A glass of Valjevsko beer on a wooden table beside a barrel, hops and barley

About us

Traditional method

For more than a century and a half, equipment, technology and production methods have changed, but the foundation of good beer has remained the same.

At Valjevska pivara, modern technology helps us precisely control every step, yet we still rely on the principles of traditional brewing — quality raw materials, natural processes and the time beer needs to develop its full character.

Spring water from Paklje. Local malt. Carefully selected hops. A yeast strain we have kept for more than half a century. Natural fermentation and long maturation. No acceleration. No subsequent dilution. No shortcuts.

A drop of water on the surface – spring water from Paklje

Water makes up the largest part of every beer, which is why its quality directly affects taste and character.

To brew beer at Valjevska pivara we use spring water from the Paklje source, just nine kilometers from the brewery.

We use it in its natural mineral composition, preserving the properties given to it by the Valjevo region. Its mineral profile plays a part in the entire production process — from working with the malt to the expression of the hops and the final taste of the beer.

That is why, for us, water is not just one of the ingredients.

It is part of our beer's origin.

A wooden spoon with brewer's yeast and ears of barley

At Valjevska pivara we use a special starter culture – a blend of two strains of brewer's yeast that have been maintained here in symbiosis for more than 50 years.

While starter cultures in modern brewing are often sourced from specialized culture collections and replaced after a certain number of generations, our strain has been kept, renewed and has continued its story in the same brewery for over half a century.

Yeast plays one of the most important roles in creating a beer's character. During fermentation, alcohol, carbon dioxide and aromatic compounds form naturally, shaping flavor, aroma and body.

For more than 50 years we have been preserving something that cannot simply be made again – continuity.

Detail of a wooden beer barrel – natural fermentation and maturation

Beer does not become good the moment fermentation ends.

After traditional cold fermentation comes the time for maturing. The beer is allowed to mature naturally, so that the flavors come together, the aroma rounds out, and the character becomes more harmonious and complete.

Long maturation contributes to fullness of flavor, clarity, finer carbonation and the rich, lasting head characteristic of a quality lager.

In industrial production there are ways to speed this process up significantly. We choose time. Because good beer needs no rush.

Since 1860 we have been making beer. Not concentrate.

In the traditional process, beer is brewed at full extract, fermented, matured and, after lagering, moves on to filling without any subsequent dilution of the finished beer.

This is one of the important differences compared with high-gravity brewing (HGB), in which a more concentrated wort is brewed and the beer is diluted with prepared water after the process to reach the desired characteristics.

Such a process increases production efficiency. Our choice is different.

We want to preserve what spring water, malt, hops, our yeast and time have created together during production — the fullness, aroma and character of the beer.

This is how we work today, and the story of Valjevska pivara began back in 1860, when Dimitrije Mitrović started producing beer on his estate below Vidrak, with the help of Bavarian master brewer Josef Eichinger.

Since then, generations of brewers have come and gone. Buildings, equipment and the possibilities of technology have changed, but the idea has remained the same — to make good beer from quality raw materials and give it enough time to become what it should be.

More than 30 gold medals and awards won over the years confirm the quality built on precisely these principles.

But for us, tradition is not just the year of our founding.

Tradition is the way we still make beer today.

1860.

The beginning of a tradition

The brewery in Valjevo was founded by Valjevo merchant Dimitrije Mitrović. It was established in 1860 as a craft workshop producing wooden barrels. Over time it expanded and developed thanks to investments by other merchants and partners, laying the foundations of a tradition that has lasted for more than a century and a half.