Serowarnia Piastowska, Krosno: aged and fermented cheeses
Serowarnia Piastowska is a small craft cheese dairy in Krosno, a town at the foot of the Low Beskids. It was born in 2014 out of the passion of two friends, Zbigniew Mazur and Rafał Dębiec, and, as chef friends recall, it literally began in a garage full of the smell of ripening cheese. Neither founder has formal cheesemaking training: they taught themselves through practice and trial, and today their cheeses win awards at regional and international competitions.
The milk comes from free-grazing Simmental cows kept by partner farmers in the village of Puławy, Rymanów municipality, in the clean valleys of the Low Beskids. The owners stress that all their products are one hundred per cent natural. Their special pride is the Podkarpackie fermented cheese (ser kiszony), an old method the dairy revived in 2024. It is rich in probiotics and easy to digest, and it earned the dairy the title “Best Taste of the Region 2024” from a jury chaired by the well-known food writer Robert Makłowicz. In 2026 the flagship Piast cheese won a gold medal at the international cheese competition in Lyon, France. Piast won its first prize at the 1st Podkarpackie Cheese Festival back in 2018; since then the dairy has represented the region at the national Presidential Harvest Festival in Warsaw three years in a row, at the Economic Forum in Karpacz in 2023 and at a healthy-food fair in Zadar, Croatia, in 2024. The owners themselves say they still feel they are only beginning their cheese adventure.
Why go
- Buy cheese straight from the maker, at the dairy on weekdays.
- A tour of the dairy with the owners, a tasting and group cheesemaking workshops; the format is arranged individually, so write or call in advance.
- Taste cheeses the region already knows: they are served, for example, with wine on the terrace of Winnica Widokowa in Kombornia.
What to taste and buy
- Piast, the flagship aged cheese: matured for about four months, with older wheels also available; its flavour sits between mild Gouda-style “Gołda” and a more assertive raclette, and it melts well. There are versions with nigella, walnut, fenugreek, tomato, savory, wild garlic, coffee, truffle and lavender.
- Ryszard, a smoked cheese, “Best Taste of Podkarpackie 2022”.
- Podkarpackie fermented cheese, winner of regional cheese festivals in 2023 and 2025.
- Piastowski smoked, Galicyjski, fresh ricotta and buncyk from the wider range; whey shots, including a banana one (“Best Taste of the Region 2025”), have become a curiosity too.
Practical information
Address: ul. ks. Jerzego Popiełuszki 63A, 38-400 Krosno, in the Polanka district in the north-west of town, reachable by car. Hours: Monday–Friday 9:00–15:00; closed at weekends. Tours, tastings and workshops by prior arrangement only. Prices (online shop, October 2026): Piast from 13.50 zł for 150 g to 90 zł per kilo, smoked Piastowski from 11.70 zł, gift set 140 zł. Contact: +48 519 308 456, +48 519 308 768, [email protected]. The cheeses are also sold in shops around the region and online.
Nearby
- Krosno old town with its market square and merchants' houses, and the Glass Heritage Centre.
- Winnica Widokowa in Kombornia, about 20 minutes by car.
- The ruins of Kamieniec Castle in Odrzykoń.
- Iwonicz-Zdrój with its mineral-water pump room.
Official website: serowarniapiastowska.pl
Photos: serowarniapiastowska.pl.
Getting there from Ukraine
Border crossings
- Krakovets – Korczowa — road, 24/7
- Shehyni – Medyka — road, 24/7 Pedestrian crossing is not confirmed by the Ukrainian border service — check dpsu.gov.ua before the trip.
