Some history and statistics on Polish beer - Factors behind the Polish craft beer scene - EBC Symposium announcement - Copenhagen Beer Festival - May 2016

1. Polish beer (r)evolution
Jan Lichota
Anita Kurowska-Larsen
Tomek & Mateusz @ Pracownia Piwa
Copenhagen Beer Festival
21 May 2016

2. Poland in Europe and its beer in history
• Long beer heritage, since Slavic times
• Important economic factor for the Polish Crown from XV to
XVIII century
• Changing territory of the country over centuries
• Different traditions and styles across regions
• XIX century : appearance of major (future) Polish breweries in
Żywiec, Okocim, Elbląg or Warsaw
• XX century : extremely varied periods with wars, market
concentration, nationalisation, liberalisation, foreign
investments …
Jan Lichota “Polish beer (r)evolution” Copenhagen Beer Festival 2016 - 21 May 2016

3. 11 11 11
15
25
31
35
39
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015
Poland – beer production (mln hl)

4. From the 90’s and 2000’s …
• Change of political and economic regime
• (Short) Presence in the Parliament of the Polish Party of Beer
Lovers
• Foreign investors and appearance of various small local
breweries
• New forms of marketing and distribution
• Market concentration
• Uniformisation of drinking offerJan Lichota “Polish beer (r)evolution” Copenhagen Beer Festival 2016 - 21 May 2016

5. 78
110
64
150
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
1987 1995 2010 2015
Poland – breweries in the last 25 years

6. … until 2011 and today
• Borders opening – Accession to the EU; travelling and
literature
• Response from regional breweries, brewpubs and importers
• Contract brewing starts; new breweries are being setup
 World Craft phenomenon and strong Polish Homebrewers
movement
 Polish beer bloggers setting trends
 Multitaps in larger cities and beer festivals increase availability
 Change of offer in shops and by the brewers themselves
Jan Lichota “Polish beer (r)evolution” Copenhagen Beer Festival 2016 - 21 May 2016

7. Time for beer tasting
400
Jan Lichota “Polish beer (r)evolution” Copenhagen Beer Festival 2016 - 21 May 2016

8. Some images while you enjoy your beer
• Beer revolution in Poland 2011 – 2016 : short film
Summary from a passionate beer lover
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0s_m46Doy2Q
 And also visit the C16 stand at the festival of the ReCraft
brewery from Chorzów after the presentation
Jan Lichota “Polish beer (r)evolution” Copenhagen Beer Festival 2016 - 21 May 2016

9. Poland – country of beer
• New breweries and bars spreading all over the country
• Craft scene steadily growing
• Strong international and local regional companies
• High consumption per capita (98 L)
• Festivals in all larger Polish cities all year round
• Good coverage in digital media and food and drink magazines
• Various universities involved in brewing courses and
conferences
Jan Lichota “Polish beer (r)evolution” Copenhagen Beer Festival 2016 - 21 May 2016

10. Poland – host of the next EBC Symposium
• EBC – European Brewery Convention
• Founded in 1947, leading organisation on brewing technology
• First ever EBC event to be held in Poland
• EBC Symposium “Modern brewhouse technologies and wort
production”
18 – 20 September 2016, Wrocław (European Capital of Culture
2016)
http://www.ebc-symposium.org
Jan Lichota “Polish beer (r)evolution” Copenhagen Beer Festival 2016 - 21 May 2016