Rhombus Craft Brewery – Born from a love of beer
- Sharena Fabrika
- Apr 16
- 7 min read
The hearts behind Bulgarian products – the people who not only follow trends but also honor traditions. Those who know the true taste of local. A series that introduces you to producers from all over Bulgaria – people with a mission, a story, and a taste for the authentic.
Rhombus Craft Brewery is a small family-owned brewery located in the town of Pazardzhik, Bulgaria. It’s believed that "Rhombus" is the oldest known name of the Maritsa River, which flows through this ancient Thracian town. The rhombus shape itself holds deep roots in Bulgarian embroidery, symbolizing kinship and heritage—an apt representation of the family line behind the brewery.
They brew their beer using only natural ingredients: malt, hops, yeast, and water. No artificial stabilizers or preservatives are added. They don’t filter or pasteurize their beer, preserving its natural freshness. So far, they’ve crafted over 110 different beer styles - including barrel-aged brews, and varieties infused with roses, lavender, salt, chili peppers, and more.
A few years after opening the brewery, they launched an on-site restaurant - yes, complete with an inner garden. Rhombus’ kitchen serves seasonal dishes made from local produce and juicy meats, slow-smoked in a genuine Texas smoker. And to finally settle the age-old debate of “Who’s driving tonight?”, they opened a cozy hotel above the brewery just after the lockdown.
Soon after, they began making their own sausages to serve in the restaurant, which led to the creation of “Kolbasarnitsata”—a workshop dedicated to artisanal cured meats and delicacies.
And yes, all dogs are welcome—both in the hotel and the restaurant, no extra charge.
Gabriela and Stoycho share the story of how Rhombus grew from a family passion into a beer that now finds its way to almost every table.
Let’s take a little step back - back to a time when beer shelves weren’t packed with endless options. What’s the story behind craft beer?
G.: The craft beer revolution began in the 1970s in the U.S., as a kind of protest against mass-produced beer. The movement quickly spread around the world and changed the way we think about beer—not just as a drink, but as a handcrafted product rich in culture and history. In Bulgaria, this wave arrived quite a bit later.
Did that influence your decision to start your own brewery?
S.: Definitely. When we started, there was barely any alternative on the Bulgarian market. Even though there are over 100 beer styles worldwide, a regular store shelf here would only offer maybe two or three. So we began—out of love for beer, for the vast world of unknown flavors and aromas. Out of curiosity. And stubbornness. Everyone told us it wouldn’t work, especially outside of Sofia.
Isn’t that also tied to a certain national skepticism we tend to have?
S.: Yes, there was definitely some skepticism in the beginning. When we opened the brewery in 2016, craft beer was an unknown niche product. It felt like there was this invisible barrier between people and unfamiliar flavors.
What kind of beer were you drinking 10 years ago?
S.: Homebrewed. Thirteen years ago, our family got into homebrewing. We were captivated by the magic of beer and started experimenting with different recipes, which only deepened our curiosity and desire to explore new flavors.
When did you scale up to larger production?
S.: It started as an experiment we shared with friends, and over time, the idea to scale up grew—so more people could dive into this fizzy adventure. After all, beer is a social drink. It’s meant to be shared with family and friends. That’s when the idea of a craft brewery was born—one that could help introduce a wider audience to the diversity of flavors and aromas beer has to offer. Slowly, the idea took shape and it was no longer just a frothy dream.
How many types of beer do you produce today?
We’ve brewed over 110 different kinds of beer so far—including the first Bulgarian sour ales, barrel-aged varieties, and ones infused with Damask rose, lavender, herbs, spices, fruits, salt, and chili peppers. And while ten years ago it was hard to convince someone to even try such flavors, today consumers have well-defined preferences.
Maybe it’s not just the wider selection that made us more demanding as consumers, but there’s clearly been a shift in expectations.
G.: Today’s consumers are far more curious, discerning, and informed. As consumers ourselves, we want more than just a product—we want authenticity and transparency. We want the food and drinks we bring to our table to have ingredients we can actually read and understand. We want them to come from closer to home, not from across the world just to quench our thirst.
In that sense, craft brewing is a return to the roots of the craft. We brew our beer with imagination - but also with respect for tradition.
How does this philosophy show up in the production process?
