Whereas some brands started from scratch, others, like Zaganu, revived old breweries.
Six microbreweries are currently in business in Romania, according to market data, and the number might increase over the coming years because of the growing appetite for craft beer among Romanian consumers.
“Judging from our information, there are six microbreweries in Romania now,” says Constantin Bratu, general manager of the Brewers of Romania Association, whose members include the largest brewers in the country such as Ursus Breweries, Bergenbier and Heineken, as well as malt producers.
According to Trade Registry data centralized by ZF, the microbreweries operating in Romania are Berarium (Clinica de Bere), Fabrica de Bere Buna (Zaganu), Fabrica de Bere Ursus in Cluj-Napoca, Matache Beraru’, Isidoro (Nemteana) and Ninkasi (Sikaru).
One of the latest to open is Fabrica de Bere Buna, which makes the Zaganu brand near Valenii de Munte, Prahova County (southern Romania). About two years ago, Laurentiu Banescu, who had worked for multinationals like Coca-Cola, Henkel and Carlsberg and Alexandru Geamanu, who had an almost 15-year advertising industry experience, invested about EUR200,000 in opening the microbrewery.
The two took over a bankrupt local brewery and created the Zaganu brand, which is now available via 200 partners (bars, clubs, grocery stores etc.) throughout the entire country.
“We’ll make about half of what our production capacity allows this year. Production capacity is 4,000 hectoliters. We want to make some other beers and develop in other cities,” Laurentiu Banescu, one of the owners of this business said.
Eighteen months ago, Leonard Mihoc and his father started Isidoro (Nemteana).
“We wanted to focus on the genuine Romanian beer, a non-pasteurized, unfiltered, live beer (…). We are available in about 130 locations, 20% of which selling draft and 80% bottled beer,” says Leonard Mihoc, the manager of Isidoro.
The company hopes to reach 350 locations next year and is available in Iasi, and Neamt Counties, in Bucharest and set to reach Cluj next, he added.
Western Romania attracted several such businesses. One example is Timisoara-based Berarium, which makes the Terapia beer.
Cluj-based Ursus opened Fabrica de Bere in that city, which supplies the bar it operates in, as well as other bars.
Arnaud Dussaix, a French executive who used to work for Carrefour Romania, invested EUR100,000 to EUR150,000 in Sikaru microbrewery in Bucharest.
Despite the rise in the number of microbreweries, Romania is lagging behind in this department. UK, for instance, had more than 1,400 microbreweries in 2013, Germany more than 660, Spain more than 200, Italy almost 500, while Czech Republic had 67.
Brewers of Romania Association’s Constantin Bratu explains that microbreweries do not have a long tradition in Romania as they do in Belgium, Italy, Austria and Germany, where beer making started in small breweries, some of which in monasteries.
Another reason for the development of microbreweries in Western countries is the need of pubs to stand out on a highly competitive market, by serving a beer brewed in that particular location. This trend is mostly visible in countries with a really developed hotel, restaurant and catering sector, where the high number of such places makes standing out from the crowd the only way to survive.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)