Goodbye vodka? Russians toast craft beer revolution

Gray zone

Nestled in a maze of abandoned factories outside Moscow, Green Street Brewery is one of the many such establishments fueling the craft beer boom.

Brewer Maxim Boroda and a group of friends make some 800 liters of beer every month at Green Street, which they rent once a month to bypass the administrative procedures required for the owners of alcohol-producing facilities.

Part of the reason for the craft beer boom is that production and sales often fall into a legal loophole - with pubs that only serve beer allowed to work without a liquor license.

"We're in a gray zone. What we are doing is neither legal nor illegal," Boroda says.

"Getting permission to make our own alcohol is very difficult. We are forced to rent this brewery to hide behind its owners."

Facing a rapidly-evolving beer market - which remains dominated by Baltika, owned by Danish brewer Carlsberg - the Russian government has adopted a laissez-faire approach to the craft beer industry.

"Distilleries are of course gaining ground," industry expert Petrova says.

But the state's current absence in the business could hurt its development, she says, since the currently vague legislation could suddenly toughen up and make brewers bankrupt.

"Brewers fear they could go out of business," she adds.

Petrova also warned that the proliferation of the craft beer label - which beer-makers have liberally slapped onto new products - could ultimately undermine real craft beer producers.

For those who have led the revolution in craft beers, however, there is little fear that it will be derailed.

"We will soon change our country's image," says brewer Boroda, inhaling the fumes emanating from a stainless steel tank.

"And even vodka-lovers won't be able to resist."

Agence France-Presse

(China Daily 04/16/2016 page19)