E-Malt.com News article: Russia: Ninety per cent of Russian beer is not beer – state Duma deputy

Ninety per cent of Russian beer is nothing of the sort, state Duma deputy Viktor Zvagelsky was quoted as saying by The Moscow News on January, 28.

But the country’s brewers are determined to ensure that the politician suffers a nasty hangover after his remarks, which they derided as a libellous myth.

The Russian MP expressed his concern over the quality of locally produced beer during a parliamentary discussion of changes to alcohol sales legislation earlier this week.

“The most humble counts suggest that 90 per cent of the beer that is produced and consumed in Russia is not beer, because it is made with components containing sugar – in other words with concentrates,” Zvagelsky announced.

He stressed that the drink could not be labelled as beer if it used concentrates, as the law defines it as a drink made 100 per cent out of hop, malt and water. “There should be no components containing sugar.”

While many microbreweries take great pride in stressing their natural ingredients, suspicions linger about the efforts of the big guns which dominate the market.

The politician argued that statistics show that the amount of beer produced in Russia does not match the amount of malt produced and imported.

“If one takes the statistics of imports of malt in Russian Federation, and on its production in Russia, then these figures are half the size of the actual volume of beer production in the country,” Zvagelsky explained.

This mismatch means that what the Russians drink is not proper beer.

“Unfortunately, we do not drink beer. We think that we drink beer, but this drink might be better named a beer-based beverage,” he said.

These statements upset Russia’s union of brewers.

The executive committee chairman Vyacheslav Mamontov called it “rumours, myths, which are, unfortunately, in abundance.”

“All the beer in Russia is 100 per cent produced from grain crops, the deputy’s statements are groundless,” he argued.

The union might sue the MP for damaging professional reputation of the industry, Mamontov said, stressing that if what Zvagelsky is saying was true, it would have been stopped by the watchdogs.

“Beer all over the world is made using barley malt, rice, corn, treacle, and as for concentrates – it is just libel,” agreed communications director of SABMiller RUS Kirill Bolmatov.

However, Zvagelsky may be dissatisfied with Russian beer because he had it in the wrong surroundings.

A study by Romir company showed that beer tastes better at home in front of the TV that is showing football. The other two settings for beer tasting were a bar and a warehouse, Gzt.ru reported.

Beer seemed tastier and more satisfying at home, while those at the warehouse thought the same beer was of poor quality.

However, the study itself may be somewhat flawed: the guinea pigs were tippling in mock-up homes, bars and workplaces rather than experiencing the real thing.


28 January, 2011