Moscow Brewing Company has made a nice gift for Russian beer lovers – since 2014, ales of the Shaggy Shmel series have been supplied to retail chains. This is, in fact, a craft beer brewed according to the author’s recipes of the company’s chief brewer Mikhail Ershov, produced on an industrial scale, and you can buy it in any supermarket.
Historical reference. CJSC Moscow Brewing Company (MPK) was founded in 2006 in the city of Mytishchi near Moscow. Sberbank of Russia and the investment fund Detroit Investments have invested over $200 million in the project.
Free lands (23 hectares) were allocated for construction near the Pirogovsky forest park. On the territory of the brewery there are five artesian wells supplying the production with water. For the MPC, modern equipment was purchased from the best German manufacturers. In terms of technical equipment, this young company surpasses most European breweries.
Two years later, the production went into operation and since then it has been systematically increasing production output from 2,4 million hl to 6 planned.
The assortment of MPK includes beer of both well-known foreign brands, produced under license, and no less popular domestic ones.
There is one interesting feature in the work of the company – on the territory of a huge plant, a creative laboratory “Volkovskaya brewery” was organized, which was previously part of it, but now has received legal independence. A small brewery, designed for only 100 liters, is named after the village of Volkovka, once located on this land.
In 2014, the masters of the Volkovskaya Brewery, under the guidance of the Company’s chief brewer, created a recipe for the classic Shaggy Shmel ale. And in 2015, the IPC released another variant, the Hairy Bumblebee White Ale. The drink is brewed in the style of Witbier (Witbier), in the Belgian tradition.
The author is a young, but already well-known brewer in the professional community, Mikhail Ershov. He received his higher education at the Academy. Plekhanov in Moscow and trained at the Berlin Research Institute of Brewing (Versuchs und Lehranstalt für Brauerei).
Ershov intends to develop the production of craft beer in Russia. Creativity and the ability to try out new recipes in small quantities, but with all the technological subtleties, give excellent results.
The ambitious brewer experiments with different varieties of malt and hops, combines them in different proportions, tries to add honey, citrus zest and even chokeberry juice to achieve the original taste of the foamy drink. There are new craft beers produced in limited quantities.
Non-standard containers are used – glass bottles of an unusual shape, traditional corks and author’s labels.
Ershov wants to accustom the consumer to unusual tastes and dispel common misconceptions that alcohol and “beer powder” are added to beer. The quality of drinks in the IPC is given special attention. In April 2010, the company received a High Level Certificate for the IFS food safety system for high quality, in 2011 the certificate was confirmed.
Ale Hairy Bumblebee Awards:
- gold medal at the Monde Selection competition in 2012;
- gold medal at the international competition International Brewing Awards in 2012.
Types of beer “Shaggy bumblebee”
“El Furry Bumblebee” – light filtered beer brewed with three types of barley malt: Pilsner, Caramunich. CaraRed and two varieties of hops: Citra and Cascade. In the manufacture, American technology is used: dry hops are added to a cold drink. A pasteurized amber-colored beer with a thick white foam, bitterness is estimated at 27 IBU units and is felt in the aftertaste. The fortress is 5%, the density of the must is 12%. The taste is tart, it organically combines sweet caramel and spicy bitterness, there is a taste of dried fruits and chocolate. The fragrance contains floral notes. Meat snacks go well with this beer. Produced in dark glass bottles of 0,5 and 1 l.
“White Ale Shaggy Bumblebee” – light pasteurized unfiltered beer in the Belgian style (Witbier). The drink is slightly cloudy, white. It is brewed with a mixture of unmalted wheat and barley malt, magnum hops, coriander and orange zest.
According to Russian legislation, this craft beer is supposed to be called a “beer drink”, because the composition, in addition to malt, hops and water, includes flavoring additives.
The taste is fresh, with a pleasant sourness, citrus notes, there is a light bread shade. Nice coriander scent.
Bitterness on the IBU scale – 16 units, fortress – 4,5%, initial density of the must 11%.
It goes on sale in brown glass bottles with a capacity of 0,5, 1 l.