The number of 98 litres of beer per average Slovene seems a bit high at first glance, but if we look at the Czech Republic, which holds the European record, we realize, that they consume for about 86 percent more of this popular beverage. The brewing industry has experienced a revival in recent years with the rapid development of microbreweries and a rich offer of the aromatic beer, such as pale ale and others.
Slovenia is among the top 10 countries in Europe when it comes to beer consumption. Slovenia produces about 1.7 million hectolitres of beer, however, a lot of it is also being exported. The largest breweries, within the Heineken, Laško and Union breweries, mainly produce a type of beer called lager, which is produced with the bottom-fermenting process, while 50 to 60 smaller breweries, which have started their business on the home cooker, they complement their offer mostly with beer of top-fermentation process, so-called pale ale. Such beer has different taste and various fruit flavours.
Microbreweries offer diversity
Marko Jamnik from Tektonik brewery started his brewing business three years ago and during this time, he quartered his offer. What is the difference between beer from industrial or smaller production? “We use the best raw materials and the essential difference is also that we experiment a lot. We are always creating new recipes,” explained Jamnik.
According to the number of production facilities per capita, Slovenia is at the very top of Europe. “When it comes to the number of microbreweries in the Slovenian market, we still have a good percentage, which means the market is still relatively open,” he said.
The share of beer from smaller breweries in Europe is between five and ten percent, and the largest, almost 30 percent, is in the United States. Matej Oset, the president of the Association of Slovene brewers, said: “The trend is in diversity, in acid beers, in special beers and also in alcohol-free beers, which has been quite a trend over the last two years,” he said.
An interest in using beer in gastronomy has also been increasing in Slovenia.
