Russia: Carlsberg looking to launch another craft brewery in Moscow

Carlsberg’s Russian craft brewing division, Hoppy Union LLC, is planning to launch a third production facility in the country, Pivnoe Delo reported on October 20.

In addition to its Nizhny Novgorod and Novosibirsk breweries, the company is aiming at opening a new brewery in Moscow (or central Russia, according to the company’s general manager) by the end of the year.

According to the company, it has encountered many issues trying to expand by acquiring other breweries in Russia. “Many breweries can’t be purchased: there are either issues with their accounting, or there are too many owners and it’s just impossible to reach an agreement. We are not interested in 10-15% stakes, we need 51% and more. There are many breweries but it’s not easy to buy any,” Hoppy Union general manager Igor Mayorkin said.

Hoppy Union is also looking at exporting its products by 2022, he added.