On tap at various locations in Zagreb. Have tried various batches which differed in quality. Pours orange with white head. Citrus and tropical fruits in aroma. Fruity flavor with just enough body. Bitter finish. My favorite of all the new beers which emerged in Croatia in 2014. Re Rate: well for some time now it hasn't been the old APA we used to know. Not sure if it's me or the recipe was a bit adjusted to distinct it from C4. Less aroma and a bit more watery. Still a good choice to have a several in a row and keep your mind clear.

On tap at Ro&Do Zagreb. After APA here comes another one from Nova Runda...and the story goes like this...One rainy afternoon after having Lithuanian beer tasting with Marko I’ve decided to go to try this one. So I went there to grab a beer. I sat and when bartender came I’ve asked for Nova Runda beers. And he said, oh yes we have two from Nova Runda; one is American Pale Ale and another one is Brown Pale Ale...LOOOOLLLL!!!!
Now about the beer. Deep brown coloured, medium sized brownish head, hops and chocolate in the nose. Light roasted malt, slight herbal hoppy and touch of dark chocolate in the finish. Slightly watery also. Need some minor corrections but still quite nice brew.

Nova Runda somewhat quietly released their new Brown Ale - Brale ("brale" means, say, "bro" in Dalmatia, heh... name chosen by one of their supporters), available for now at Ro & Do. Poured a daaaaaaark brown body with an off white creamy head. Dry bitter aroma, ashy, roasty, some herbal hopiness. Dry, roasty, ashy taste, light notes of carrot, sweeetish malty background, notes of very very dark chocolate. So basically roast & bitterness balanced by a soft, subtle sweet maltiness. I would love this to have some more hop flavor really. Strong, lasting, full bitter assault in the aftertaste, slightly herbal. Got a touch messy as I drank it, thought I caught some chlorophenol for a second, but I probably imagined it. Better at first... I’m sure that they’ll tweak it to perfection, however, and I’ll be happy to rerate it - it’s still very special for the Croatian beer scene, and as such very, very appreciated!

On tap at Ro&Do, Opatovina, Zagreb. Dark with steady off white creamy head. Strong strawberry jam in the nose, earth-like taste, hoppy bitterness, bread and roasted barley. Not carbonated enough I guess, but full bodied. It should’ve been given more time to carbonize, but good all the same. On tap at Fakin Craft Bar, Zagreb. Shared with 🐛. Murky to opaque brown, small off-white to tan head. Fruity hops, light caramel and toasty and bready aroma . Soft roasty flavours, bready sweetish malty background. Some roasty and hoppy tartness. Dry finish. Balanced nicely, the tart part doesn't bother me, but it might bother some. Light to medium body, moderate carbonation, moderate finish.

On tap at Tolkien’s House Zagreb. Slight hazy dark golden/orange coloured, small to medium sized off-white head, grapefruity hoppy nose. Moderate malty, light bready, fruity and peachy hoppy taste with notes of passionfruit and mild spices in the finish. Pleasant bitter finish and a bit too strong and long-lasting bitter aftertaste. In any case decent and enjoyable brew. Keep it up guys!!!

Introduced in June 2014 as the first Croatian beer, from Nova runda brewery (translated as "New Round"). It had it’s premiere at Tolkien’s Pub in Zagreb so I first had it there and again few day later at a nearby Ro&Do bar. Draft in a half liter glass, hazy orange color with white head that diminished rather quickly. Rich aroma of hops and fruits, pleasant bitterness with fruity notes, medium full body, medium carbonation. Very refreshing and tasty. Well done! Croatian beer lovers are very proud of guys in Nova runda brewery!

Story 1: It’s been 10 years since I started exploring the world of beer, 10 years after I realized how devoid of (craft) beer Croatia actually was, shamefully so - stunted by ignorance and, more so, by laws catering only to the marketing-driven megabreweries who prefer people not knowing shit about beer and serving them cheap crap for as much money as they can. Almost 10 years have I waited for a proper craft brewery in Croatia. Watching them open in Slovenia, Hungary, Serbia, even Kosovo and Bosnia... But no, Croatia had to wait longer because of the situation here. 10(+ for some) years of waiting for something like this...Story 2: Some 2-3 years ago, ogivlado and me went, with Ogi’s GF Maja went to the Főzdefeszt in Budapest. Randomly, we encountered another group from Croatia that we kinda knew, but not really, and joined forces with them for the rest of the day. A group from pivarstvo.info, the (then) emerging driving force behind the Croatian (home)brewing scene. In that group - Matt Hollingsworth, the guy who brought, after moving here, Croatian homebrewing to another level, Andrej Čapka (admin) and Bojan Pap (Svarrogh) - the two who would some time later join forces to create the upcoming Zmajska Pivovara and last but not least - Marko Filipin, one of the two guys, along with Miro Šuvak, who would be behind Nova Runda. Such names, many future importance, very got drunk, wow! Who would’ve thought, that not that long afterwards one of them would make a beer as important as this, and that 2 others would follow up with more of the same...Story 3: After many trials and tribulations and some pre-release tastings, there I was, at Tolkien’s House in Zagreb, finally trying the FIRST commercial proper American Pale Ale brewed in Croatia. Am I capable of being completely objective about it? Huh, hard to say, but dammit, here goes nothing. Came to me in a 0.5l glass. Poured a lovely, truly lovely full orange-amber body, quite misty, too - the head is thick and white, but went just slightly too fast, so a 4. The Cascade/Citra mix greeted me initially, yeah, clearly dry hopped.... later on, the full background maltiness, sweetish grainy, took over, pushing the hops, carrying notes of elder and blackcurrant a little to the background, but without taking over. Might revise this later on. The taste is quite full, with a soft, silky even mouthfeel. It balances a fine bready, sweetish maltiness with some aroma hop notes and a fine, not overwhelming and well implemented bitterness in the background, finish, and, slightly mild, aftertaste. The flavors mingle well together, creating notes of, among others, peach, and some peppery and maaybe dusty hints emerge here and there. I would’ve personally liked more pronounced hops, but they ARE there and this IS an APA, the base product of an emerging brewery that will need to help educate people about what true beer is, so no complaints there. A nice, well executed beer that did not disappoint. From here on, it will only get better! A fine 3.5 on the hedonistic scale. Croats, support your local, micro and craft breweries, it’s an investment that will keep on giving back!Update: At this point, after moving to Jastrebarsko, Nova Runda’s APA has bumped itself just slightly up to the top of the Croatian APAs - there are still batches that run down to 3.2, 3.3’s, but there are some that are 4, and I mean my 4. When it’s good, it’s great, lovely, generous, soft hoppy aromatics and a solid amount of bitterness.