Category Archives: International

Authenticity, History, International, Lager, Neolocalism

Welcome to Wrexham (Lager)

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I have a deep passion for football—known as soccer here in the United States. Most of that passion is devoted to Glasgow Celtic, the Scottish club I’ve supported avidly since I was seven years old. Thanks to the internet and cable television, I can keep up not only with my team but with the sport more broadly. Beyond watching matches, I occasionally enjoy football documentaries. Two of my favorites are Sunderland ’Til I Die and Welcome to Wrexham. Both series chronicle the challenges faced by the men’s teams of Sunderland and Wrexham as they strive to win enough points to climb the tiers of English football. Interestingly, although Wrexham is based in Wales, its team competes in the English Football League—a legacy of the early 20th century when no Welsh league existed. As a result, Wrexham, along with Cardiff City, Newport County, and Swansea City, was invited to play in English League.

Of the two documentaries, Welcome to Wrexham has received the most publicity. This is in large thanks to the fact that, back in 2021 actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney became the co-owners of the club. Both have a starring role in Welcome to Wrexham. The takeover has been hugely successful and over a four-year period (2021-2025) the club gained three successive promotions and moved from the fifth to the second tier of the English football pyramid.

But it’s not just the local football team that Reynolds and McElhenney invested in. They also, along with the Allyn family of Skaneateles, NY, became majority co-owners of a local brewery, Wrexham Lager Beer Co., in 2024. It is a brewery with an interesting history. It was founded In 1882 by two German Immigrants, Ivan Levinstein and Otto Isler. During the 1900s, Wrexham Lager was exported worldwide, finding markets in places as far away as Australia, India, and the Americas. Such was the popularity of Wrexham Lager during the early 20th century that it was available to passengers on the ill-fated Titanic.

In 2000, due to declining demand, the brewery closed its doors. The then owners of the brewery, Carlsberg-Tetley, continued to produce the Lager at a brewery in Blackburn in England. They did so until 2002 when production ceased completely. In 2011, a local family, the Roberts, decided to revive the brand and brew Wrexham Lager in a newly constructed microbrewery. Along with Reynolds, McElhenny, and the Allyn family, the Roberts remain co-owners of the brewery.

Long before Reynolds’s and McElhenney invested in either the football club or the brewery there was a strong connection between the club’s fans and Wrexham Lager. It was, indeed, a staple brew for many Wrexham fans, so much so that the Lager got its own chant. To the tune of the Welsh hymn Bread of Heaven, the chant goes:

Wrexham Lager, Wrexham Lager

Feed me ’til I want no more (want no more),

Feed me ’til I want no more..

As both a football fan and a beer enthusiast, I was familiar with Wrexham Lager and its connection to the local football club—though I had never actually tasted it. That changed a few weeks ago. While browsing the beer section of the dinner menu at a local restaurant, I noticed Wrexham Lager listed among the offerings. At $9 a can, it was pricier than the other craft beers on the menu—likely due in part to the fact that it had traveled all the way from Wrexham to Toledo. Or so I thought.

As I examined the can (as I do with most canned beers that I have for the first time) I noticed that the beer inside was not brewed in Wrexham, but in Normal, IL at Destihl Brewery. Curious about Destihl I visited their website. Established in 2007, in addition to their own line of beers Destihl brew a number of what they call ‘partner beers’. Included in these is Wrexham Lager.

I have to admit, I was a little disappointed by this discovery. One of the things I value most about craft beer is its local character—the way it reflects and connects to a specific place. This sense of place has been widely studied by several geographers, including Scott Taylor Jr. and Robin DiPietro of the University of Houston and the University of South Carolina-Columbia, respectively. In their work, they explore the concept of place-based brands—brands that are defined by their geographic origin and cannot be authentically reproduced elsewhere because of the unique qualities tied to that location.

With respect to Wrexham Lager, the question is simple – can Wrexham Lager be brewed anywhere except Wrexham. Martyn Jones who represented the people of Wrexham as a member of the British Parliament between 1987 and 2010 doesn’t think so. He put it very simply “It isn’t Wrexham Lager if it isn’t brewed in Wrexham.” Before becoming a Member of Parliament, Jones worked in the Wrexham Lager Brewery. In 2020 (when the Lager was being brewed in Blackburn) Jones spearheaded a campaign to bring production of the famous Lager back to Wrexham.

The statement by Martyn Jones gets right to the heart of the question of authenticity. Is the Wrexham Lager that is brewed in Illinois authentic? One might argue that as long as the Lager is brewed using the same ingredients and the same recipe then what’s the big deal? Others, such as Martyn Jones, would suggest otherwise and would argue that where Wrexham Lager is brewed is a big deal.

This is not the first time the issue has been raised with respect to the brewing industry. Back in 2016, a judge found in favor of the plaintiff in a class action lawsuit filed against Anheuser-Busch (A-B). The lawsuit revolved around Beck’s beer. While ostensibly a German beer, Beck’s was owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev. In addition to being brewed in Bremen Germany, since 2012 Beck’s had been brewed in St. Louis, MO. The lawsuit alleged that Anheuser-Busch “misrepresented to consumers that Beck’s Beer is brewed in and imported from Germany”. Plaintiffs alleged “that these beers are in fact domestically brewed but priced as a premium imported beer”.

In a case study of a Scottish craft brewery, David Brown of Heriot-Watt University (UK) examines the challenges the owner faces as he considers expanding beer distribution into England and Wales. Many of the brewery’s products feature names inspired by local landmarks and Scottish idioms, with labels referencing regional issues—such as a nearby nudist colony. As they enter more geographically distant markets, a key question arises: should these local references remain unchanged, or be adapted to make the brand more accessible and transparent to non-local consumers? Selling a beer with a strong sense of place beyond its home region can presents some unique branding challenges.

Wrexham Lager is brewed at Destihl in Normal, IL

The story of Wrexham Lager—and its connection to football, community, and identity—highlights a broader debate about authenticity in an increasingly globalized world. While recipes and branding can travel, the sense of place that defines a product is harder to replicate. For some, brewing Wrexham Lager in Illinois may seem inconsequential, but for others, like Martyn Jones, it strikes at the heart of what makes the beer unique. This tension between tradition and practicality is not new; it echoes similar controversies across the brewing industry, where geographic origin remains a powerful marker of authenticity. Ultimately, whether in football or beer, place matters—not just as a backdrop, but as an integral part of the story we tell and the experiences we value.

Further Reading:

Brown, David M. 2023. Managing neolocalism outside the locale in real ale and craft beer entrepreneurship: The case of Ben Lui Brewery. The International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

Taylor, Scott, Jr and Robin DiPietro. 2020. Assessing consumer perceptions of neolocalism: Making a case for microbreweries as place-based brands. Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, Volume 61, Numbr 2, Pages 183–198.

International, International Trade, Ownership

Una Cerveza, Por Favor.

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Thanks to President Trump the topic of international trade has been on the minds of a lot of folks recently. Per his campaign promise, the President has hiked tariffs on goods imported from countries near and far. This includes our southern neighbor, Mexico. At the time of writing, imports from Mexico are subject to a 25% tariff. Beer, of course, is a major Mexican export to the United States. I am not an international trade expert, however, so I am not going to use this blog entry to examine the impact of the President’s tariffs on the price and sales of Mexican beer imported into the United States. Besides, per this piece in the Mexico News Daily, the whole issue of beer tariffs is more nuanced than meets the eye. Rather, I want to use it to talk a little about the history and current status of the Mexican brewing industry. It is a topic that I actually became interested in and was working on quite some time before the November 2024 elections in the United States.

