The beer festival is a very unusual event. The tradition of holding it came to us from Germany, where the famous Oktoberfest has been held for many years. Over time, these initiatives took root in Russia. Similar entertainment festivals are held in different cities. But one of the largest - in St. Petersburg. Thus, a line from the song of the popular group "Leningrad" - "Drink in St. Petersburg" is vividly illustrated. "What else is there to do?" - the numerous organizers of these holidays are perplexed.
Kvass and Beer Festival
The beer festival is often combined with the celebration of another friendly drink - kvass. A similar holiday is held in St. Petersburg. And for several years now.
The venue is the sports and concert complex "Petersburg". The beer festival is held on the same day.
Due to the fact that in addition to beer, kvass is also included in the program, the festival is held in a family format. Both adults and young family members will be able to find a drink to their taste.
Required attribute of such festivals are performances by popular musicians. Usually concerts are given free of charge, while the groups that go on stage witheasily attract thousands of people. For example, at the last beer festival in St. Petersburg, which took place in the summer of 2017, Vyacheslav Butusov performed with his group "Yu-Piter", the groups "Sunday" and "Time Machine".
To make it interesting for both adults and children, they organize interactive platforms. They equip separate areas for sports competitions, intellectual and creative competitions, fun for the whole family.
For the past eight years, a non-alcoholic area has been operating at the beer and kvass festival. And that doesn't bother anyone. All minors, adults who came to the holiday behind the wheel, and lovers of kvass here will be generously treated to this bread drink.
Adult area
There is enough space for adult visitors to the beer festival in St. Petersburg. They are offered a wide range of hop products from one of the largest beer companies in Russia, B altika.
Here, they closely monitor that beer is by no means sold to minors. Public activists who have united in the joint organization "Beer Watch" are responsible for this.
Hard times
The beer and kvass festival did not always have a bright future. In 2012, the holiday was canceled based on the decree of the current governor Georgy Poltavchenko.
The reason for this was a new federal law, according to which beer was equated with other alcoholic beverages. As a result, everyone started talking about the collapse of the idea.create an analogue of the famous "Oktoberfest" in the city on the Neva.
At the same time, it was originally planned to allocate about two million rubles from the city budget for the celebration. They had to go, in particular, to compensate for the costs associated with ensuring fire and medical safety.
For the brewing companies participating in the festival, this decision was so unexpected that most of them simply declined to comment. After all, with his signature under the decree on the cancellation of the festival, Poltavchenko caused not only financial, but also reputational damage to producers of foamy drinks.
CRAFT WEEKEND
Another major craft beer festival is taking place in St. Petersburg called CRAFT WEEKEND. It combines up to 70 breweries in one place, as well as the largest street food site in the city. Music, visual art and even beer yoga are also in abundance here. About six thousand people take part in the festival.
A lot of musical groups come to the festival. Traditionally, these are "Dunaevsky Orchestra", "La Minor", "Shorts", "Gypsy Boutique", "Che Morale" and many others.
The uniqueness of the festival
The uniqueness of this festival lies in the fact that in addition to the musical and entertainment part, there is also an educational one. Masters in their fields give entertaining lectures for everyone. For example, at the last festivalcraft beer in St. Petersburg CRAFT WEEKEND Roman Medvedev, commercial director of a large company, spoke about the organization of purchase price control and work with the Unified State Automated Information System. The organizer of the Restaurant Day in the city on the Neva, Olga Polyakova, gave a lecture about the differences and features of markets and food trucks. The founder of the Belgian brewery Rudy de Swimer shared his experience in craft beer production. Beer sommelier, yes, there is one, Jonas Lingis from Lithuania spoke about the peculiarities of crafting in his B altic country.
There was even a speech by the author of the book "The History of Beer. From Monasteries to Sports Bars", popular in certain circles. Juha Tahvanainen gave a lecture of the same name.
The cost of visiting this festival is 400 rubles. For this money, you get a pass to the CRAFT WEEKEND territory, the official club of the festival, the opportunity to attend a music program and lectures about craft brewing, and discuss your questions with experts in these areas. And also watch live how real craft beer is brewed at the festival.
Dive into contemporary art
At the same craft beer festival in St. Petersburg in 2017, visitors have a unique opportunity to immerse themselves in the atmosphere of real contemporary art. For this, they even arrange a separate section CRAFT ART.
Modern painters exhibit their works here. There is a CRAFT MARKET platform nearby, where anyonecan buy the work of art he likes. There are also showrooms from St. Petersburg masters of arts and crafts. Author's interior items, vinyl records fashionable in recent years, unique souvenirs.
Also, at the festival, you can vote for the best beers every year. Winning breweries receive nice prizes and gifts.
Home Beer Festival
Every year St. Petersburg hosts a festival of homemade beer. It takes place in the Nautilus event space on the 16th line of Vasilievsky Island, 83. About fifty Russian breweries traditionally come here, which present at least 200 varieties of author's beer to the audience. Its main goal is to prove that today anyone can brew delicious beer at home.
Each variety presented in the festival program participates in the competition. The winner is determined in several categories - "Best Table Decoration", "Best Guest Beer", "Best Brewer of the Festival" and, of course, "Best Beer of the Festival".
Winners receive prizes and valuable gifts. For example, the opportunity to brew a thousand liters of beer at the famous Knightberg brewery. The main feature of this festival is precisely that all participants are non-professionals. They do not have their own craft business, but brew beer just for fun. Yours and everyone else.
