The XIV Forum of Brewers, Distillers and Beverage Producers took place on April 10–11 in Kyiv: Ukrainian Craft Has Power!

16.04.2025, 18:25

The XIV Forum of Brewers, Distillers, and Beverage Producers gathered producers of beer, distillates, and other beverages in Kyiv, at the “Verkhovyna” hotel and restaurant complex, on April 10–11. More than 150 industry representatives gathered in the Forum hall - people working in various sectors of brewing, distillation, and beverage production who aim to improve their production processes and reach new consumers.

The Forum serves as a platform for presenting raw materials, equipment, and cutting-edge technologies for many breweries and distilleries. This unique business platform is intended to motivate producers to enhance the quality of their beer and win over consumers. Topics discussed included: the peculiarities of beer production; additional opportunities in brewing; marketing and sales; the situation of the brewing industry as of 2025; prospects for craft brewing development; and the launch in Ukraine of a new beer tasting competition called “The Brewers’ Duel”, under the aegis of the Independent Brewers of Ukraine Association and with informational support from the “Beverages/Beer. Technologies and Innovations” journal. These and other topics were discussed during the XIV Forum of Brewers, Distillers and Beverage Producers.

The main Laboratory Partner of the Forum - company “Donau Lab Ukraine”, the Technology Partner is the company Fermentis. The honorary guest of the Forum was Volodymyr Pechko, head of the Public Union “UkrSadVinProm”.

At the beginning of the Forum, the participants honored with a minute of silence all the heroes who gave their lives for a free Ukraine, as well as people who suffered as a result of the war. Then, the founders of the media group “Technologies and Innovations” Kateryna KONEVA and Nadiia Yashchuk, addressed the Forum attendees with welcoming speech:

“Our main project is the magazines ‘Beer. Technologies and Innovations’ and ‘Beverages. Technologies and Innovations’. We specialize in publishing these journals and have been organizing Forums and Conferences since 2016 to bring together our readers and partners to discuss the further development of brewing, distillation, and beverage production.

”The idea behind our work aligns with the name of our media group — ‘Technologies and Innovations’ — meaning development, progress, the implementation of new ideas and everything that makes your product high-quality, so that you can make your name known across Ukraine. We also have other projects such as ‘Horticulture and Vegetable Growing. Technologies and Innovations’, ‘Yahidnyk’ (Berry Field), and ‘Horishnyk’ (Nut Wood), and we organize conferences for those audiences as well. By the way, we invite brewers to participate in these conferences by presenting your fruit and berry beers. People respond very positively to such beverages, and this could be a very promising direction for you.”

 

Dmytro Nekrasov, a representative of the Association “Independent Brewers of Ukraine” – the Forum’s Main Organizational Partner – also addressed the Forum participants with a welcome speech:

“I want to thank the Technologies and Innovations media group for once again providing us with such a powerful platform for communication. This is extremely important during these challenging times. By the way, over the years, the Forum has become the only event where we can exchange experiences, discuss industry trends, and generate ideas for developing our businesses.”

On April 10, the organizers once again gathered a community of brewers, distillers, and other beverage producers to listen to presentations from experts in brewing, distillation, and related fields, as well as representatives of technology companies.

During the day, the participants discussed the situation in craft brewing and the implementation of European standards, covering the entire technological chain of beverage preparation.

Every beverage producer strives to achieve a high-quality product. And this can be achieved through constant control at each stage of production. For this, portable instruments from Austrian manufacturer Anton Paar are used. Why is control needed even at a microbrewery? What tools exist for different production scales? These questions were addressed by Volodymyr Pashko, Director of Donau Lab Ukraine, the Forum’s Main Laboratory Partner.

Bohdan Demchenko, representative of Solod Ukrainy, TM Fermentis – the Forum’s Main Technological Partner – spoke about the specifics of using modern yeast for wheat beer in German and Belgian styles.

Yurii Voitiuk, Sales Manager at GEA, presented the latest equipment for the alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage industries.

CEO of Levada Consulting, Oleksii Hladyshchev, gave a presentation on modern industrial solutions, including adapting beer company logistics to wartime conditions, the elimination of weaknesses and the implementation of a cyber security system. Serhii Nazarenko, a technologist from UniTec, shared rich insights from his extensive experience, focusing on experiments in beer production technologies and adapting breweries to various production conditions and scales.

Yurii Savchuk, a beverage technologist at Best Way Foods, presented Muntons malt and other beer and beverage ingredients from BWF to the Forum participants.

Illia Bakhurynskyi, Head of the Agricultural Sector of Obolon company, together with a colleague presented the company’s new line of business: malt production and sales, as well as the manufacturing of PET preforms for bottles.

The role of malt in forming beer’s flavor and aroma, as well as Belgian traditions from Dingemans, was discussed by Giovanni Kristis, Marketing Coordinator at Dingemans. In Ukraine, Dingemans is represented by Malle Brewery.

Viacheslav Shysh, a representative of TAPI (Italy), discussed modern trends in alcohol closures. Andrii Teres, a representative of PET Technologies, presented effective solutions for PET packaging production in the brewing industry.