While barley and wheat-based beers were introduced into Mexico by the Spanish in the 16th century, indigenous Mayans and Aztecs were already making a type of beer using corn, water, and occasionally honey. Despite this early beer production, the indigenous inhabitants exhibited a preference for drinks such as pulque, mezcal, and tequila which were derived from the native agave plant, and it would be several centuries before beer became a mainstream beverage.

Indeed, it was not until the late 19th century, beer can be said to start on its path to popularity as wealthier segments of society discovered the beverage. An 1890 report published by the U.S. Department of State described beer in Mexico as an “aristocratic drink” consumed primarily by wealthy Mexicans, Americans, and Europeans living in large cities and northern states bordering the U.S. According to Steven B. Bunker in a paper published in the journal Mexican Studies/Estudios Mexicanos the late 19th century was a period of modernization in Mexico, and beer was one of a number of products marketed as delivering an “ideal lifestyle” and being indicative of “social success”. During this period much of the beer consumed in Mexico was imported from Germany and the United States, with domestic production limited to a handful of small-scale breweries owned and operated primarily by German immigrants.

Concerned about the volume of imported beer, the Mexican government imposed high duties on bottled beer imported from the United States. These import duties added 75% to the price of a bottle of American beer. As a result, between 1890 and 1910 beer imports into Mexico fell by 70% and imported beer soon accounted for only 5% of Mexican beer consumption. While there was a drop-off in demand for imported beer, the demand for beer in general continued to rise. This necessitated the construction of new domestic breweries. In effect, the Mexican government had pursued an import substitution policy, which had its desired effect (replacing imported beer with domestically-produced beer). If you are unfamiliar with the practice of import substitution, it refers to local production and consumption of goods and services, rather than importing them from other places.

By 1900, six firms dominated Mexican beer production. All served regional markets, It was not until technological advancements such as the growth and evolution of the country’s rail system that brewers were able to distribute their beer nationally. Further consolidation occurred in the Mexican brewing industry and by 1930, three firms dominated – Cervecería Cuauhtémoc, Cervecería Moctezuma, and Cervecería Modelo.

The popularity of Mexican beer received a significant boost during Prohibition in the United States (1920–1933), as Americans crossed the border to legally enjoy alcoholic beverages, including Mexican beer. As a result, new breweries were built near Mexico’s border with the United States. As noted in a recent paper I co-authored on this topic “as Mexico entered the second half of the 20th century, beer emerged as the country’s most popular alcoholic beverage, and Mexico could be accurately characterized as a country of beer drinkers.”

Fast forward a hundred years and today, three firms dominate Mexican beer production – Grupo Modelo, Constellation Brands, and Cervecería Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma. All three are owned by companies located outside of Mexico. Grupo Modelo is owned by Belgium-based AB InBev as a result of an acquisition by the latter in 2013. It owns and operates eight industrial breweries and two craft breweries in Mexico. Included among its most recognized brands are Corona, Pacifico, and Modelo. Cervecería Cuauhtémoc is owned by the Dutch brewing giant Heineken, who acquired it in 2010. It owns and operates seven industrial breweries in Mexico with an eighth scheduled to become operational in 2026. Its brands include Dos Equis, Tecate, and Sol.

Now we come to Constellation brands who are based in Rochester, NY. Originally a wine and spirits company, Constellation entered the world of beer following the 2013 acquisition of Grupo Modelo by AB InBev. An antitrust decision by the US Department of Justice, prohibited AB InBev from distributing and selling Grupo Model beer brands in the United States. The Justice Department felt that the acquisition “would substantially lessen competition in the market for beer in the United States as a whole and in at least 26 metropolitan areas across the United States” alleging that “the transaction would result in consumers paying more for beer and would limit innovation in the beer market.” Enter Constellation brands who purchased the right to do distribute Grupo Modelo brands in the United States. Constellation own two breweries in Mexico, with a third under construction. So if you purchase a Corona in Mexico it was produced in a brewery owned by AB InBev; purchase a Corona in the United States and it was produced in a brewery owned by Constellation Brands.

Mexico is a major player in the global beer market. In 2023, the country produced 152 million hectoliters of beer. This represented 7.6% of all the beer produced worldwide, making it one of world’s largest producers of this much enjoyed beverage. Only China, the United States, and Brazil produced more. Much of the beer produced by Mexico is exported. Indeed, Mexico exports more beer than any other country. The United States is a critical market for beer produced in Mexico. In fact, eighty percent of the beer it exports is sent to the United States.

Mexican beer is very popular in the United States. Five of top ten most popular imported beers among American consumers are Mexican brands – Modelo, Corona, Dos Equis XX, Pacifico, and Tecate. Indeed Modelo is the most popular beer in the United States, having ousted that honor from Bud Light in May 2023. While this ousting coincided with conservative consumers boycotting Bud Light following the latter’s collaboration with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, it should be noted that Modelo was already well on its way to eclipsing Bud Light. The Mulvaney incident simply sped it up by a few months.

Modelo is the best selling beer in the United States

The popularity of Mexican beer is driven by several trends. One has been the growth of America’s Hispanic/Latino population. Between 1980 and 2020, the share of the U.S. population who identified as Hispanic increased from 7% to 19%. Today, Hispanic consumers account for about half of Constellation’s beer sales. Th fact that the other half is made up of non-Hispanic Americans suggests that Mexican beer has broad appeal. Indeed, recent on-premises sales of Mexican beer have been growing in states bordering Canada, which have smaller Hispanic populations.

The premiumization trend, which has impacted all segments of the American alcohol market, has also aided sales of Mexican beer. Premiumization refers to the growing preference of American consumers to purchase alcohol that has a higher price point and is perceived to be of higher quality. Premiumization is not a new trend with respect to beer. Indeed, Bart Watson, President and CEO of the Brewers Association, points out that the American beer market has experienced different waves of premiumization going as far back as the 1950s, with the emergence of craft beer being the most recent example. It is a trend that has drawn consumers to imported beers, “which are often perceived to be of higher quality“, notes Grace Wood, senior analyst at market research firm IBISWorld. This includes Mexican beers such as Corona and Modelo.

While Mexican beer is very popular in the United States it does face some challenges. Earlier this month, Constellation Brands noted falling demand among U.S. consumers. A multitude of factors are contributing to this downturn. These include reduced alcohol consumption among health conscious younger age-groups who are increasingly eschewing alcohol, general economic uncertainty, and higher grocery bills (a particular concern among Hispanic consumers). Some of these concerns are related to President Trump’s tariff policies, while others are not. This is a challenging time for the beer industry. However, evidence suggests that large brewing companies are sufficiently flexible and creative to respond to such challenges.

Further Reading:

Wang, Haoying, Rafael Garduño-Rivera, and Neil Reid. 2025. Economic geography of beer production in the context of trade liberalization and economic nationalism: The Mexican experience. Applied Geography https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeog.2025.103589.

Craft Beer, Craft Breweries, International

One Afternoon in Košice

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Earlier this summer I spent five days in Košice, Slovakia. I was there as a guest of the Technical University of Košice (TUKE) participating in a summer institute for PhD students. The focus of the institute was identifying and discussing those factors that can make cities more resilient in the face of challenges such as climate change, global health pandemics, geo-political conflicts etc. This was my second visit to Kosice in as many years, having participated in the same event last year.

