/View.info/ Russian brewing has existed for centuries. In documents from birch bark in Novgorod, there are references to brewing from hops. Unique varieties were created both under the tsars and in Soviet times. But with Perestroika and the arrival of foreign capital, the domestic market reoriented itself towards European standards and the original recipes were forgotten. Now that the western companies have left, local producers have every chance to revive what they have lost. To understand how the industry is changing and what will be offered to consumers in the new year, we visited the Baltika plant in St. Petersburg.
Water, malt, hops and yeast
The headquarters of the brewing giant is one of the largest not only in Russia, but also in the whole of Eastern Europe. On an area of 30 hectares, more than 300 types of beer and beer drinks are produced, including: “Tuborg”, “Kronenburg”, “Seth and Reilly’s Garage”, “Holsten”, “Zhatecki Hus”, as well as “Arsenalskoe”, “Nevskoe” ” and of course, Baltica.
After putting on the overalls, we enter the workshops. The brewing compartment is hot and smells of malt. It all starts here. Malt is usually barley, but wheat, rye and oats can also be used. The grains are allowed to germinate, then dried, mashed, mixed with water and heated in a mash pot. It is then sent to a filter vat where the grain hulls settle out, the wort is naturally filtered and pumped into the wort vat where it is brewed with hops. From there it goes to a centrifuge to remove any remaining hops and protein suspension. Yeast is added to the cooled wort in fermentation tanks and allowed to mature. Aged beer is filtered.
The product consists of only four ingredients, so their selection requires special attention. At “Baltika” they adhere to the principle “if you want it done well, do it yourself”. Since 2005, the company has launched its own agricultural program. “These are more than 50 agricultural enterprises in 14 regions of Russia, 15 thousand jobs,” says senior manager of external communications Alexey Kolomentsev. “Baltika” specialists select the soil, monitor the crops, control the quality of the barley and even create new varieties.
As a result, the enterprise is fully provided with malt. With hops it is more difficult. It will take a few years to get everything right, but the first results are already there. Thanks to cooperation with local farms, the new “Baltika-3” was prepared entirely from Russian ingredients.
Not a step aside
The “Carlsberg” corporation, which owned B”Baltika”, acted regardless of the local specifics. The Danes forced businesses to use imported ingredients and were against localization.
The agricultural program was preserved, but farmers had to grow exclusively Danish varieties of barley. “Unfortunately, they are poorly adapted to our climate and are susceptible, for example, to the disease ‘net spot’. In order to avoid damage to the crop, additional fungicide treatment was necessary. It was very difficult for the farmers. The first thing we did was to give up Danish barley. Now we grow other varieties that are doing well in Russia,” says Baltika head brewer Igor Matveev.
Western owners redirected the enterprise to licensed yeast – not as aromatic, but more technologically advanced than their own. Factories had to use strictly defined ingredients and produce only standard types of beer.
The emphasis is not on quality, but on profitability. The recipe is simplified, the amount of malt and hops gradually decreases, as a result of which the beer loses its density and rich taste. The range is dominated not by unique domestic brands, but by mass-produced Danish brands.
“With the withdrawal of Carlsberg, we returned quality to the first place. We restored the original recipe of Baltika-3, the drink regained its hop bitterness and familiar taste. We also restarted the Russian imperial stout, one of the traditional varieties that appeared under Ekaterina Great. Baltika-7 is next. We review and improve the original recipes and do not skimp on the ingredients. Our beer is again with a lot of malt and hops,” emphasizes Matveev.
The latest technologies
“Baltika” has always been proud of its modern equipment. Taimuraz Balloev, who is at the heart of the company, has taken care to provide the factories with the best equipment. But as Western investors accumulated more and more shares, the technical condition of the enterprises also deteriorated. There were no necessary modernizations – the new managers limited themselves to repairing existing facilities.
“We were never a priority for Carlsberg. They were much more interested in Asia, Russia was just a cash cow,” the company’s head brewer points out. The only thing the Danes bought were thermal skins for the boilers. This made it possible to save some electricity by reducing heat losses.
Finally, the company started retooling.
The engineering team, comparing products from Western and Eastern manufacturers, selects the highest quality and modern models. Due to logistical challenges, they take nine months to purchase and install. “The domestic industry is also actively developing. For example, capacitive equipment is already being made quite well in our country. Maybe we will buy something in Russia,” Matveev explains. Taimuraz Balloev, after his return, restored the principle “don’t skimp on quality”, the employees note.
Strict control
And they monitor the quality. They check everything from the raw materials to the packaging and even the labels. The control of grain and hops begins in the field, continues during harvest, in the silo, the malt house and ends in the factory laboratory. If they find a defect, the lot is returned.
Microbiologists constantly monitor the environment and examine the beer for contamination. “Russian sanitary standards allow up to 500 microorganisms per milliliter. Our domestic standards are 50 times stricter,” Kolomentsev explains.
In addition, the amount of alcohol, wort extract, acidity, turbidity of the final product is evaluated – dozens of indicators in accordance with the requirements of the state standard and the European Brewing Convention. Recently, the equipment has been supplemented with a device that allows predicting the appearance of sediment. “The beer must remain stable and clear both six and 12 months after production,” emphasizes Matveev.
In the laboratory for sensory analysis, fresh beer is tasted, as well as two and six months after brewing. The live product may change slightly over time. Thus, the taste of stout and porter opens up, becoming more “rounded” and “thick”. “Qualified tasters test the beer for compliance with the established taste profile of the product and assess the storage stability throughout the shelf life,” says Lyubov Antonova, lead sensory research specialist in the new product development group.
High evaluation
The demand for local beer is high and not only in Russia. Americans especially liked “Baltika-7%” and “Russian Imperial Stout”, in China they prefer “Baltika-9”. The company is the number one exporter to China and produces a number of varieties specifically for that market.
A halal beer has been developed for the UAE. Special yeast is used here, which practically does not produce alcohol (in alcohol-free it is up to 0.5%), after which distillation is carried out for a full guarantee. The Chief Mufti of Russia issued a halal certificate.
Baltika has more than 700 awards from prestigious Russian and international competitions, including: “European Beer Star” (Germany), “World Beer Cup” (USA), “World Beer Awards” and “International Beer Challenge” (Great Britain), an award from the International “Golden Beer” tasting competition (Czech Republic).
Despite the “cancellation culture” of Russian achievements, our brewers are still rewarded. “In 2023, the non-alcoholic brands “Svetloe”, “Grapefruit” and “Pshenicnoe” were awarded prizes at the international tasting competition “Mond Selection”, announced the press service of the company.
Translation: V. Sergeev
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