Beer in Romania

Beer in Romania comes from the long tradition of Romanian brewing, being introduced in Transylvania by the German colonists (Transylvanian Saxons) and in Moldavia by cultural connections with Poland.

Overview

Timisoreana brewery
Bere Ursus (Ursus Beer) truck delivering in Romania
Tuborg factory in Pantelimon
Ciucaș factory in Brașov
Csíki hand made beer

A national association of beer with mititei came into existence during the 1877 Independence War of Romania and after that it saw a spread of beer pubs throughout the Romanian Kingdom. The beer pubs (berării) became a place of social and business meetings for the Romanian urban middle-class. Currently, Romanians are amongst the heaviest beer drinkers in the world, with an annual consumption of over 100 litres per capita in 2007.[1]

Romanian law considers beer and wine to be foodstuffs and therefore they are not subject to the usual tariffs and restrictions imposed upon alcoholic beverages.

The word "beer" in Romanian (bere) is derived from German Bier (itself an early loan from Latin biber), but there is also an obsolete regional word "olovină", of Nordic origin (ole) and related to ale.

Brands

Some of the most appreciated Romanian beers are: Ursus (Latin for "bear"), Timișoreana (named after the city of Timişoara), Stejar (Romanian for "oak") - all owned by SABMiller, Bergenbier - owned by Molson Coors, Ciuc (named after Miercurea Ciuc) and Silva (Latin for "forest") - owned by Heineken. Silva and Ursus have also a dark lager variety.

Some international brands are brewed locally, being very popular but sometimes more expensive than the traditional ones: Heineken, Carlsberg, Stella Artois, Beck's, Tuborg, Holsten, Peroni and Skol.

Also, there are a large number of beers usually sold in 2-liter PET bottles and targeting the low-end market. Examples are: Ciucaş, Golden Brau, Bürger, Neumarkt, Bucegi, Gambrinus, Azuga, Noroc.

Breweries

The largest brewing companies in Romania are Ursus Breweries, owned by SABMiller, which has four breweries, in Braşov, Buzău, Cluj-Napoca and Timişoara,[2] and Heineken Romania (previously called Brau Union Romania), which also has four breweries, in Constanţa, Craiova, Miercurea Ciuc and Târgu Mureş.[3]

Other major companies are Bergenbier, owned by Molson Coors, which has facilities in Blaj and Ploieşti,[4] and Tuborg Romania (officially called United Romanian Breweries), part of the Carlsberg Group, which has a brewery in Pantelimon.[5]

Other national companies are European Drinks, which owns a brewery in Sudrigiu,[6] Romaqua Group, which owns a brewery near Sebeş.,[7] Albrau, located in Oneşti, which produces its own beer brands, as well as dedicated brands for supermarket or hypermarket chains.[8] and Martens (the former Robbere brewery) Galaţi, owned by Bierbrouwerij Martens from Belgium since 1998, which also produces both dedicated beer brands and its own brands.[9] Two other smaller companies which are operating mainly regional are Bermas, based in Suceava,[10] and Imex, located in Satu Mare.[11] The Imex brewery facility has been taken over by Sam Mills and since 2016 brews Samburger beer.[12]

In Timişoara there is the microbrewery Clinica de Bere with their main brand Terapia since 2012. In 2013 Alexandru Geamănu and Laurențiu Bănescu started the micro-brewery Fabricii de Bere Bună (Factory of good beer) with their main brand Zăganu in Măneciu-Ungureni.[13] In 2014 a brewer in cooperation with the Sapientia University started the Csíki Sör Manufaktúrát in Sânsimion.[14] Also in 2014 Leonard Mihoc started his brewery Nemţeana in Roman.[15] In April 2015 the brothers Alin and Răzvan Matache opened a microbrewery in Bucharest and began brewing different types of ales. Their main brand is Ground Zero Beer.[16]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Diana Tudor (23 January 2008). "Romania enters global top 10 for beer consumption". Ziarul Financiar. Retrieved 4 June 2013.
  2. ↑ "Ursus Breweries". Ursus Breweries. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  3. ↑ "Heineken în România". Heineken Romania. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  4. ↑ "About Us". Bergenbier S.A. Archived from the original on 5 October 2013. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  5. ↑ "Tubrog Romania". Carlsberg Group. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  6. ↑ "Despre noi". European Drinks. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  7. ↑ "Despre noi". Romaqua Group. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  8. ↑ "Despre noi". Albrau Prod. Archived from the original on 23 February 2014. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  9. ↑ "Despre noi". Martens Galati. Archived from the original on 18 July 2013. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  10. ↑ "Companie". Bermas. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  11. ↑ "Despre noi". Imex. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  12. ↑ Portalsm.ro - O nouă marcă de bere lansată la Satu Mare. Cine o produce
  13. ↑ "Zăganu, povestea unei mici berării profitabile: Cum au reușit doi tineri să vândă cu succes numele unui vârf de munte". Adevarul Financiar. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  14. ↑ Csíki Sör Manufaktúrát
  15. ↑ "O familie din judeţul Neamţ a renunţat la businessul cu băuturi spirtoase ca să producă bere artizanală. Berea Nemţeana este prezentă în 130 de baruri, restaurante şi magazine". Ziarului Financiar. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  16. ↑ groundzerobeer.ro

External links

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