Finding one's mojo

This unique cooperative concept allowed each of the brewers to scale production while maintaining their own individual identities. The site became a hub for the early craft beer movement in Hungary, hosting an annual beer festival ‘Kraft Sörfesztivál’, as well as spillover parties around the pre-eminent Budapest Beer Week celebrations.

Success for MONYO also brought growing pains and after six years at the Brewery Park, there became a need to fly the nest in search of their own dedicated space. An affectionate curtain call for this era of their story came in the form of a collaboration beer brewed with their neighbours called ‘Főzdepark Farewell’.

Settling into a larger, standalone site here at Gyömrői út 148/C, the team built out a modern production plant, on-site taproom, and an open-air seasonal concert venue called MONYO Land. Although Covid put an end to their regular programming of concerts, the space is now used for private and ticketed events. Ákos explains they are getting ready to welcome a well-known Hungarian electro-pop group to perform. “These days it’s not enough to just serve great beer — it’s important to host unique events and collaborate with artists.” The formula seems to be working, with tickets for the show selling out in just two hours.

One of the original founders of the brewery, Ádám Pein, first got into the craft beer world through running a bar on Kálvin tér, also by the name of MONYO. Frustrated by a lack of quality local craft beers, he decided to join forces with then home-brewer Antal “Anti” Németh to produce their own. The name MONYO roughly translates as ‘mojo’, a word the brewery has become increasingly connected to over the years. It was only when collaborating with local rock group, Ivan & The Parazol, on the band’s album-beer Exotic Post Traumatic (Strawberry Brut Ale) that the Monyo team learned it was frontman Iván Vitáris’s mum who coined the term ‘monyo’. A translator by trade, Ivan’s mum had been working on the translation for the Austin Powers movie into Hungarian. She settled on the word ‘monyo’ in place of ‘mojo’, creating a new word which would find its way to Ádám. 

The brewery’s most popular beer is Flying Rabbit, a modern American IPA whose recipe has remained the same over the years and become something of a signature. Experimental beers have been released through a series called ‘Mojo Working’ and via collaborations with Hungarian bands Quimby and Ivan & The Parazol, and with leading international brewers like Denmark’s To-Øl.

Having recently returned from the hop harvest in the west of Hungary, Ákos is excited about the wet hopped beer currently in tank, part of an annual collaboration with the farmer. Over a table of sauerkraut, sourdough from their onsite bakery, and sausages made with an exclusive recipe in collaboration with a local artisan producer, it is clear to see the team’s passion not only for craft beer but for flavour in general.

We sit down to taste some recent creations together, including ‘Blackout at 7pm’, an outstanding imperial sour made with blueberries, blackcurrants, peaches and vanilla. A collaboration with Romania’s hype brewery Blackout, the name is inspired by plant manager, Dávid Schüszler's arrival at the Rivington Farm Trip beer festival in England; After working two brew shifts the day before, he promptly passed out early while his colleagues partook in the festival.

From wild ales matured in Hungarian Kekfrankos wine barrels to ‘smoothie’ beers with 45% — yes, forty-five percent — fruit, the team at MONYO are pushing the envelope in terms of the future of craft beer in Hungary. Beyond beer, and to tap into growing trends around mindful drinking, they have developed a highly successful range of flavour-forward craft sodas, that now account for over a third of sales.

As co-owners of Budapest Beer Week, MONYO are at the forefront of an exciting group of craft brewers in Hungary, putting a unique and modern stamp on the country’s centuries-old brewing traditions.