The Baltika brewing company plans to completely abandon imported hops in 5 years due to the risk of cessation of supplies from the USA , Germany and the Czech Republic amid sanctions. This is reported by Interfax .
As the curator of the agricultural program of Baltika, Igor Matveyev , said , the enterprise has begun to revive Russian hop growing.
“In 2023, we purchased 22 hectares of hop fields in Chuvashia from Agrokhmel, and this year we will begin planting another 38 hectares. The prospective area is 600 hectares, which will provide us with our own raw materials,” Matveyev noted.
According to him, the regions that are favorable for growing hops are Adygea , Kabardino-Balkaria , North Ossetia, Krasnodar Krai, Lipetsk and Voronezh regions. Own production will allow quality control and obtain a unique aromatic profile. The hop harvest from Chuvashia is already used for brewing.
“The revival of hop growing is an ambitious task. In the 1990s, Russia had 5 thousand hectares of hop fields, now only 200 hectares remain. Domestic enterprises produce only 5% of this product,” Matveyev recalled.
Earlier, the senator assessed the consequences of lifting sanctions against Russia.