Returning to Košice gave me the opportunity to catch up with Peter Škripko who owns Pivovar Hostinec, one of two breweries in the city. Pivovar, incidentally, is the Slovak word for brewery. Last year, I had spent a wonderful afternoon with Peter cycling around Košice with stop-offs at some of his favorite places to drink beer. This year, Peter picked me up from hotel in his beautiful Porsche. The first stop was Ovečka KE.CY Kiosk and beer garden, located in the Čermeľská Valley just outside the city. Starting just north of the city, the valley stretches 16km into forested hills. The 150-seater beer garden is popular with families who want to escape the city easily, as well as hikers who want some fresh air and exercise. The valley has been a destination for Košice residents since the 19th century.

According to its website, “the attraction of the kiosk are special draft beers”. The special draft beers in this case are brewed by Pivovar Hostinec. Indeed, the only beer sold at Ovečka is from Hostinec. Ovečka, in fact, is one of only two places, apart from the brewery, that sells Hostinec’s beer. The reason is simple – quality control. Based on past experience Peter is concerned about bars and restaurants handling his beer in such a way as to ensure it tastes as it should. This is an industry-wide concern. Issues that craft breweries face when others serve their beer include improperly maintained draft systems (i.e. dirty beer lines), dirty glassware, warm storage etc. The more bars and restaurants that sell a brewery’s beer the harder it is to maintain quality control. According to Julia Herz, Executive Director of the American Homebrewers Association, when the integrity of a beer is compromised “it’s very difficult to enjoy a beer as the brewer intended“. Peter wants everyone to enjoy his beer as he intended it to be enjoyed.

Ovečka KE.CY Kiosk

After a beer at Ovečka, we headed to Peter’s apartment where we had a light snack and a beer while enjoying a panoramic view of Košice from the comfort of his patio. The beer we had was a collaboration between Hostinec and Sibeeria Brewery in Prague in the Czech Republic. Called, “We Are From Exit” it was a delicious Double New England IPA, with an ABV of 8.2%. An interesting feature of this beer is its label, which was designed using AI. I wonder how common using AI to design labels is in the craft brewing industry. And will it become increasingly common in the future?

A panoramic view of Košice from the patio of Peter’s apartment
The label on this collaboration beer between Pivovar Hostinec and Sibeeria Brewery was designed using AI.

Following a beer at Peter’s apartment we headed, by foot, into the center of Kosice. The remainder of the afternoon was spent visiting some of the city’s best drinking establishments. As we walked around the city center, I was impressed with how many people Peter knew. He is clearly a well-established and well-liked member of Košice culinary scene.

Enjoying a beer with Eric, a bartender at one of Peter’s favorite beer spots

One of the places we visited was the other craft brewery in Kosice, Pivovar Golem. This was my first visit to this brewery. Curious about the name of the brewery, I learned that a golem is an anthropomorphic creature in Jewish folklore. It is often made from clay or mud. Perhaps the most famous golem narrative was written by the revered Yiddish writer I. L. Peretz in 1890. The setting for Peretz’s short story is the city of Prague in what today is called the Czech Republic. In the story, a rabbi (Rabbi Loew) brings a golem to life by placing a magic word in its mouth. At first, the golem protects the Jewish ghetto. One day, however, it flies into a rage and causes all sorts of physical damage, including the smashing of buildings. To put an end to the destruction, Rabbi Loew removes the word from the golem’s mouth, and it dissolves into dust. Shaken by the turn of events, Rabbi Loew promises himself never to bring a golem to life again. Today, it is said that the dusty remains of that particular golem are to be found in a closed-off attic of the Old New Synagogue in Prague.

The entrance to Pivovar Golem
The interior of Pivovar Golem
Peter at Pivovar Golem, with a golem in the background

It wonderful to be in the city of Košice again and to have the opportunity to spend an afternoon and catch-up with Peter Škripko. As always, Peter was amazingly generous with his time and treated to a wonderful tour of some of his favorite drinking places in the city. Walking is always a wonderful way to see a city and doing that walk with a native makes it even better. So, thank you to Peter for a wonderful afternoon. I hope we get the opportunity to do it again.

Beer Styles, International

Bottle Conditioned: The Story of Lambic

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Earlier this year I was given the opportunity to preview the documentary film, Bottle Conditioned, a few weeks before its public release by Bullfrog Fims. Directed by Academy Award nominated filmmaker Jerry Franck, the documentary explores the world of lambic beer.

Before discussing the film, let me say something about lambic beer. Lambic is one of the world’s most iconic beer styles. It is a sour wheat beer, brewed by using spontaneous fermentation. In other words, unlike most beers which are brewed using yeast selected by the brewer, lambic uses wild yeast that is naturally present in the environment. Authentic lambic is brewed in one small geographic region – Pajottenland and the adjacent Zenne Valley, which lie southwest of Belgium’s capital city Brussels.

Exactly how long lambic has been around is unclear – some sources suggest it was first brewed in the 13th century, while others date its origins to the 15th and 18th centuries respectively. The weight of evidence suggests an 18th century origin to be the most likely. In addition to Lambic, there are several derivatives. These include fruit lambic, faro, and gueuze. Of these gueuze is considered the “most noble”, being often “likened to champagne”.

Gueuze, is made by blending a young Lambic (one year old) with older (two and three years old) lambics. As the young lambic is not fully fermented, a secondary fermentation occurs in the bottle. No two batches of gueuze are the same as the yeast used in their production comes from the natural environment, making it “impossible to produce a standardised product”. Following fermentation, lambic is aged in wooden barrels (usually wine) for several years. Because of seasonal variations in the microflora in the Pajottenland and Zenne Valley lambic can only be brewed between October and May.

A lambic produced by Cantillon

Bottle Conditioned, tells the story of three lambic producers/blenders (Cantillon, 3 Fonteinen, and Bokke), the people who own and run them, and their visions of the future. As we learn in the film, after a period of decline, lambic today is experiencing something of a renaissance.  In the early 1950s, there were several hundred producers/blenders of lambic in the region, with each village having two or three. In the subsequent four decades, however, consumer demand for lambic went into free fall. Jean-Pierre Van Roy (Co-Owner of Cantillon) lays part of the blame at the feet of Coca Cola, which was introduced into Europe after World War II. Coca Cola’s arrival was part of a larger trend in which standardization of tastes became a dominant force. Van Roy likens Coca Cola to a drug that arrived “violently” in Europe. As Coca Cola became more popular, people developed a taste for sweeter drinks. Changing consumer tastes were also reflected in the growing popularity of less-expensive mass-produced Lagers, against which lambic producers found it impossible to compete. Faced with this reality, one response by some lambic producers was to add saccharine to their blends, thus making it sweeter and more appealing to consumers. As a result, product quality and authenticity were compromised, although it did allow some lambic producers to survive. In a paper published in the International Journal of Heritage Studies, Arie Stoffelen, interviewed some 1980s lambic/gueuze drinkers. According to one of them:

“I drank old gueuzes in the 80s. You had to have a lot of courage and sacrifice to empty the glass . . . There was a lot of bad stuff on the market”

During this period, a small number of lambic producers, whose practices remained loyal to the beer’s authenticity, refused to add sweeteners. To survive, some leveraged lambic’s cultural heritage to generate customers and boost sales. In 1979 Jean-Pierre Van Roy established the Brussels Museum of Gueuze, with the goal of generating income to help keep the brewery alive. It was a resounding success. Cantillon is still in business and today, the brewery attracts over 30,000 visitors per year.

