Bulgarian brewers mark their professional holiday on St Elijah's Day- July 20. This is so, because Prophet Elijah is regarded as the patron saint of the Bulgarian beer brewers. In 2016 Bulgaria marks three anniversaries - the 125th year since the establishment of the Bulgarian brewing industry, the 60th anniversary of the country's brewing science and 25 years since the foundation of the Union of Brewers in Bulgaria.

Currently, the brewing factories in Bulgaria produce dozens of different brands. Although the number of imported brands is very high, the Bulgarian beer fans prefer to drink mainly local produce. Lager is the most-preferred beer type in Bulgaria and recently the non-pasteurized beers have been gaining huge popularity in that country. The Executive Director of the Union of Brewers in Bulgaria Ivana Radomirova calls that type of beer vintage beer and voiced expectations that non-pasteurized lager would become even more popular in Bulgaria in the future. In terms of beer consumption per capita Bulgaria places in the middle of the EU ranking. Each year the cities of Ruse and Montana compete for the prize - most loyal beer consumer and currently Ruse places first in that ranking.

Beer is a very popular alcoholic beverage in other Bulgarian cities such as Burgas, Varna, Pleven and Sofia. The Bulgarian women have not yet managed to break the popular stereotype that beer is a man's drink and the Bulgarian men consume much more of that refreshing drink than women. They drink the malt beverage 13 times per month, while Bulgarian women drink beer only 5 times a month. According to latest data of the Union of Brewers in Bulgaria, the local consumers prefer to buy beer in glass bottles, rather than in plastic ones. Why is this good news? According to the local beer brewers, a beer in glass bottle makes beer fans enjoy that beverage more. Moreover, the beverage itself preserves its good qualities much longer in glass bottles. What is the economic effect of the large-scale manufacture of beer?

Ivana Radomirova told Radio Bulgaria interesting details:

“The Bulgarian brewing industry has a serious contribution to the country's economy. It creates employment and pays excise duties and value added tax to the state budget. Moreover, a lot of people are employed in the whole chain of supply and trade due to the manufacture of large quantities of beer. Our estimates show that nearly 7,800 Bulgarians are employed indirectly in the manufacture of materials and raw materials for that industry.  Over 23,000 people are employed at the beer trade sector. The economic effect of the brewing industry is high in terms of social security contributions and other taxes paid by the people employed in that field. The annual revenues in the state budget from beer manufacture and sales amount to EUR 172 million.” 

The exports of Bulgarian beer have seen a 15% increase in recent years. Bulgarian beer is exported mainly to Romania. The beer producers often change the design of the beer bottles and their labels.

“On one hand, the package is extremely important for the preservation of all products, especially of food and beverages. The design and the quality of the packages has improved significantly, in order to attract higher consumer interest and to be recycled easier. Currently, most glass bottles are very light and can be recycled easily. The brewing companies designed new beer bottles which create different feeling and emotion during the consumption”, Mrs. Radomirova further comments.

The Secretary General of the Brewers of Europe Pierre-Olivier Bergeron was a special guest of this year's celebrations in Bulgaria. Here is what Mr. Bergeron said about the Bulgarian brewing industry.

“Bulgaria is special with the fact that it has its own traditional science of beer brewing. The country invested a lot in beer research in the local universities. As a result, the quality of the Bulgarian beer is very high. A lot of high-level research has been made in the past 60 years in the beer brewing field. If I lived in Bulgaria I would be very happy with the rich choice of local beers. There is a good mixture between beer produced in large companies and beer made in smaller local breweries. This is very important, because consumers can choose between different types of beer.” 
 
The Bulgarian fans of beer will soon have the opportunity to check online the calories and all other substances in a given beer brand. The Union of Brewers in Bulgaria voiced hopes that in another 135 years beer fans will again mark that day with smiles on their faces.

English version: Kostadin Atanasov

Photos: Luiza Lazarova and BGNES