A tour at Baltika Brewery: discovering beer

Yesterday, Liden & Denz students went on an excursion at Baltika Brewery in St. Petersburg. Despite the fact that beer is not a traditional drink in Russia, Baltika Brewery (Пивоваренная компания Балтика) is still one of the biggest factories producing beer in all Europe. In fact, it is bigger than any factory in the UK or in Germany.

Peter the Great (Пётр Великий) conceived the first Russian brewery in the beginning of the 18th century. This one in St. Petersburg was a small factory until the 90s, when the brewery expanded. The Soviet era was particularly happy for the brewery: many people gave back old bottles in order to recycle them, and received 40% of the price of the bottle.

We enjoyed going through the factory and its rooms, one for each stage of the making of beer. Beer has to be kept at different temperatures for more than a month and a half. Then it passes through a last stage called “blowing”, before actually being finished. The cans and a lot of bottles are produced outside of the factory, and the beer is automatically put into them. Then, it is finally ready to drink.

The museum at the end of the brewery is really interesting, since it shows many photos and objects regarding the history of beer in Russia and the rest of Europe. But the most interesting part of the visit comes right after: visitors can enjoy many beers produced by Baltika Brewery, sitting nicely at a table and having a good time. The experience is definitely worth trying, especially if you like beer.