Following last year’s Drinkers For Ukraine campaign, craft and speciality beer importer Euroboozer has once again partnered with Varvar Brew.
When the brewery was forced to close down last year, following the invasion, Euroboozer managed to rescue approximately 45,000 pints of beer from the Kyiv-based craft brewer, supporting the brewery and raising money for the people of Ukraine.
Once brought to the UK, the beers sold out in days of the initiative being launched and were available from multiple hospitality venues and retailers across the country, with all profits from the sale of the beer donated to Drinkers for Ukraine raising funds for humanitarian relief in Ukraine.
In addition to profits being donated, Euroboozer also paid full price for the stock. From the sale of Varvar beers, Euroboozer sent £68,389.46 to Ukraine in total, donating over £22,000, on top of the £46,000 paid to the brewery for the beers, which helped the brewery raise much-needed funds for food, medicine, wages and defence.
Now set to receive another shipment of beers from Varvar Brew, Euroboozer hopes hospitality and retail businesses will, once again, agree to stock the beer and further support the brewery get back on its feet.
This year’s pre-sale is now live for on-trade customers and will close on Wednesday 26th April. The beers range from Wit Beers and Golden Ales to Barrell Aged Imperial Stouts and Wild Ales and will be filled in bottle, can and keg. The beers will be collected during the first week of May, with delivery intended for the week commencing Monday 8th May.
Martyn Railton, Founder of Euroboozer commented: “The campaign we came up with and ran seemed like the most effective way we could help people in Ukraine directly. Our efforts together with those of our customers (that we know of) raised well over £79k in terms of support. The order we put in for the brewery was huge.This allowed them to move stock on, empty some tanks and get in some much-needed cash for their team and their country. It then freed up space for them to brew and sell more. Even though we didn’t know them, we were helping fellow friends out in the beer industry who had quite literally come under attack. We knew people who had to escape the area, and other breweries that were sadly raised to the ground. The efforts we went to made a real difference. Even the truck driver, who quite honestly risked his life to bring the beer out of Ukraine and through Europe, got quite emotional when he understood what we were doing.
“We stayed in touch with Varvar and had a chance meeting while judging with one of their copywriters (Lana Svitankova) who now lives in Switzerland. We both nearly cried once we discovered who the other person was and how each person helped with the rescue mission. So when Varvar got in touch again to see if we wanted another partnership, we figured we had to make it work.
“We’re so excited to launch this new partnership and pre-sale. We’ve had so many customers asking us to bring their beer over again. We can’t wait to bring their awesome range over to these shores and make this commercially sustainable for both parties.”
Artem Denisyuk, Commercial Director at Varvar Brew added: “We are very pleased that Euroboozer supported our brewery in a difficult moment. At that time, we were not working at all and were on the verge of collapse, and their help was real. Now the war has moved to the eastern part of our country and in spite of the war we have managed to establish a stable production. .However, we now have to import all the raw materials except for water (we have our own 160-metre deep well), which has led to big cost increases. But, we can do it all now [brewing and filling], because now we have no power cuts and we have bought cans, bottles and kegs.
“We thank Euroboozer for their support at a critical time and we hope to make another good partnership this time again. This will help us a lot.”
About Varvar Brew
An independent and ambitious craft brewery founded in a former sawmill in Kyiv, Ukraine, in 2015. With a passion for brewing great beers, the brewery has garnered a loyal following within Ukraine’s burgeoning craft beer scene. Running two brewhouses – 2,000 L and 500 L, they produce over 750,000 L of beer per year across four lines; traditional craft, modern craft, barrel-aged and sours, and experimental.
Ukraine is the breadbasket of Europe so the brewery often incorporates fruits, berries and herbs, as well as some more unusual ingredients – tomato, gherkin, horseradish, beetroot, birch sap and seaweed into its recipes. Taking great pride in representing their country at international competitions, festivals, and in collaborations, the brewery aims to show the world what Ukraine has to offer.
Some of the brewery’s recent tours of the UK have included collaborations with Siren (Mavka, imperial porter), Marble (Reminiscence, old ale), Pomona Island (Ratamahatta, NEIPA), Carnival (Muddler, imperial gose), North (Smoked Stout, stout), Heist (Limbo Shots, NEIPA), and Neon Raptor (Rise & Paul, NEIPA).
For further information visit – www.varvarbrew.com.
About Euroboozer
Started from the back of an old VW Vento in 2003, Euroboozer was set up by beer lover Martyn Railton, initially importing Austrian brands Stiegl, Schremser and Hirter. The company soon branched out across the Atlantic to bring some of the finest US craft brewers to the UK. 20 years on, the VW Vento has gone to be replaced with offices and a warehouse in Hertfordshire with a fleet of vans delivering all over the country.
Euroboozer now supplies some of the finest food and beverage establishments in the country and their brands still include Austria’s Stiegl, Schremser and Hirter, plus a sublime selection of specialist Czech lager brands such as Kutna Hora, New York’s famous Brooklyn Brewery, BlakStoc cider from Austria, and beers from leading British breweries such as DEYA, London Brewing Company, Rooster’s and Verdant, which are mainstays in almost all of the UK’s best craft beer bars and bottle shops.
For further information, contact Euroboozer on 01923 263335 or enquiries@euroboozer.co.uk , visit www.euroboozer.co.uk or follow @euroboozer on Instagram, Twitter and Face
**ENDS**
For further information, contact Euroboozer on 01923 263335 or enquiries@euroboozer.co.uk , visit www.euroboozer.co.uk or follow @euroboozer on Instagram, Twitter and Face