The Baltika Fest festival was held in the Leningrad region
New points of attraction and new traditions are emerging in Russia. Last weekend, the Baltika Fest festival was held in the Leningrad Region, which, according to Alexey Poltoranin, a correspondent for Izvestia, can already compete with the famous Bavarian Oktoberfest in terms of scale and eventfulness.
The beginning of a new great Russian tradition was bright and successful. Thousands of connoisseurs of the intoxicating drink and its creators gathered for the first gastronomic festival "Baltika Fest". This is our response to Oktoberfest, because Russian beer has already been officially recognized as better than German beer.
Baltika Fest takes place at the popular motorhome Igor Drive near St. Petersburg. There are workshops, interactive shows and, of course, dishes from different regions. The concept of the festival is a taste that unites. There are almost two dozen special dishes with a regional flavor, from Kamchatka to Kaliningrad: White Sea mussels, Kazan pilaf, Karelian crayfish, Black Sea shrimp — the cuisine of a large country from renowned chefs and for every taste.
"We have pita, roast beef and beef here, many thanks to the organizers," said one of the guests of the festival.
This festival is a gift from the legendary Baltika company, which turns 35 this year. While the guests of the gastronomic festival are enjoying the tastes of Russia, experts are discussing the future of an entire sector of the economy. The expert council on industry development gathered at the site, which became the most important meeting for joining forces.
The Council for the development of the beer and alcohol industry appeared this year. It was headed by a man who stood at the origins of the modern history of Russian brewing — the founder of Baltika, Taimuraz Bolloev.
"We looked at how the industry is regulated in general and found that the disunity within the industry is so great that not a single center makes a decision, but more than a dozen associations, unions," explained Taimuraz Bolloev, chairman of the Council for the Development of the Beer and Alcohol Industry, founder of Baltika.
The Council has a lot of tasks to develop the industry, because Russia is already among the top 5 largest countries in terms of beer production. Last year, Russian companies brewed more than 9 billion liters.
"Last year, in 2024, the market grew at a record pace, meaning it showed an increase of 10.3%. This is an unprecedented figure. Growth has slowed down this year," said InBev Efes, General Director of Drinks Together Nikolai Sergeevich Tyurnikov.
The Republic of Chuvashia is one of the most important regions for domestic brewing. Hop plantations, rightfully called "green gold", are located here. Hops in Chuvashia began to be grown in the 20s of the last century. Farmers provided them with almost the entire USSR. Then the decline began, and again the main agricultural crop of the region is gaining volume.
Today, the industry has to be revived, and by 2030, Russian factories will be at least half supplied with domestic hops. Thanks to Baltika, 60 hectares of green gold have already been planted in these fields, and 300 are planned. The company purchases the latest machinery and agricultural equipment, as well as creates new jobs.
"Of course, the people are happy. For the people, this is, especially for the locals, work, everything. You don't have to go anywhere, like before, to Moscow," explained handyman Yuri Myshkin.
Baltika's malt is also Russian. This ingredient is the "soul of the drink", specially processed barley. It has the taste, color, and aroma of foam. The grain is soaked first, then sprouted and dried for almost another week. One of the two malt houses of the company is located in Yaroslavl.
"We use only brewed barley, which has a set of quality indicators, that is, protein. Farmers specially produce malting barley for us all over Russia," said Denis Yakovlev, a leading malt production engineer at the Baltika Brewery in Yaroslavl.
Thanks to the efforts of brewers, it will soon be possible to replace the import of aluminum cans, and their production will open in Voronezh and Ulyanovsk.
"The shortage of aluminum cans is a problem that has hindered the development of Russian brewers and beverage manufacturers for many years. At the moment, this problem will be completely solved," said Alexey Sagal, Chairman of the Board of Directors of ARNEST JSC.
Its packaging reduces the cost. Thanks to government support, companies are investing in equipment and raising professionals. Moreover, Russian enterprises are the largest taxpayers. All this enhances the economic stability of the regions and the industry itself.
"We always support and will continue to support. These are our products, the quality is very good, our water, our barley. Well, the most important thing that we see is that such festivals also promote tourism. The Leningrad Region is becoming more and more interesting for tourists every year," said Alexander Drozdenko, Governor of the Leningrad Region.
New increased duties for unfriendly countries are encouraging domestic companies to create new non-alcoholic flavors and revive forgotten ones. The former foreign owners of Baltika reduced the production of domestic beers by half. European owners developed only their brands, making a profit, but not investing in production.
The savings sometimes reached some kind of ridiculous, I would not say, but, in general, to some critical moments. Indeed, there were few updates," explained Maria Egupova, head of the production laboratory at the Baltika Plant in St. Petersburg.
Now the company is developing a domestic business. The founder of Baltika, Timuraz Bolloev, managed to turn the company into a recognizable global brand. The company has its own hop and malt houses, its own yeast strain, more than 50 brands and the strictest quality control at every stage of production. The company's eight plants are located from the Far East to the Northwest of the country.
"There were difficult and difficult conditions, you and I saw it all on the screen, but it was the work of people — engineers, workers, technologists, and the company's management — who did everything to make Baltika the leading company, not only in our country, but all over the world," said Alexander Beglov, Governor of St. Petersburg..
In 2024, the company sold almost 24 million hectoliters of beer. In the ranking of the largest trader in the industry, German BarthHaas Baltika took 12th place among the world's 40 leading manufacturers. Thus, the Russian brewing company has squeezed out the leading German producers in their homeland. First of all, these are the efforts of the employees of the company itself.
The Baltika team consists of more than 10,000 employees. Oksana Trifonova has been working since the company was founded. I met my future husband here. The process engineer remembers every moment of his formation - from a regional factory to a global giant.
"The company itself, of course, has changed a lot. Upgraded production, that's it. The lines have changed a lot in general, and the number of products has increased," said Oksana Trifonova, a first—category technician at Baltika.
Baltika has been in the first place in the non-alcoholic beer segment for many years and still occupies more than half of the market. The guests of Baltika Fest were able to appreciate the quality and taste, while listening to the music of their favorite performers.: "Disco Accident" and Marie Crymbreri, as well as rock classics from the Chaif group. Its leader, Vladimir Shakhrin, is confident that Baltika Fest is already setting world standards.
"This is our festival, it's actually better, it's ours, it's here, closer. Go get a visa for Oktoberfest now, and then he got in the car and came," said Vladimir Shakhrin.
The festival, as well as the meeting of the Council for the Development of the beer and alcohol industry, essentially demonstrates the achievements of domestic brewing. During the year, Russian market participants invested in technology, equipment, and agriculture.
The plans include strengthening national brands and confidently entering international markets. To do this, the Council's experts propose creating a single standard for domestic beer, the benchmark of which will be the legendary and unsurpassed Baltika, known all over the world.
The guests of Baltika Fest noted a lot of entertainment for the whole family and bright performances by artists. Many visitors came with their children, for whom there were also many interesting activities.
All important news is on the Izvestia channel in the MAX messenger.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
