Last year`s forum took place with great success in Lviv and confirmed that this industry is developing and expanding its range and production growth despite wartime. The process of licensing productions is actively brisk. Despite all the difficulties and complications of wartime, businesses keep going to stay afloat by providing employees with salaries and paying taxes.

 

 Let`s look at the key trends in Ukrainian brewing for 2024. Primarily, it`s charity or the joint willingness of hundreds of people to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Thus, during the last Forum, we carried out a charity auction to fundraise over UAH 80,000 to support brewer Serhii Kovtunenko, who serves in the unit of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The next forum will also focus on fundraising for the needs of one of the Armed Forces units.

 

The Forum aims to reveal the powerful potential and diversity of the beer business, prove its efficiency and prospects, expand the range of opportunities, and increase the level of profitability of large, medium-scale breweries, including minibreweries and distilleries. To propose ways of improving the technical basis and technologies, improving product quality, at the same time, increasing the consumption culture, including moderate consumption. To analyze opportunities for expanding sales on the domestic market and abroad.

 

Conference participants: owners, managers, technologists, laboratory workers, and other specialists of brewing enterprises and distilleries, representatives of companies - suppliers of malt, hops, and yeast, as well as those specializing in technologies for brewing and making beverages, salesmen, and export specialists, scientists and everyone who is interested in creating and successfully developing own business related to the beer production and other beverages.

 

What will be on the agenda of the future Forum for brewers and distillers? The organizers of the media group "Technologies and Innovations" analyzed the current trends in the industry brewing to set up the agenda. According to experts, the following trends are:

 

1.Light, light low-alcohol beer, such as lager, which still does not lose its position;

2.Production of strong barrel beer is actively developing, with aging for six months or longer in whiskey, bourbon, or wine barrels by brewers, so barley wine beer is gaining popularity.

3. The most popular style remains IPA in all its varieties: Hazy IPA, Imperial IPA, American IPA, Milkshake IPA, Sour IPA, etc.

4.Together with strong alcoholic types of beer, non-alcoholic beer is gaining popularity, which, thanks to modern yeast from Lallemand, Fermentis, and other manufacturers, is quite high-quality and has a wide style variety;

5.As before, Ukrainian breweries prefer imported hops, although there are some kinds of domestic hops. It should be noted that Ukrainian hops are also used in foreign markets for beer production. 

6.Sour ales prepared with a wide variety of additives: berries, fruit, vegetables, etc., have become very popular among beer lovers too. In Ukraine, tomato beer is at the top of this list.

7. As before, beer stability is on the agenda. Among the leaders are breweries that manage to extend the product shelf life as much as possible without losing its quality.

8.Beer defects still occur in individual beer samples, as evidenced by negative feedback from consumers in social networks, etc. Thus, it is no less important to learn to distinguish such unpleasant moments to avoid them in the future.

9.Minibreweries hold their positions on the market, which, due to their original assortment and small or limited editions, are still desired consumers’ spotlight.

10.Along with the bottle, the beer can is becoming increasingly popular.

11.Ukrainian breweries are gradually entering foreign markets, loudly announcing themselves by winning beer competitions on a global scale, as was last year`s European Beer Star competition as part of the Bray Beviale exhibition, where two Ukrainian breweries won at once.

 

These and other topics will be the main topics discussed by brewers at the Forum. The first-day program also includes an exhibition presentation of equipment, technologies, and materials for craft brewing.

 

Traditionally, Forum will include a wide range of low-alcohol and strong beverages based on fruits, berries, herbs, honey, and other natural components with the following positions: ciders, mead beverages, distillates, whiskey, calvados, traditional drinks, etc. Participants will discuss the technological nuances of the production of these beverages, immerse into the subtleties of making, and get acquainted with new technical solutions. Within the forum, an exhibition and tasting from Ukrainian breweries and distilleries will traditionally take place. At the last Forum, such an exhibition gathered over 100 beer samples of various styles from 55 breweries.

 

This time the beer tasting and buffet after the Forum will be held at Beermaster Brewery & Pub. 

 

The second day of the Forum will also traditionally be marked by interesting business excursions to Malle Brewery and Litopys Brewery.

 

The organizers invite the above-mentioned categories of institutions to cooperate. With joint efforts, we will popularize Ukrainian producers of beer, cider, and distillates and work for Victory!

 

Anna Pankratenkova, phone: +38 097 759 25 83

Larysa Tovkach, phone: +38 097 96 89 516

Iryna Petroniuk, phone: +38 096 49 166 92

 

Project manager: Nadiya Yashchuk, tel. +38 (068) 568-58-22, rnadia@ukr.net

Creative director – Kateryna Koneva, editor-in-chief/founder of the magazine

Drinks&Beer.T. I."