As recently as the 1990s, consumer interest in lambic remained at a very low ebb. The industry was moribund and the few brewers/blenders who were still in business faced a bleak and uncertain future. However, beginning in the early 2000s, lambic started receiving more attention, particularly in international markets. This renewed interest in lambic coincided with the growth of craft beer and a spurning, among a growing number of beer drinkers, of the bland-tasting, homogeneous, mass-produced Lagers.

This resurgence in lambic’s popularity brought with it both challenges and opportunities, each of which presented questions that had to be answered and decisions that had to be made. Many of these questions and decisions revolved around the future of the industry. As we weave our way through the film it becomes quite clear that there are competing visions about that future, competing visions within families and competing visions between producers.

On the one hand, there are producers like Cantillon’s Jean-Pierre Van Roy for whom tradition and protecting the heritage of lambic are important. Van Roy bemoans the emphasis that the younger generation of brewers’ place on “production, turnover, and profits”. According to him, “the beauty and aesthetics” of producing authentic lambic “doesn’t interest them”. In a recent interview with The Brussels Times, Van Roy bemoans the use of lactic acid by some lambic brewers. Lactic acid, with its attendant sourness, is produced naturally during the fermentation process. However, Van Roy notes that some lambic brewers add lactic acid to the coolship, thus reducing the length of time it takes to produce a lambic from several years to 4-5 months.

When it comes to producing lambic, Jean-Pierre Van Roy of Cantillon is protective of traditional values and practices

Van Roy is also dismissive of the modern beer drinker – “When I see people drink beer nowadays, I’m horrified”, he says. He dislikes the way many of them analyze beer as they drink it, taking notes, lining up bottles and taking photographs. This, Van Roy says, is “atrocious”. At one point in the film, Van Roy laments that “I am simply from a different time”.

The viewer is left in no doubt that tradition and protecting the heritage of lambic are important to Jean-Pierre Van Roy.  At the same he realizes that it is perhaps time for him to acquiesce and let the next generation implement their ideas and fulfill their visions. In the case of Cantillon, the next generation is represented by his son Jean. Jean has a more holistic, and some might argue, more realistic vision of the future. He recognizes that the world is changing, and that competition is escalating. For example, he observes there are a lot of good fruit beers being produced using secondary fermentation.

Jean’s observation is supported by the Tour De Geuze, a biennial celebration of lambic held in Pajottenland and the Zenne Valley where new products are often unveiled. For example, at the 2024 iteration of the event, Brewery Kestermont unveiled two new lambics, one brewed with blood orange and one brewed with bergamot. A visit to the website of Cantillon displays a wide range of lambics, including variations containing blue honeysuckle, raspberries, and rhubarb.

At one point in the film, Jean-Pierre outlines his desire to use some of Cantillon’s production space for the purpose of extending the brewery’s museum displays. His son objects on the grounds that valuable brewing capacity would be lost. Jean-Pierre accuses his son of only wanting to “produce, produce, produce”. In the end, it is the son who prevails, and the new museum space is built (at a cost of 1.6 million Euros).

Another lambic producer we meet in the film is Armand Debelder of 3 Forteinen Brewery. Debelder took over the running of 3 Forteinen from his parents in the early 1980s. As noted above, this was a tough time for lambic. But he persevered, continuing to produce authentic lambic. Shortly after appearing in the film, Debelder pased away from prostate cancer. By then, however, Debelder had passed the reins of 3 Forteinen to his business partners Michaël Blancquaert and Werner Van Obberghen.

In the film we learn that 3 Forteinen is receiving a 25 million Euro investment from a private equity firm. When news of this investment broke, some of the responses (particularly online) bordered on vitriolic. One online posting asked whether 3 Forteinen was more interested in generating shareholder profits than in producing good beer. Others accused them of selling their soul, of becoming a factory. Critics felt that there are dangers associated with becoming “too big”. Responding to the criticism, Werner Van Obberghen, Managing Director of 3 Forteinen points out that the volume of lambic produce is irrelevant if quality standards are maintained. 3 Forteinen, he insists, will always privilege quality. He accuses detractors of missing the point in their call to “make lambic rare again”.

Raf Souvereyns, who we also meet in the film, has progressive ideas. Souvereyns is the owner of Bokke Blendery (~100 km outside of Pajottenland). Souvereyns is not a brewer. He buys wort from lambic breweries, putting it in a coolship for spontaneous fermentation. A producer of mainly fruit beers, Souvereyns likes to push the limits of what can be done. He is quite happy to jettison a traditional technique if he feels it is not delivering for him. He uses the terms “deconstructing” and “reconstructing” to describe much of what he does. He talks about the infinite combinations of different fruits, and the experimentation that this involves.

Raf Souvereyns of Bokke Blendery is not beholden to tradition when blending lambics

Bottle Conditioned is film that pits tradition and heritage against non-conformity and innovation. On the one hand, we have Jean-Pierre Van Roy who values tradition and heritage; on the other we have Raf Souvereyns who is forging ahead with new and creative ideas. As I watched the film, I found myself sympathizing with both perspectives. Yes, I want to be able to drink lambic produced using traditional methods and recipes. At the same time, I am not opposed to tasting something new and experimental.

When Bullfrog Films invited me to preview the film, they asked that I provide a short blurb that they could use for promotional purposes. So, I will end this blog entry with my blurb:

“Bottle Conditioned is a must-see love story for anyone interested in the resurgence of one of the world’s most iconic styles of beer – lambic. As with most love stories there are hopes and dreams, anxieties and fears, tensions and conflicts. Bottle Conditioned has all of these, and more, as director Jerry Franck takes us deep into the world of lambic and the people who produce it; a world where competing visions of the future are discussed and debated. If you only watch one beer film this year, make sure it’s this one.”

Further Viewing and Reading:

Franck, Jerry. 2022. Bottle Conditioned. Reading, PA: Bullfrog Films.

Mulder, Roel. 2018. Lambic: The need for a new historical narrative. Journal of the Brewery History Society, Volume 175: Pages 2-13.

Stoffelen, Arie. 2022. Revitalising place-based commercial heritage: A cultural political economy approach to the renaissance of lambic beers in Belgium. International Journal of Heritage Studies, Volume 28, Issue 1, Pages 16-29.

History, International, Scholarship

Guinness and the Student’s t-test

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Well, that’s another St. Patrick’s Day behind us. I am not really a green beer person, and don’t care much for corned beef (although I am partial to cabbage). So, I usually don’t participate in the celebrations that occur on the famous saint’s feast day. This year, however, I did make a presentation on St. Patrick and the history of Guinness as part of the monthly Pint Talk series at one of my local breweries, Quenched and Tempered.

Speaking about St. Patrick and the history of Gunnesss at Quenched & Tempered Brewing Company (Photo Credit: Beth Schlemper)

As I was preparing my talk, my oldest daughter sent me a text asking if I knew that the student t-test was developed by an employee of Guinness. My daughter is a nurse and is working on her Master of Science degree in Nursing at Ohio University. In one of her classes, the instructor was covering some basic statistical techniques. This is where the student’s t-test came up. I responded to her text, telling her that I was indeed familiar with both the test itself and the fact that it had been developed by a Guinness employee, and that both would be mentioned in my presentation.

