Breweries

Categories / Economy/Industry
BREWERIES, intensively developing enterprises, making up a significant share of St. Petersburg industry. It was in the early 18th century that Peter the Great decreed to open breweries in St. Petersburg for the needs of the fleet and hospitals. The beer was brewed according to the Dutch recipe. Apart from public breweries, small private breweries were founded by Russian and foreign merchants, 5 to 7 workers working at each. There were 23 private breweries in St. Petersburg in the early 19th century. Although they decreased in number afterwards, the area of production facilities and the volume of production grew steadily. Breweries were owned by joint-stock companies and partnerships. Standing out against other breweries in the 19th century were Kalinkinsky Beer and Honey Works, the oldest brewery in Russia founded in 1795 and renamed into Stepan Razin Brewery; Kalashnikovsky Brewery, founded in 1811 (has not survived to this day), Bavaria, founded in 1863 and renamed into Krasnaya Bavaria Brewery, and Novaya Bavaria, founded in 1885 and transformed into Polyustrovo Mineral Water Plant. These breweries had a network of stores in the capital and storehouses in other cities distributing their products throughout the country. Beer brewed in St. Petersburg accounted for one sixth of the national volume in the early 20th century. The All-Russian Union of Brewers was founded in 1896. It set up a special school in St. Petersburg and held an international fair in Konnogvardeisky Manege in 1909. Beer production reduced during World War I of 1914-18. After breweries were nationalised in 1918, beer production was suspended to resume only in 1923. As raw materials and semi-finished products were taken under strict control during the siege of 1941-44, breweries started processing paper cellulose into edible foodstuff. Beer production resumed in 1945. Breweries produced up to 25 million decalitres of beer and soft drinks per year in the 1960s. Stepan Razin Brewery, the largest brewery in the industry, established in 1971 a group of companies, consisting of Krasnaya Bavaria Brewery, Vena Brewery, and Polyustrovo Mineral Water Plant. Baltika was another enterprise separated from Stepan Razin Combine in 1990. All breweries became joint-stock companies in 1993. The following breweries operated in St. Petersburg in 2003: Baltika Brewery, the largest enterprise in the industry in Eastern Europe, located at Sixth Passage, Ninth Block, Parnas Industrial Zone; Stepan Razin Combine of Brewing and Soft Drink Industry located at 9 Stepana Razina Street, Bavaria located at 9 Petrovsky Avenue, and Vena located at 1 Farforovskaya Street. Bravo International was a new enterprise founded at 24 Talmann Street in 2001. St. Petersburg breweries produce various brands of beer, long drinks, soft drinks, and mineral water. International beer auctions and summer beer festivals have been held annually in St. Petersburg since 1994.

Reference: Довгань В. Н. Книга о пиве. Смоленск, 1995; Пиво Российской империи: Альбом. М., 1998; Пивная столица России. СПб., 2001.

G. V. Klyarovskaya. Peter I, Emperor
Farforovskaya St./Saint Petersburg, city, house 1
Petrovsky Ave/Saint Petersburg, city, house 9
Stepana Razina St./Saint Petersburg, city, house 9
Telmana St./Saint Petersburg, city, house 24
Довгань В. Н. Книга о пиве. Смоленск, 1995
Пивная столица России. СПб., 2001
Пиво Российской империи: Альбом. М., 1998 Siege of 1941-44