I’m often asked about beer in Russia, and often met with surprise when I say that is actually pretty good. I think the people asking expect me to lament that there is nothing to drink but vodka, or at best some kind of vodka flavored beer, but they’d be wrong, and in fact I’d go so far as to say in some ways the beer scene is better in Russia than America.
Stereotypes aside there is indeed a fair amount of vodka drinking in Russia, but for some time now there has been shift to beer drinking, though it does seem to be a generational thing. If you see a group of older men drinking, it’ll probably be vodka; younger usually beer. A few years ago I would have guessed vodka was twice as popular a beer, now I think it might only 1/3 more popular. It’s always dangerous to generalize, these are just my impressions.
At the local supermarket you’ll find a wide array of styles and brands to choose from, and to be sure there a plenty of macro-brews on the shelves. Балтика (Baltika – owned by Carlsberg) with their numbered beers being one of the largest, and, in Siberia at least, our old friend AB InBev (AB InBev SUN in Russia) is prominent with brands like Сибирская Корона (Siberian Crown). There are however plenty of other choices on the shelves to choose from, both Russian and European.
Yes, you can get American beers- Budweiser is marketed as ‘Bud’ to meet EU marketing guidelines (it probably comes from an EU supplier), and the most popular (a relative term) Miler product seems to be Genuine Draft.
Much more popular than American beer is the genuine Czech Budweiser, a personal favorite.
The biggest difference immediately apparent though, is the lack of six-packs. Almost all the beer on offer is sold in individual half-liter bottles, making it easy to mix and match as the mood strikes you.
But, better still is getting fresh beer straight from the tap! Almost all supermarkets will have a counter with around dozen or so styles available that are served in one or two-liter PET bottles filled to order. Unlike many growler fills I see around here, the bottles are counter-pressure filled.
I have, of course, saved the best for last. That would be the Пивная (Beerhouse). These are awesome little stores selling beer and ‘beer snacks’. Often with about 45-50 varieties on tap, you can also load up all kinds of salty snacks. There is the expected chips and nuts but also dried and smoked fish and meats and a variety of cheeses and pickles. My personal favorite is the salty, smoked ‘spaghetti’ cheese.
In America we have a lot more options when it comes to craft beer. There are a few breweries doing craft in Russia, but many yet. One restaurant we visited were very proud of the craft beer they served from a microbrewery in St. Petersburg -Василеостровская Пивоварня (Vasileostrovskaya Brewery, they often get credit for starting the craft beer movement in Russia in 2012). Honestly, I thought the beer was just OK, but it shows craft beer is catching on there. It’s only in the last five years or so that a lot of microbreweries started popping up in Russia, and for now It is one area America is ahead for now, but I predict it won’t be long until new Russian revolution (in beer) comes along.