William Sealy Gosset was born in Canterbury, England in 1876. As a student at Oxford University, Gosset studied mathematics and chemistry. Soon after graduating from Oxford, in 1899, Gosset joined the Guinness brewery in Dublin, Ireland, as a master brewer and experimental scientist. As it was to turn out, all of Gosset’s working days (1899-1937) were spent as a Guinness employee. When he joined Guinness, it was the largest brewery in the world, producing close to 1.2 million barrels of beer. And it was on a growth trajectory. By 1914, it was producing almost 2.4 million barrels.

William Sealy Gosset

The arrival of Gosset at Guinness signaled something of a scientific revolution for the Irish brewery – from that day forward, scientific rigor would underpin all of the brewery’s activities. As noted by Stephen T. Ziliak, “all factors of production, from barley breeding to taste testing” would be “controlled, improved, and confirmed by experimental science”. A degree in science from Oxford or Cambridge would be required of anyone hoping to become a Guinness brewer. By applying scientific principles to brewing, Guinness hoped to improve both the quality and consistency of its beer, while minimizing production costs. One observer likens being a brewer at Guinness in the early 1900s to “being a computer scientist at Bell Labs in the 1970s or an artificial intelligence researcher at Google today“.

Quality and consistency of the final product was highly dependent upon the quality and consistency of the barley and hops used in the brewing process. In the case of hops, Guinness’ traditional method of choosing which to use was based on looks and/or fragrance – a highly unreliable technique. A more reliable method would have been knowledge of the degree of soft resins in the hops. This was problematic, however. The vicissitudes of agriculture meant that there could be considerable variation in the soft resin content of hops, both from field to field and year to year.

Measuring the soft resin content in every hop cone was not feasible. By 1886, Guinness was using ~5 million pounds of hops. An alternative was to take a sample of hops and measure their soft resin content. But this raised some important questions? For example, how many hop cones did you have to sample? And how could you tell if your samples were representative of the larger batch of hops you were considering using in the brewing process. This was one of the tasks to which Gosset set his mind. In 1906 Guinness granted Gosset a sabbatical to work on this problem, so he spent a year at the Biometrics Laboratory of mathematician Karl Pearson at University College London.

Gosset was particularly interested in the problem of small samples. In other words, by measuring the soft resin content of a small sample of hops, can you infer that the entire crop has an acceptable soft resin content? Up until that point, all methods for extrapolating from a sample relied on having at least 30 observations. It was during his year at Pearson’s laboratory that Gosset figured out how characteristics of larger populations could be inferred from a very small number of samples. In his initial work he did not focus on hops. but malt extract. By taking just four samples of malt extract Gosset found that he could be sure with more than 92% certainty that the “degrees saccharine” of the extract was within 0.5 degrees of the required amount which was 133 degrees.

In 1908 Goset published the results of his research in the journal Biometrika. He did so under the pseudonym “Student”. While Guinness was happy for Gosset to share his work, they preferred that competitors not know for whom the author worked and the manner in which the brewery was applying his research. Indeed, Gosset used the same pseudonym in 19 of the 21 scientific papers he published.

As a result of Gosset using the pseudonym in his paper, the statistical technique that he presented became known as Student’s t-test. Today the Student t-test is taught in every introductory statistics course in the world (I don’t know that for sure, but I can’t imagine an introductory statistic’s course without it).

It is also widely used by both academic and non-academic researchers. For example, in medical research it can be used to compare the effectiveness of two drugs (or a placebo and a drug) in a clinical trial, while Psychologists might use it to assess the impact of therapy on an individual (before and after therapy scenarios). A manufacturer may use it to assess whether average customer satisfaction rating for a new product differs significantly from a pre-determined benchmark.

In a letter published in the Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences, Younis Skaij described the Student’s t-test as the ‘bread and butter” of statistical analysis. Writing in the Scientific American, Jack Murtagh, called the Student’s t-test as “one of the most important statistical techniques in all of science“. As Gosset’s research was published under the pseudonym of Student, he probably does not get the recognition he deserves among the scientific community. But next time you raise a glass of Guinness to your lips, give a thought to this “gentleman scientist“.

Further Reading:

Ziliak, Stephen T. 2008. Guinnessometrics: The economic
foundation of “Student’s” t. Journal of Economic Perspectives, Volume 22, Issue 4, Pages 199–216.

Breweries, Craft Breweries, International

2024 Year in Review

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Between 2017 and 2021, at the end of each year, I posted a blog entry documenting all the breweries I had visited during the calendar year. Included was one photograph from each brewery. In 2022, I did not post such an entry. I can’t quite remember why this was the case. However, I also failed to make an end-of- year posting in 2023. Anyway, 2024 is almost over and I thought I’d get back into the habit of documenting the breweries I visited.

During 2024, I visited a total of forty-five breweries. Before going any further, I should define what I am counting as a brewery. Any establishment owned by a brewery, whether beer is brewed on-site or not, is included in my list. For example, Inside The Five Brewing Company has three locations in northwest Ohio. At only one of those locations is beer brewed. However, all three locations are included in the list of breweries I visited in 2024.

Of the forty-five breweries I visited in 2024, eighteen were in my home state of Ohio, seventeen were located elsewhere in the United States, and ten were outside of the United States. Of the seventeen breweries I visited elsewhere in the United States, four were in the neighboring state of Michigan. Toledo, where I live, is located just south of the Ohio/Michigan border, so visits to Michigan breweries are fairly routine. Trips to California, Indiana, Nevada, and Pennsylvania afforded me the opportunity to visit breweries in those states. In terms of breweries outside of the United States, two trips to Canada, as well as trips to Armenia and Slovakia, meant that I visited more non-US breweries than I normally do.

Of the forty-five breweries I visited, sixteen were repeat visits. This meant there were twenty-nine breweries that I visited for the first time (indicated in bold font in the list below).

I hope you enjoy the photographs below. I wish every one a Happy New Year and hope that 2025 is a wonderful year for you.

OHIO (18)

  • 60CC Brewing, Toledo, OH
    Arlyn’s Good Beer, Bowling Green, OH
  • Brewing Green, Bowling Green, OH
  • Earnest Brew Works, Toledo, OH (Downtown Location)
  • Earnest Brew Works, Toledo, OH (Westgate Location)
  • Great Lakes Brewing Co., Cleveland, OH
  • HEAVY Beer Co., Toledo, OH
  • Inside the Five Brewing Co., Perrysburg, OH
  • Inside the Five Brewing Co., Sylvania, OH
  • Inside the Five Brewing Co., Toledo, OH
  • Juniper Brewing Co., Bowling Green, OH
  • Maumee Bay Brewing Company, Toledo, OH
  • Oncore Brewing, Swanton, OH
  • Patron Saints Brewery, Toledo, OH
  • Quenched and Tempered Brewing Company, Toledo, OH
  • Twin Oast Brewing, Port Clinton, OH
  • Upside Brewing, Sylvania, OH
  • Wild Side Brewing Company, Toledo, OH

REST OF UNITED STATES (17)

  • Ballast Point Brewing Company, San Diego, CA (Little Italy Location)
  • Blake’s Brewing Company, Almont, MI
  • Blake’s Brewing Company, Armada, MI
  • Brewery Saint X, New Orleans, LA
  • Chicago Brewing Company, Las Vegas, NV
  • Crescent City Brewhouse, New Orleans, LA
  • Evil Czech Brewery and Public House, Mishakawa, IN
  • GOAL. Brewing, San Diego, CA
  • Gordon Biersch Brewery, Romulus, MI (Airport Location)
  • Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant , Phoenixville, PA
  • Jolly Pumpkin, Romulus, MI (Airport Location)
    Red Hook Brewery, Salt Lake City, UT (Airport Location)
  • Triple 7 Restaurant and Brewery, Las Vegas, NV
  • Stone Brewing, San Diego, CA (Airport Location)
  • Sun King Brewery, Mishakawa, IN
    TapRoom Beer Co., San Diego, CA (Pacific Beach Location)
  • Seek Beer Co., San Diego, CA

