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Vunetovo Craft Beer: Hvar Island’s Pioneering Microbrewery and Croatia’s Most Scenic Craft Beer Destination

Bok! Imagine drinking a freshly brewed craft beer on the island of Hvar — one of the most beautiful places in the Mediterranean — as the Adriatic sun sets over ancient stone villages and lavender fields. That’s the experience Vunetovo Craft Beer has been offering since 2015, making it not only one of Croatia’s most unique craft breweries but also one of its most romantically situated.

Founded in 2015 on Hvar island, Vunetovo is Croatia’s only island-based craft microbrewery — a distinction that makes it instantly special. While most Croatian craft breweries operate from urban centres or rural mainland locations, Vunetovo chose to plant its flag on an Adriatic island famous for its sunshine, lavender, wine, and stunning natural beauty.

The brewery’s flagship Aljaski Mrgud Black IPA became a calling card for adventurous drinkers exploring Hvar’s beyond-the-beach offerings. Alongside stouts, dunkelweizens, and saisons, Vunetovo has built a range as diverse as the island’s own landscapes. This is craft beer with a view — and the beer itself is worth coming for.

Island Ambition: The History of Vunetovo Craft Beer

Vunetovo Craft Beer was founded in 2015 on Hvar — consistently ranked among the world’s most beautiful islands and a magnet for discerning travellers from across Europe and beyond. The founders saw an opportunity that nobody else had taken: to produce genuinely excellent craft beer on an island famous for wine, lavender, and breathtaking landscapes.

Operating a brewery on an island presents unique logistical challenges: ingredients must be imported, equipment is harder to maintain, and the market is seasonal in ways that mainland producers don’t face. Vunetovo embraced these constraints as part of their identity. What they produce is, by necessity, thoughtful, small-batch, and deeply personal — the antithesis of mass-market beer production.

The brewery’s name — Vunetovo — reflects the personal, family-rooted nature of the operation, deeply tied to the island’s identity. Their Aljaski Mrgud Black IPA became the beer that best captured their spirit: a dark, complex, hop-forward style that combines the unexpected with genuine brewing ambition. Hvar’s food and beverage scene embraced Vunetovo quickly — the brewery’s beers began appearing at restaurants, bars, and hotels across the island, giving visitors something uniquely local to discover alongside the Dalmatian wines.

The Taste: Vunetovo’s Diverse Island Range

Vunetovo’s range demonstrates impressive stylistic range for a small island microbrewery — each beer a considered expression of a different brewing tradition:

Core Range

• Aljaski Mrgud Black IPA (5.9% ABV): The brewery’s flagship and most distinctive beer. The Black IPA (or Cascadian Dark Ale) combines the roasted character of a dark beer with the hop intensity of an IPA. “Mrgud” is Croatian slang for a grumpy but loveable character — and this beer has exactly that personality: dark and assertive on first impression, but revealing layers of citrus, pine, and tropical fruit alongside its roasted backbone.
• Stout: Vunetovo’s stout is a full-bodied, roasty dark beer with notes of coffee, dark chocolate, and a hint of the sea-salt air that characterises island brewing. Rich and satisfying, it drinks extraordinarily well alongside Dalmatian grilled fish and seafood.
• Dunkelweizen: A Bavarian dark wheat beer given Vunetovo’s island treatment. The classic banana and clove yeast esters of the style combine with a gentle roasted malt character and the smooth, creamy body of a hefeweizen.
• Saison: Perhaps the style most naturally suited to Hvar’s Mediterranean climate. The Vunetovo Saison is effervescent, spicy, and dry — brewed in the Belgian farmhouse tradition with a yeast character that produces fruity esters and peppery phenols.

The Only Island Brewery: Vunetovo’s Unique Place in Croatian Craft

• Geographic Distinction: As Croatia’s only island-based craft brewery, Vunetovo occupies a unique position in the market — they are, by definition, the most scenic craft brewery in the country, and that setting is part of the experience.
• Tourism Integration: Hvar attracts some of the most affluent and culturally curious tourists in the Mediterranean. Vunetovo’s presence on menus across the island ensures their beers are discovered by a cosmopolitan international audience.
• Stylistic Courage: Brewing a Black IPA and a Saison in a market dominated by lager-drinkers required confidence and conviction. Vunetovo’s willingness to offer genuinely challenging styles demonstrates their commitment to craft over commercial safety.
• Island Identity: On an island where local identity is fiercely prized, Vunetovo has successfully positioned itself as Hvar’s own craft beer — a genuine local product that visitors and residents can both celebrate as authentically theirs.

Perfect Pairings: Vunetovo Beers with Dalmatian Island Cuisine

• Aljaski Mrgud Black IPA + Lamb Peka or Grilled Lamb Chops: The Dalmatian countryside is famous for its slow-roasted lamb, and the Black IPA’s roasted bitterness and hop intensity make it a natural companion for fatty, flavourful lamb — especially peka-style, cooked under the clay bell.
• Stout + Grilled Adriatic Lobster or Octopus: Counterintuitive but extraordinary — the roasted depth of a Vunetovo Stout paired with freshly grilled island lobster or a classic Dalmatian octopus salad creates a rich contrast that highlights the sweetness of the seafood beautifully.
• Dunkelweizen + Fried Fish or Burek: The smooth, slightly sweet Dunkelweizen is a versatile companion for fried foods — whether fresh fried fish from the Adriatic or a warm cheese-filled burek pastry.
• Saison + Hvar Lavender Honey Desserts or Fresh Goat Cheese: The spicy, fruity character of the Saison pairs remarkably with Hvar’s famous lavender honey in desserts, or with fresh goat cheese drizzled in the same honey.

Finding Vunetovo Craft Beer on Hvar and Beyond

• Hvar Island Restaurants & Bars: Vunetovo beers are available throughout Hvar — at restaurants in Hvar Town, Stari Grad, Jelsa, and Vrboska. Any good restaurant or bar will either stock them or be able to direct you to where they can be found.
• Vunetovo Website: Visit vunetovocraftbeer.com for stockist information, brewery details, and any shipping or online purchase options.
• Dalmatian Coast Craft Bars: Vunetovo beers occasionally appear at specialist craft beer venues on the mainland Dalmatian coast — in Split, Dubrovnik, and other coastal cities.
• Croatian Craft Beer Festivals: Vunetovo participates in national craft beer festivals — look for them at Zagreb Beer Fest and similar events where their island provenance makes them a genuine novelty among mainland producers.

Na zdravlje uz Vunetovo Craft Beer! Here’s to Croatia’s island brewery — where the Adriatic breeze, the lavender fields, and the finest craft beer all come together in one perfect glass.