Inna Harmasheva, Senior Researcher at the Department of Industrial Microorganism Physiology of the D.K. Zabolotny Institute of Microbiology and Virology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, told us about the role of lactic acid bacteria in brewing.

Alina Radzievska, a representative of Simex-Proma, informed attendees about the use of natural food flavorings and CO₂ extracts in brewing and distillation.

Additionally, four discussion panels were held during the Brewers’ Forum, focusing on current topics relevant to brewery operations.

The first discussion panel was “Time to Unite for Quality,” moderated by Dmytro Nekrasov, Executive Director of the Association of Independent Brewers of Ukraine and founder of First Dnipro Brewery. The founders of the Association, Oleksandr Shatalov and Vasyl Mykulin, called on Forum participants to unite, emphasizing that only through joint efforts—within the framework of the Association—can craft brewers address numerous challenges facing the industry, particularly in cooperation with government authorities.

Today, the Association includes 37 breweries, while over 200 breweries operate in the Ukrainian market.

“Many breweries that identify themselves as ‘Independent Brewers of Ukraine’ are celebrating their 10th anniversary this year. In a relatively short time, the craft beer market has already formed and now stands at 1.2 billion UAH. Currently, about 130 breweries are operating legally with licenses, Of these, 58% distribute their products nationwide, while 42% operate locally. Around 20 breweries are market leaders. It’s important to note that in 2024, the Association, in cooperation with state authorities and MPs, carried out significant work—particularly simplifying the registration process for small brewers, distillers, and winemakers. Now it is quite easy and quick to obtain a license to produce products. In addition to the fact that the system has become simplified, there is also an obligation to the state - to undergo legalization as soon as possible. That’s why I urge everyone to move to a new level of operation!”- said Oleksandr Shatalov, founder of the brand “Tsypa” (Kvasy village, Zakarpattia).

In fact, in pursuit of better product quality, the Association of Independent Brewers of Ukraine initiated and announced the creation of a craft beer competition. The main goal of the competition is to identify and celebrate the best samples of Ukrainian craft beer, thereby giving brewers motivation for further development and improvement.

The name of the upcoming competition was also announced: “The Brewers’ Duel” The project “Beverages/Beer. Technologies and Innovations” is the information partner of both the Association and the competition.

“We believe our Association of Independent Brewers of Ukraine should have its own separate competition, which would identify honor the best Ukrainian craft beers, as well as highlight technological trends and innovations aimed at producing high-quality beer. The competition should also serve as a professional communication platform for brewers—allowing them to share experiences, improve recipes, and present themselves to a broader audience. And, of course, brewers will appreciate having their work recognized with diplomas and awards,” – noted Vasyl Mykulin, co-founder of the Association and founder of Varvar Brewery. He also announced that the Association has enlisted Lana Svytankova to help organize the competition. Lana is a well-known beer blogger, writer, and high-level specialist in the brewing industry. She regularly serves as a judge at major international beer competitions such as the World Beer Awards, European Beer Star, International Beer Cup 2024, and others. According to Mykulin, she is ready to share her experience in organizing such contests. At the XIV Forum of Brewers, Distillers, and Beverage Producers https://forum.techdrinks.info/ua/archive/49  in Kyiv, participants also learned about additional opportunities in brewing, including the production of non-alcoholic beer, strong beer, cider, and kombucha.

The second discussion panel, “Forum of Additional Opportunities,” was moderated by Yulia Kyrylenko, the chief technologist of BLINKERS BREW (Timișoara, Romania) and a researcher with extensive practical experience.

Panel participants discussed alternative ingredients - non-standard grain, unique yeast strains, atypical additives, and discussed the use of non-standard technologies. Among the participants of the discussion were: • Stanislav Omelchuk, Production Director at Umanpivo, Viktor Vashchuk, Head Brewer at Beermaster Brewery (Silpo chain), Svitlana Dubyniuk, Director of Malle Brewery, Mykhailo Platonov, Founder of Volta Brewery.

The third discussion panel, dedicated to the peculiarities The third discussion panel, dedicated to the subtleties of beer production, focused on the topic of pasteurization and other methods of extending beer’s shelf life without losing its quality and craftiness.

Another purely technological issue raised during the discussion was: why does beer foam excessively? Experts debated whether this is due to the gushing effect (excessive foaming and spillage when opening the bottle) or if it reflects production flaws.

The panel was moderated by Dmytro Nekrasov, a high-level specialist, master brewer, and technologist at First Dnipro Brewery. Among the co-speakers were: Valeriy Vynohradov, Head Brewer at Malle Brewery, Tetiana Savytska, Laboratory Technologist, Victor Volivetskyi, Deputy Director of Quality at KNB, Daniel Vasha, Head Brewer at Shultz 2.0 Brewery

Beer production in Ukraine continues to evolve and grow. Rising competition in the beer market is pushing Ukrainian breweries to actively promote their products using modern marketing trends and educating consumers.