INTERNATIONAL (10)

  • 379 Torch & Brew, Yerevan, Armenia
  • Banded Goose Brewing Company, Kingsville, ON, Canada
  • Dargett Brewpub, Yerevan, Armenia
  • Fairweather Brewing Company, Hamilton, ON
  • Grain & Grit Beer Co., Hamilton, ON, Canada
  • Hostinec Brewery, Košice, Slovakia
  • Shawn & Ed Brewing Company, Hamilton, ON, Canada
  • The Beerded Dog, Harrow, ON, Canada
  • The Grove Brewing Company, Kinsgville, ON, Canada
  • The George Hamilton Restaurant & Brewery, Hamilton, ON, Canada
379 Torch & Brew, Yerevan, Armenia
60CC Brewing, Toledo, OH
Arlyn’s Good Beer, Bowling Green, OH
Ballast Point Brewing Company, San Diego, CA (Little Italy Location)
Banded Goose Brewing Company, Kingsville, ON
Blake’s Brewing Co., Almont, MI
Blake’s Brewing Co., Armada, MI
Brewery Saint X, New Orleans, LA
Brewing Green, Bowling Green, OH
Chicago Brewing Company, Las Vegas, NV
Crescent City Brewhouse, New Orleans, LA
Dargett Brewpub, Yerevan, Armenia
Earnest Brew Works, Toledo, OH (Downtown Location)
Earnest Brew Works, Toledo, OH (Westgate Location)
Evil Czech Brewery and Public House, Mishakawa, IN
Fairweather Brewing Company, Hamilton, ON, Canada
GOAL. Brewing, San Diego, CA
Gordon Biersch Brewimg, Romulus, MI (Airport Location)
Grain & Grit Beer Co., Hamilton, ON, Canada
Great Lakes Brewing Co., Cleveland, OH
Hosintec Brewery, Košice, Slovakia
Inside The Five Brewing Co., Perrysburg OH
Inside The Five Brewing, Sylvania, OH
Inside The Five Brewing Co., Toledo, OH
Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant, Phoenixville, PA
Jolly Pumpkin, Romulus, MI (Airport Location))
Juniper Brewing Co., Bowling Green, OH
Maumee Bay Brewing Co., Toledo, OH
Oncore Brewing, Swanton, OH
Patron Saints Brewery, Toledo, OH
Quenched and Tempered Brewing Company,Toledo, OH
Red Rock Brewery, Salt Lake City, UT (Airport Location)
Seek Beer Co., San Diego, CA
Shawn & Ed Brewing Company, Hamilton, ON, Canada
Stone Brewing, San Diego, CA (Airport Location)
Sun King Brewery, Mishakawa, IN
TapRoom Beer Co., San Diego, CA (Pacific Beach Location)
The Beerded Dog Brewing Co., Harrow, ON
The Grove Brewing Company, Kingsville, ON, Canada
Triple 7 Restaurant and Brewery, Las Vegas, NV
Twin Oast Brewing, Port Clinton, OH
The George Hamilton Restaurant & Brewery, Hamilton, ON, Canada
Upside Brewing, Sylvania, OH
Wild Side Brewing Company, Toledo, OH
International

Four Days in Armenia

I recently returned from a four day visit to Yerevan, the capital city of Armenia. I was there as one of the keynote speakers at a conference on “The Transformative Economy: Digital Technology, Spatial Disparities and Quality of Life”, The conference was one of a number of events celebrating the 90th anniversary of the Faculty of Economics and Management at Yerevan State University.

For those of you unfamiliar with Armenia, it is a landlocked country, which shares borders with Georgia to the north, Türkiye to the west, Azerbaijan to the east, and Iran to the south. While it considers itself to be part of Europe, from a geographic perspective an argument can be made that it is part of Western Asia. While Armenia has a long and interesting geopolitical history, most recently it was part of the USSR, from which it gained independence in 1991. It is a relatively small country, with a population of ~3 million, a third of which live in Yerevan.

Armenia’s Geographic Location (Source: BBC.com)

Armenian beer traces its roots at least as far back as the 4th century BC. It was then that it is mentioned in the travel diary of the ancient Greek mercenary, Xenophon. Traveling through eastern Anatolia, Xenephon makes mention of Armenians enjoying a tasty, but potent, drink he called “barley wine”. As was fairly common during this period, beer was served in a large bowl and consumed communally using straws.

In the late 19th century, when Armenia was part of the Russian Empire, beer was brewed in both Alexandrapol and Yerevan. The former was later renamed Gyumri and today is Armenia’s second largest city. In 1926, by which time, Armenia was part of the USSR, the last Armenian brewery was closed.

Beer production would not return to Armenia until the 1950s. As alcoholism was a significant problem in the USSR, the Russians prohibited the import of foreign beer, most of which was of higher quality than that brewed locally. As a result, according to Karine Vann, writing in The Smithsonian, “a network of subversive beer drinkers emerged, gathering in Soviet Armenia’s watering holes. The good stuff [such as imported Czech Lager] was possible to find – for the right price – if you had the right acquaintances.”

Today, Armenia, like many other countries in the region, has a small, but dynamic craft brewing industry. During my recent visit, I had the opportunity to visit two of the country’s craft breweries.

On a sunny Monday afternoon, I walked the twenty minutes from my hotel, to 379 Torch and Brew Restaurant which is owned and operated by 379 Brewing Company. Opened in 2021, the restaurant is located in the heart of Yerevan. The restaurant has a delightful courtyard where I spent a wonderful couple of hours enjoying some of 379’s beers.

The courtyard at 379 Torch and Brew Restaurant

As is common in many European craft breweries 379 had a relatively small number of beers available – an American Wheat Ale, a Weizen, a Pilsner, a Dunkel, and a Barley Wine. I tried three of the five beers on offer – American Wheat Ale, Weizen, and Pilsner. I thoroughly enjoyed them all. If you are ever in Yerevan, 379 Torch and Brew is a delightful place to kick back and relax for a couple of hours

Details about four of 379’s beer were available on this creative menu
I enjoyed this American Wheat Ale at 379 Torch and Brew

The second craft brewery I had the opportunity to visit while in Yerevan was Dargett Brewery. My visit to Dargett was somewhat more formal than it had been to 379 Torch and Brew. As part of the evening events associated with the conference, I had agreed to make a short presentation on the globalization and fragmentation trends that had been sweeping through and changing the face of the global brewing industry since the mid-1980s. So, I spoke about the consolidation that had been taking place among the global behemoths such as AB InBev and SAB Miller at the same time as the craft beer segment was gaining an increasing share of the beer market in a growing number of countries. After my brief presentation, Inna Khostikyan, Executive Director of Dargett Brewery spoke about Dargett and its emergence as a major player in the Armenian craft beer market.

