Since 2016, Budapest-based Mad Scientist has been shaking up both the domestic and international beer scene. This young, passionate team hasn’t just redefined craft brewing — they’ve built a culture around it. For them, beer isn’t only a drink, but an experience: one of experimentation, bold flavors, honest communication, and shared community.
At the 2025 Debrecziner Gourmet Festival, Mad Scientist is here not just to pour beer, but to educate and inspire. In our interview with László Zsirai, we explore what makes a beer truly good, how to guide newcomers in the world of craft brewing, and why serving beer is just as much an act of creativity as brewing it.
What makes a beer truly good in your opinion? How can a beginner tell the difference between a good beer and a bad one?
I wouldn’t necessarily start with what makes a beer good. I’d start with how we can understand someone’s taste – even from a short conversation. That’s what everything starts with for us: we talk to our guests, ask questions, try to map out what kind of flavors they like. Even if someone walks in completely clueless, we help them figure out what suits them.
So, personal connection is key?
Absolutely. If we can match the taste, we’re halfway there. The other half is the technical part: the beer must not be faulty or contaminated. Hygiene is critically important in brewing. A good beer must be made with care, following the recipe precisely, under hygienic conditions. After that comes the storage, serving temperature, and presentation — all crucial factors.
Mad Scientist is famous for its creative beers. Can you talk more about that?
That’s the essence of this brewery. The owners are all Hungarian, and we don’t have outside investors. They’ve always believed in creating original brews — even ones that are ahead of their time. They don’t just chase trends.
For example?
Just because New England IPAs are trendy, we’re not going to make them just to fit in. We do have a core lineup, but we often release one-off brews, many of them in collaboration with other breweries. Our goal is to showcase the broad spectrum of creative brewing.
Speaking of quality, is there a proper etiquette for beer consumption?
Definitely. For example, serving temperature: not every beer should be ice cold. Some styles, such as stouts or barrel-aged beers, are best served at room temperature or slightly cooler.
What about glassware? Plastic or proper glasses?
Honestly, no beer should be served in plastic. These beers deserve proper glassware, especially for tasting. We have our own branded glasses like the “lab flask” style, and also can-shaped glasses. Of course, at festivals we sometimes have to compromise, but we always encourage people to drink from ga lass.
Can beer be paired with food like wine?
Absolutely! I’ve been doing this for years. I even run a brand called ZúzmÓ, where we pair beers with food — burgers, BBQ, even desserts. We use both complementary and contrasting pairings. Sometimes a heavy dish is best with a light beer, not something equally heavy.
We’ve made desserts, especially chocolate-based ones, paired with cocoa-rich stouts. Even baked goods using beer mash. The possibilities are endless, and honestly, I think beer offers even more culinary potential than wine.
What would you recommend to someone just starting with craft beers?
Visit as many craft breweries or taprooms as possible. Go to events. At our stand, if someone’s unsure, we offer tasters. No need to buy a full pint right away. Especially with extreme styles, it’s essential to taste first. If you’re at an event and they don’t offer tasters, maybe don’t bother.
What are your thoughts on non-alcoholic beers?
That’s a great question. Mad Scientist originally planned to release their non-alcoholic beer, but eventually decided against it. However, there’s certainly high demand. That’s why we import a non-alcoholic IPA from a small Dutch brewery — and people love it.
Instead, Mad Scientist is focusing on soft drinks — natural ingredients, unique flavors. We now have eight different ones, including mate tea, tonic, ginger beer, and a cucumber refresher inspired by Rick and Morty. That’s the direction we’re heading in now.
Are there any beer styles or flavors that the Hungarian public hasn’t really discovered yet?
That’s a tough one. Everyone follows trends — most of which come from the U.S. Mad Scientist exports to 21 countries and collaborates with many international breweries. That’s how new beers are born.
For example, ice cream smoothie sours are booming now — think coconut, pineapple, vanilla ice cream.
That sounds wild.
It is! We’ve even made beers with spinach and kiwi. The creativity here is limitless. Of course, there’s risk involved — each experimental batch is costly to produce. But we’ve gotten good at balancing it all.
Sefcsik Marci is a huge driving force behind this. He travels constantly, attends beer festivals and conferences, watches the trends, and we adapt based on that.
What’s the crowd favorite at festivals?
Liquid Cocaine is definitely a bestseller — a double IPA that’s become iconic for us. We even built a whole brand line around it.
That said, trends change — lately, lighter beers and lagers have become more popular, especially in summer. It also depends on what we promote more strongly at any given time.
Since this year’s theme at Debrecziner Gourmet is films, did you bring anything special to match?
Oh, absolutely! We brought our film-themed beers, made in official collaboration with HBO. To my knowledge, Mad Scientist is currently the only brewery working with Warner Bros. and HBO to create licensed beers for shows like House of the Dragon, The Lord of the Rings, or Freddy Krueger.
This fits perfectly with the festival’s movie theme — even though we didn’t plan it this way, it worked out great. We also just released a Rick and Morty-inspired soft drink.
There’s more! One of our taps is pouring ice cream smoothie sours, and we’ve taken it to the next level — we serve them with actual ice cream on top! We call it a soft serve beer, and as far as we know, no one else in Hungary does this. It’s like the $5 milkshake from Pulp Fiction, but as a beer.
We also have beer distillate — like beer brandy. We distill some of our beers into spirits at a professional distillery. It’s not technically pálinka, but you can taste the beer notes, and it’s very high in alcohol. Very rare in Hungary.
Gastro-cinema delights and sunshine: Debrecziner Gourmet 2025 has begun
– Éva Bácsi –
