May 2026. Cluj. Romania.
I could write far more about Cluj’s architecture,
but you’ve got the idea by now. How about the bars ?
All the attractive looking cafes in the cobbles off the main square seem to have a craft beer in a can; I really liked Opium by Cluj’s Hophead Brewery in Brasseria Locala by the rhododendrons.
The top craft pick on Untappd is Beerhouse, Cluj’s Port Street Beer House, on a cobbled street that looks rather smarter than on Google maps, with Ceapa Ta’s hipster sandwiches opposite.
What is this European obssession with 1980s British beer mats ?
Mmmm, nice jumper.
Loads of beer styles,
but I was missing the smoothness of cask by now.
Unusually for us, we also felt a bit old, the students taking over the large tables to discuss, no doubt, politics and the Eurovision Song Contest.
Leave the cobbles and admire the cultural quarter,
then head north to the Beer Wall Cafe,
where Ioan (John) happily chatted beer and Romanian craft with us in perfect English and we stayed for that wonderful Clandestin Bipolar Bear.
All of which rather put paid to my plans to abandon Mrs RM at Hotel Transilvania and watch FC Cluj for £3 up the hill.
Instead, we gatecrashed the terrace of Klausen Burger‘s brewhouse at the top of the shopping centre,
looking seriously underdressed compared to the wedding party opposite, while we had our first, and last, Russian Imperial Stout of the trip.
I am SO glad Mrs RM had booked an afternoon flight home.
retiredmartin 
Beautiful looking place.
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I’ve got dozens of beer mats, some dating back decades, that I can’t get rid of – even the CAMRA ‘s don’t want them!
I’ve a couple of Romanian colleagues, and I’m pretty sure that one of them comes from Cluj. I shall ask her later, and if so, would she mind taking a carrier bag full of beer mats, back with her, the next time she makes a trip home 🏡.
She will probably, and quite sensibly, tell me to ditch them, but it’s worth a try!
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Paul, and maybe also several carrier bags full of lined beer festival glasses ?
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Paul, most of them have already gone to various local charity shops!
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Ah yes, along with the Wetherspoon vouchers !
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I’m amazed Eileen hasn’t asked you to ditch them, Paul !
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Tonbridge might not have a big enough ditch !
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Tonbridge actually has a big ditch below the castle !
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Martin, the beer mats, aren’t as conspicuous as the glasses, so she hasn’t found them yet. (See above).
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Great photos. Was in Cluj last May. Wizz air from Leeds Airport (LBA). Loved the place and the airbnb in the old town. I think it must have been beer wall we went to, with long benches outside and round the corner from a supermarket.
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