Discussing changes in the global brewing industry at Dargett Brewery
Inna Khostikyan, Executive Director of Dargett Brewpub tells the audience about Dargett Brewery

Established in 2016, Dargett is the first modern-day Armenian craft brewery. Its mission is simple – “to bring unfiltered and unpasteurized beer to the consumer and keep it fresh.” Founded by two brothers, Aren and Hovhannes Durgarian, Dargett is both an innovator and a leader. For example, it was the first Armenian brewery to produce an IPA, the first to make cider (using Armenian apples), and the first to produce a fruit beer.

The fruit beer was an Apricot Ale, made with local apricots. Archaeological evidence suggests that apricots have been grown in Armenia for at least six thousand years. Today, Armenia is one of world’s leading apricot producers, and the fruit is popular among locals and tourists alike. For many, the apricot is a symbol of Armenia. As I was chatting with Inna Khostikyan after my presentation, she asked me if I would like a glass of the brewery’s Apricot Ale. I said yes of course, and have to say it was outstanding.

Apricot Ale brewed by Dargett Brewery

This was my first visit to Armenia. It was a short, but highly enjoyable, one. Since my first overseas trip (to Malta) when I was sixteen years old, I have always enjoyed international travel. Seeing new places and learning about different cultures have always fascinated me. In recent years, my travel has become, I believe, more enjoyable because of my interest in craft beer. Visiting craft breweries in countries such as Armenia, Italy, Slovakia, and Japan has expanded my appreciation of the industry. I look forward to more international travel in 2025 and the opportunity to visit more breweries.

Craft Breweries, International

Pivovar Hostinec

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Earlier this year, I spent a week in the city of Košice in Slovakia. I was there participating in a week-long Summer Institute at the Technical University of Košice. The participants in the Summer Institute were faculty from nine countries and doctoral students from five countries. The event was described as a week-long bootcamp in which participants would explore, discuss, and debate “the X-factor of a city” – the X-factor being those characteristics and features of a city that contribute to it being high performing and making it a wonderful place to live and work.

Among other responsibilities, my participation in the event included giving an hour-long presentation on a topic of relevance to the bootcamp’s theme. My particular presentation focused on the role and importance of Third Places in the modern city. For those of you unfamiliar with the concept of Third Places, they are, to quote the urban sociologist Ray Oldenburg, “nothing more than informal public gathering places”. Much of my own research on the craft brewing industry has examined how craft breweries function as neighborhood Third Places in towns and cities across America. You can read some of my thoughts on craft breweries as Third Places here, here, and here. While my presentation included some discussion of the role of American craft breweries and British community pubs as Third Places, much of it focused on the concept of Third Places more broadly.

Getting ready to talk about Third Places at the Technical University of Košice

If you are unfamiliar with the city of Košice, it is the second largest city in the country and the largest city (population ~240,000) in eastern Slovakia. Dating back to the 13th century, the city has a long and fascinating history. At various times during its history, it was part of the Kingdom of Hungary, the Principality of Transylvania, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and Czechoslovakia. Since the break-up of Czechoslovakia in 1993, it has been part of the Slovak Republic.

On the second to last evening of the bootcamp we had a farewell gathering. And guess what – this was held in a brewery. Pivovar Hostinec (Hostinec Brewery) was established in 2015 by Peter Škripko. It is housed in a building that dates to the second half of the 15th century. Originally a private residence, it was purchased by the city of Košice in 1569 and run as an inn. In 1617, a section of the building was leased and converted into a printing house; the first printing house in Kosice. Records indicate that part of the building was used as a brewery (the first in Košice) in 1604. The building was also the venue for the wedding festivities of Gabriel Bethlen, the Prince of Transylvania, and Catherine of Brandenburg in 1626. The marriage established an alliance between the Protestant Prince of Transylvania and the Protestant powers of Denmark and Sweden. This is certainly a building with a long and rich history. But that’s enough history. Let’s talk about beer.

Knowing my interest in craft brewing, the conference organizers asked me if I would be willing to collaborate with the brewery owner, Peter Škripko, and host a short but educational and fun presentation to kick-off the evening’s proceedings. Peter and I had a Zoom call and devised a plan of action. I would give a short presentation on the history of the craft brewing movement, after which he would provide an overview of the history of the brewery. Following that, Peter would lead the attendees through a tasting of four of the brewery’s beers.

Talking about the origins of the craft brewing movement at Hostinec Brewery
Peter led our group through a tasting of some of his brewery’s beers

Like many European craft breweries, Pivovar Hostinec, has a relatively small number of different beers on tap at any given time. Unlike many American craft breweries, which might have over a dozen different beers on tap, Pivovar Hostinec usually has six. The formal beer tasting was followed by a tour (and more tasting) of one of the brewery’s cellars where the fermentation tanks are housed. Not surprisingly, the evening was a roaring success, much of which was due to Peter’s vibrant and generous personality (and copious amounts of beer).

The evening finished with a tour of the cellars where Hostinec’s beer is brewed
Our group enjoyed the opportunity to tour Hostinec’s production space while sampling more beers

As I noted at the beginning of this blog entry, the aim of the week was to identify those characteristics and features of a city that contribute to it being high performing and making it a wonderful place to live and work. As the evening wound down, there were few of us who did not appreciate the role that Peter Škripko and Pivovar Hostinec play in enhancing the quality of life in the city of Košice.

Craft Breweries, International

The Generosity of Peter Škripko

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Craft brewers are incredibly generous people. This generosity is manifest in a myriad of ways. As an example, take their efforts in support of charitable initiatives. While the data are rather dated, in 2016, American craft breweries donated an astonishing $73.4 million to charities. Many of these dollars benefited organizations in their own communities and, by extension, local residents. In 2019, 95 craft breweries in the state of Minnesota who responded to a survey, reported contributing $874,310 to 3,000 community and charitable organizations.

In the 10+ years I have been studying the craft brewing industry I have also found craft brewers very generous of their time when I have asked them for an interview or tour of their brewery. This does not surprise me. Craft brewers are passionate about their profession and are very happy to make the time to share that passion with you.

Recently I experienced an unprecedented example of craft brewer generosity. I was in the city of Košice in Slovakia to participate in a Summer Institute at the Technical University of Košice (TUKE). Prior to my visit my friend and colleague, Oto Hudec (who is on the faculty at TUKE) had connected me with Peter Škripko, the owner of Pivovar Hostinec, one of two breweries in the city. Peter offered to give me a tour of both his brewery and the city, including a visit to some of his favorite craft beer bars.

Peter and I had arranged to meet after lunch on a Wednesday afternoon. During lunch, Oto got a telephone call from Peter, asking if I would be comfortable touring the city by bike rather than by foot. This would allow Peter to provide me with a geographically more expansive tour of the city. When Oto asked me about the possibility of touring by bike, I must admit that I hesitated. You see, I had not ridden a bicycle since I was teenager, over 40 years ago. Despite my hesitation, I agreed to undertake the tour by bike. After all, riding a bike must be just like “riding a bike” – if I had done it before, I could surely do it again.

Peter picked me up in his car outside the restaurant where I had lunch and drove me to his brewery. Her fixed me up with one of the brewery’s bikes and after some adjustment to the saddle we were ready to go.

Bike tour of Košice with Peter Škripko
My first time riding a bike in over 40 years

As with many European cities I have visited, Košice is bike-friendly, with ample bike paths. Peter proved to be a fantastic tour guide. This was the city of his birth, and he knew a great deal about its history. He also knew the best places to get a craft beer, and we had numerous refreshment stops during our 8km+ ride.