G.: A large part of our processes are done by hand, and we use only natural ingredients—malt, hops, yeast, and water—with zero compromise on the quality of our raw materials. No added stabilizers or preservatives. We don’t pasteurize our beer so we can preserve its natural freshness and retain all the beneficial properties of the malt, hops, and yeast.
What’s the journey of the beer from grain to glass?
S.: The journey from crushed grain to glass is not a short one. It takes at least 21 days—and for certain styles, a lot longer.
Walk us through a typical brew day.
S.: A brew day starts with milling the malt. Meanwhile, water is heated and then mixed with the crushed malt in the mash tun. During mashing, the natural enzymes in the malt are activated by heat and break down complex polysaccharides into simpler sugars that dissolve into the water. This process takes about 60 - 90 minutes. Next comes lautering - separating the wort from the grain - and transferring it into the boil kettle, where we add hops multiple times. Hops are a natural stabilizer, and thanks to the generous amounts we use, our beer has a longer shelf life. After the boil, the wort is cooled to the proper fermentation temperature and transferred to the fermenter, where we pitch the yeast. Fermentation takes around 7 days, during which the yeast converts the sugars into alcohol, carbon dioxide, esters, and other flavor and aroma compounds.
Then comes maturation, where the beer is transferred to a conditioning tank. The beer carbonates and undergoes complex biochemical changes that give it its crisp and refreshing character.
How long does this whole process take?
S.: Maturation takes at least another 15 days. Stronger beers with higher alcohol content can mature for much longer—sometimes even years!
Which are your most popular beers, and do you know why they’ve become favorites?
S.: When people first discover craft beer, they tend to go for bold, extreme flavors—something they can clearly distinguish. Over time, their palate matures, and they begin to appreciate balance. Our most popular beers are the ones you can enjoy all evening, in good company and paired with the right food.
Distribution is another tricky part of craft brewing. How do you tackle those challenges?
S.: With compromise. We’ve stopped selling bottled beer and now offer only draft. That guarantees maximum freshness for everyone who drinks it. Our production is still very small, so we only have a limited number of sales points for now.
You opened the restaurant and hotel during the pandemic? Was that part of the original plan or did it happen more organically?
G.: Our brewery is born out of a love for beer and the simple pleasures of life. People kept asking, “Is there something to eat, too?” So in 2016, we opened the restaurant.We believe less is more, and that’s reflected in the food we offer. You won’t find a menu with dozens of pages—just a few carefully prepared dishes made on-site with local ingredients, seasonal produce, and slow-cooked, smoked ribs and other goodies straight from our smoker.
Снимки: Личен архив
Then came the question “Who’s going to drive?”, right?
G.: Exactly. In 2021, we opened a few hotel rooms right above the brewery—to finally solve that age-old dilemma. And since we believe that dogs are basically a synonym for happiness, all pets are more than welcome—both in the restaurant and the hotel.
And how did the “Kolbasarnitsa” come to life?
S.: All of our sausages are made from chilled Bulgarian meat, sea salt, and spices. My father, Temelko, is the one behind these delicious creations. From lukanka-style sudzhuk to Italian-style dry-cured sausages with orange, fennel, porcini mushrooms, or blueberries—we’re all about flavor and craft.
I have to ask—what’s the ultimate beer snack, according to you?
G.: Contrary to popular belief, beer isn’t just about chips, fried sprats, and fries. Craft beer offers a wide range of flavors and aromas that, when paired well, can elevate food to a whole new level.Beers with a more pronounced malty sweetness, for example, pair wonderfully with seafood as well as aged, aromatic cheeses.Bitter, hoppier beers are a perfect match for bolder flavors—think fatty, salty, spicy foods or fish.Dark beers with chocolatey notes are best friends with desserts, chocolate, red meat, and aged cheeses.
And what’s the best company for a beer?
G.: The best beer is the one you share. Beer is a bridge between people, a reason to stop and talk with those who matter to you. Over the years, we’ve noticed that beer brings everyone together, and it’s like we all speak the same language when we drink it. That’s exactly what we had in mind when we named one of our beers “Aloha.” According to Hawaiian culture, the exotic greeting "Aloha" means much more than just "Hello."
Aloha is a way of life. It’s about accepting others without prejudice, having fun no matter what you’re doing. Aloha is trust, shared joy, harmony, respect for nature and others, patience, persistence, responsiveness, and a wish for happiness. That’s the spirit of Aloha - that’s the spirit of beer.