- Smilnytsia – Krościenko — road, 24/7
- Hrushiv – Budomierz — road, 24/7
- Mostyska – Przemyśl (rail) — rail, 24/7
By car
Lviv – Sanok ≈168 km, ≈3 h 20 min without queues: road to Shehyni → Shehyni – Medyka checkpoint → Przemyśl → DK28 via Bircza to Sanok (≈83 km, ≈1 h 45 min from the border). Alternative via Krakovets – Korczowa: A4 to the Radymno exit, DK77 to Przemyśl and DK28 (≈185 km from Lviv, ≈3 h 25 min). For the Bieszczady proper, Smilnytsia – Krościenko is handier: Lviv – Sambir – Staryi Sambir – border, then DK84 via Ustrzyki Dolne to Sanok (≈203 km, ≈5 h; ≈57 km from the border). From Krościenko to Ustrzyki Górne by DW896 ≈53 km (≈1 h 40 min; ≈200 km and ≈4 h 50 min from Lviv), to Wetlina by DW896 and DW897 ≈69 km (≈216 km and ≈5 h from Lviv). From Sanok: Ustrzyki Górne ≈82 km (DK84 via Lesko, then DW896, ≈1 h 35 min), Wetlina ≈72 km (DK84 to Lesko, DW894 via Baligród and Cisna, DW897, ≈1 h 20 min).
Checked 23.10.2026; border crossing hours and timetables change — check before you travel.
Location on the map
Comments
Trails nearby
All trails
HardMulti-dayMarkedMain Trail of BeskidyElevation profile309–1 723 m499.9 kmascent 19 519 m16 km from Serowarnia Piastowska, Krosno: aged and fermented cheeses
HardMulti-dayMarkedFilipovske Sedlo FoluszElevation profile280–710 m46.2 kmascent 1 320 m19 km from Serowarnia Piastowska, Krosno: aged and fermented cheeses
HardMulti-dayMarkedBesko KomańczaElevation profile290–848 m48.1 kmascent 1 190 m21 km from Serowarnia Piastowska, Krosno: aged and fermented cheesesNearby attractions
Craft producersManufaktura Nalewek, Krosno: tasting Podkarpackie fruit liqueurs2.9 km from Serowarnia Piastowska, Krosno: aged and fermented cheesesManufaktura Nalewek is a family producer of traditional Polish nalewki in Krosno, Podkarpackie. Nalewki, strong infusions of fruit, berries and herbs, were once the...
MuseumMuseum of the Oil and Gas Industry in Bóbrka9.8 km from Serowarnia Piastowska, Krosno: aged and fermented cheesesThe Ignacy Łukasiewicz Museum of the Oil and Gas Industry in Bóbrka is no ordinary museum: it is a genuine oil mine, founded in 1854 and still working today.
Wine & tastingsWinnica Widokowa, Kombornia: wine with a view of the Beskids10 km from Serowarnia Piastowska, Krosno: aged and fermented cheesesWinnica Widokowa is a family vineyard on a hill above the village of Kombornia, between Krosno and Brzozów.Craft nearby
All craft places
Water parks & thermal poolsIwonicz-Zdrój: mineral-water pump room, pool and salt cave17 km from Serowarnia Piastowska, Krosno: aged and fermented cheesesIwonicz-Zdrój is the largest and oldest spa in the Podkarpackie region, a quiet little town in wooded hills south of Krosno, on the threshold of the Low Beskids.
Craft beer & breweriesBrowar Dukla: craft brewery and brewpub on Dukla market square17 km from Serowarnia Piastowska, Krosno: aged and fermented cheesesDukla is an old small town at the foot of Mount Cergowa, on the historic trade route from Poland to Hungary over the Dukla Pass.
Wine & tastingsSztukówka Vineyard near Frysztak: wines named after folk instruments18 km from Serowarnia Piastowska, Krosno: aged and fermented cheesesWinnica Sztukówka lies on a low hill in the village of Glinik Średni, two kilometres from the small town of Frysztak in Podkarpackie.
Markets & fairsInternational Wine Days in Jasło: a wine fair on the square19 km from Serowarnia Piastowska, Krosno: aged and fermented cheesesJasło is a small town in Podkarpacie that is often called one of the cradles of Poland's wine revival.
Wine & tastingsVanellus Vineyard, Jareniówka near Jasło: wine tastings21 km from Serowarnia Piastowska, Krosno: aged and fermented cheesesWinnica Vanellus is a small family vineyard in the village of Jareniówka, a few kilometres from the centre of Jasło.
Wine & tastingsDwie Granice Vineyard, Przysieki near Jasło: cellar and tastings25 km from Serowarnia Piastowska, Krosno: aged and fermented cheesesWinnica Dwie Granice (“Two Borders”) lies in the village of Przysieki a few kilometres west of Jasło, on the Jasło Wine Route.