We made several stops for beer during our bike tour of Košice

Our penultimate stop before arriving back at the brewery was Camelot Restaurant, also owned by Peter. At Camelot, under Peter’s watchful eye, I had the opportunity at trying my hand at pouring (tapping) some Pilsner Urquell. Pilsner Urquell, of course, is famous as being the original pilsner beer, having been first brewed by brewmaster Josef Groll in 1842 in the city of  Plzeň in the Czech Republic.

Peter knows a thing or two about Pilsner Urquell. In 2011, he won the national competition to become Slovakia’s Pilsner Urquell Master Bartender. The competition tested not only Peter’s ability to pour and serve a glass of Pilsner Urquell, but also his ability to communicate effectively with customers, and his knowledge of the history of the famous beer. Winning the national competition made Peter eligible to represent Slovakia in the international bartender competition, where he placed an impressive third.

In 2011, Peter became Slovakia’s Pilsner Urquell Master Bartender. This poster in Camelot highlights this achievement

There are three ways in which Pilsner Urquell can be served – Hladinka, Šnyt, and Mlíko. The standard pour is the Hladinka, which has “three fingers” of foam atop the lager. The Šnyt (pronounced ‘shnit’), is two parts beer, three parts foam and one part empty space at the top of the glass. The Mlíko is a glass of foam, with just a small amount of beer at the bottom. Each pour type is created to pair with different foods. The Hladinka pairs well with rich foods like duck, theŠnyt with hearty food like goulash or a burger, and the Mlíko with dessert.

The three ways in which Pilsner Urquell can be served – Hladinka (left), Šnyt (center), and Mlíko (right). Photo source: PilsnerUrquell.com.

Peter and his bartenders demonstrated the different pours to me and then gave me the opportunity to try my hand. You can judge how successful I was by the video posted here

Enjoying the fruits of my labor with two of Camelot’s wonderful bar staff
Enjoying another Pilsner Urquell with Peter

The following day I met up with Peter again, this time at his brewery. We were going on another tour. This time it was on foot, however, and involved going no further than the cellars of the brewery where Hostinec’s fermentation tanks are housed. Once there, I spent a glorious couple of hours with Peter talking about our common passion for the liquid nectar, while sampling at least a dozen different beers straight from the fermentation tanks.

The day after our bike tour, Peter gave me a tour (and a taste) of his production space
One of the dozen or so beers I sampled while touring Peter’s production space

As I said in my introduction to this blog entry, craft brewers are generally very generous individuals. But Peter Škripko took that generosity to a whole new level when he spent a significant chunk of time with me on my visit to Košice. Thank you, Peter, for being such a generous host.

International

Four Days in Uzbekistan


Last month I spent four days in Uzbekistan. I went there to attend a conference on Sustainable Regional Development in Central Asia. Our host was the Samarkand Branch of Tashkent State University of Economics, located in the city of Samarkand.

I must admit that when I received the invitation to be one of the keynote speakers at the conference, my knowledge of Uzbekistan was close to non-existent. I knew that it had once been part of the USSR, and had become an independent country in 1991 following the political break up of the Soviet Union. Apart from that, I did not know much.

When your knowledge is sparse, the internet is your friend. A quick Google search revealed that Uzbekistan is a country of 35 million people in Central Asia. It shares a border with five countries – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Afghanistan. It is also one of only two countries in the world that is double landlocked (the other is Liechtenstein -which I visited in 2018) A landlocked country is one that does not have direct access to an ocean or has a waterway that directly connects it to an ocean. A double landlocked country is one that is surrounded by countries that are themselves landlocked.

Uzbekistan is one of two countries in the world that is double landlocked

Occupied as early as the 8th century BC, the region that comprises modern-day Uzbekistan came under Russian control during the 18th century. The country’s name translates as ‘land of the Uzbeks’. Indeed, Uzbeks (a Turkic ethnic group native to Central Asia) comprise 84% of Uzbekistan’s population. With such an interesting history, and the fact that I had never been to Central Asia, meant that I was really looking forward to visiting this fascinating country.

My journey to Uzbekistan was quite a long one. I flew with Jet Blue from Detroit, MI to Boston, MA, where I connected with a Turkish Airlines flight to Istanbul. In Istanbul, I met up with my colleagues, Tomaz from Portugal, Ana from Spain, and Eduardo and Fernando from Brazil. We were on the same flight from Istanbul to Samarkand. I had left Detroit at 3:28pm on May 2 and, thanks to the combination of long flights and lengthy layovers, did not arrive in Samarkand until 4:10am on May 4 – a total travel time in excess of 27 hours. This was the first time in my life I had taken two back-to-back overnight flights (Boston to Istanbul and Istanbul to Samarkand). Arriving in Samarkand was not the end of my journey, however. The five of us, along with another colleague, Hans from Sweden (who had arrived the previous day) drove to city of Bukhara, a four-hour drive west of Samarkand.

Bukhara is the fifth largest city in Uzbekistan, with a population of just under 250,000. The historic center of Bukhara is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The city is located on the historic Silk Road, a network of Eurasian trade routes which operated from the 2nd century BC thru the mid-15th century. Over two thousand years old, Bukhara is described by UNESCO as “the most complete example of a medieval city in Central Asia, with an urban fabric that has remained largely intact.”

The ancient city of Bukhara
Bukhara at night

After an overnight stay in Bukhara we headed back to Samarkand. With a population of ~320,000, Samarkand is Uzbekistan’s third largest city. Like Bukhara, Samarkand has a rich history. Founded around 700 BC, it is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities anywhere in the world. Invaded and destroyed by Genghis Khan and his Mongol army in 1200, it was one of the most important stops on 4,000-mile-long Silk Road.

Taking in the sights in Samarkand
Beautiful Samarkand

Although a predominantly Muslim country, alcohol is legal in Uzbekistan. Spirits (particularly vodka) accounts for ~57% of alcohol consumed by Uzbeks, reflecting the recent Russian influence on the country’s culture. Indeed, every evening at dinner, our host made sure that there was a bottle of Uzbek vodka, along with a bottle of Uzbek Cognac, on the table. Both were consumed straight – no mixers required. I usually do not drink vodka or cognac. Indeed, the last time I had consumed so much vodka was on a 2017 trip to Poland.

We had Uzbek vodka every evening with dinner
Uzbek Cognac
The conference dinners were one of the highlights of my visit to Uzbekistan

Beer accounts for approximately 34% of the alcohol consumed by Uzbeks, with wine accounting for the remaining 9%. In 2021, beer consumption per capita was a modest 7.8 liters. This compares with US per capita consumption levels that hovers around 70 liters.

The most common beer I encountered while in Uzbekistan was one called Sabrast. A European-style Pilsner, it is produced in a brewery owned by the Danish brewing giant Carlsberg in Uzbekistan’s capital city Tashkent. I also had the opportunity to try a Russian beer. At lunch, on the drive back from Bukhara to Samarkand, one of my hosts ordered a Baltika 7 for me, a Russian Pilsner-style beer, brewed under license by Carlsberg in Tashhent.

Sabrast – the most common beer I encountered in Uzbekistan
Enjoying a Sabrast beer with my friend and colleague Tomaz at a rooftop bar we discovered in Bukhara
Baltika 7, a Russian beer, with traditional Uzbek bread

While the Uzbek beer market is evolving, and craft beer is gaining in popularity among younger and more affluent beer drinkers, I never saw any while I was there. But perhaps I will on a future visit. I have had the good fortune to visit over 40 countries across 6 continents. Uzbekistan is right up there as one of the most fascinating that I have ever visited. I would love to return one day.