such “home brewers” were common throughout Slavonia, and if you noticed wild hops climbing along a village fence instead of roses, it was a sign that your favourite golden, foamy drink was being brewed inside.

Fortunately, the Uremović brothers – two “uncles” to their nephews – have since 2018 grown from home brewers into owners of a well-known small brewery. Their beers, including Lager, Blond Ale, Amber Ale, Stout, Pale Ale, and ESB, can be found in their own Beer Garden pub near the Našice hospital, as well as at craft beer festivals across Slavonia.

"Pivara" in Karanac (opened in spring of 2026)

Imagine this – in the cradle of Croatian winemaking, at the foot of Bansko hill which even the ancient Romans called golden, stands a brewery! „Pivara“, Croatian for brewery (and after the area where barley was once cultivated), is a newly opened craft brewery and pub in the Baranja ethno-village of Karanac which has just welcomed its first guests. We love it!

In their craft brewery, they brew beer in small batches, and the brewery always has 5 different styles of beer ready for its guests: pilsner, IPA, pale ale, dry stout, and raspberry sour.

Contacts:

Text: Mislav Pavošević

BreweryCraft beer