The fourth discussion panel of the Forum, under the name “Marketing and Sales Forum”, focused on strategies for entering both domestic and foreign markets and cooperating with retail and restaurant chains. The panel was moderated by Kateryna Koneva, Editor-in-Chief and founder of the “Technologies and Innovations” media group. Panel participants included: Nelli Khudobina, founder of Markel Brewery, Oleksandr Shatalov, founder of Hutsul Craft Brewery “Tsypa” They discussed about beer marketing and its components: product promotion, education of a culture of consumption, food pairing, etc. “Ten years ago, people didn’t even know what craft beer was in our market. A lot of work was needed to change that. Eventually, many breweries were founded. Today, those with a clear specialization and strategy are winning. An example of this is the Varvar brewery, which has a line of high-quality beer and positive feedback. Our brewery, Tsypa, is always open for tours. We sell beer at affordable prices.This year, we switched from bottles to cans. We’ve had diverse sales experiences, from local markets to national chains.

We’re also developing our online store, which actively sells our products and serves as a platform to increase sales. Every brewer should carefully build their own strategy.”– shared Oleksandr Shatalov, who spoke about the path his brewery took, full of “trial and error,” which ultimately led to the creation of a successful project. More details can be found in the journal “Beer. Technologies and Innovations.”

In addition, the Forum hosted a large-scale equipment, technologies, and materials exhibition for beer and beverage production. About 30 technology companies—producers of equipment, materials, and raw ingredients—took part.

Maria Sherbylova, Sales Manager at YASNO, spoke about how breweries can save money using modern equipment: “We build turnkey solar power stations of any configuration. If you have your own business, this is highly beneficial today. The equipment significantly reduces the production cost of the product. Processing plants that build solar stations and use self-generated electricity can significantly lower their costs.” According to tradition, during the Brewers and Distillers Forum, an exhibition-tasting of products from Ukrainian distilleries and other beverage producers including  as products "for beer" and more, provided by food partners: companies Teply Morya, Strong Distillery, Pirnivska Dizhka, TM Matsyk, Chornyi Horikh, Beverages from Andriy Khvalibota, Kraftsad.

Traditionally, the charity auction of goods and services from partners and event participants was held at the Forum. Proceeds from the auction, totaling 116,000 UAH (including 21.35% from the sale of a lottery item by Mykhailo Kostiuk), was directed to the purchase of ammunition for the brewer of the Lviv brewery "Pravda" Volodymyr YAROSHENKO, who has been serving in the BPAK unit 424 of the 42nd brigade since December 2024 and needs the necessary equipment.

“The Forum was incredibly interesting, with many new and innovative technologies presented. I believe brewing has a powerful future ahead. I had the opportunity to talk about strong alcohol production with representatives from Chornyi Horikh and Kraftsad. Since I have known them for a long time, I can say that they are great people, offering very high quality products", -said Maryna Chekhun, Head of the Laboratory for Beverage Expertise and Regulation at the Ukrainian Scientific Research Institute of Alcohol and Biotechnology of Food Products.

At the end of the day, a BIG PUBLIC BEER TASTING was held for the Forum participants. Around 20 partner breweries of the Forum presented their best products. Each presenter received a commemorative diploma from the organizers – the media group “Technologies and Innovations.”

On the second day of the Forum, April 11, participants visited two well-known Kyiv breweries: Solomyanska Brewery and 2085brewery. These two breweries, completely different in concept, demonstrated how diverse and multifaceted the beer business can be. During the business tour, participants had the opportunity to talk with leading experts at the breweries. They gave tours of the production facilities, shared technological secrets of crafting high-quality beer, and talked about the variety of beer styles and their unique features.

Solomyanska Brewery is a unique restaurant project, where since 2011, branded craft beer has been brewed. Led by head brewer Oksana Lazarenko, the team consistently produces five core beer styles designed for true beer connoisseurs. Both classic and original recipes are used in the brewing process. Only high-quality raw materials are used: German malt and bitter hops, Czech aromatic hops, top and bottom-fermenting French yeast, and specially prepared purified water. The beer is brewed using classic technologies and in accordance with the 1516 Bavarian Beer Purity Law. “We create beer using only natural ingredients, without adding flavor enhancers or colorants. We choose only premium malt and hops for production. This ensures consistent beer quality,”– noted Dmytro Tsarenko, manager of the Solomyanska Brewery restaurants.

 

According to the brewers, 2085brewery was founded in 2019 by brewer Nazar Drebot, in partnership with Kyiv restaurateur Valeriy Sozanovskyi. The founders describe 2085 as “a brewery of the future”, using innovative approaches and conducting numerous science-based brewing experiments. In total, the brewery has already released up to 40 different beer styles. Recently, the brewers launched a new line called “2028 – UA”, created to demonstrate that high-quality craft beer can indeed be produced using Ukrainian raw materials and malt.

You can find more articles based on the Forum materials in the journal  “Beverages & Beer. Technologies and Innovations”, which can be downloaded for free in pdf format on the website techdrinks.info.

To subscribe to the print edition, please contact the publishers directly using the provided details.

Anna Pankratenkova, phone: +38 097 759 25 83

Larysa Tovkach, phone: +38 097 96 89 516

Iryna Petroniuk, phone: +38 096 49 166 92