Protecting local brewing tradition

Browary Regionalne Jakubiak (Jakubiak Regional Breweries) is a Polish business group and the owner of five local breweries. After years of rivalry with Brobdingnagian beer moguls, it has proved that in business size does not always matter. The company is also responsible for the ‘beer wake up’ phenomenon observed in Poland. Dariusz Balcerzyk reports.

Jakubiak Regional Breweries hold a unique position in the Polish beer market. It is a family business that has built up several successful brand names. The man behind the group’s success is Mr Marek Jakubiak, who runs the business with members of his family.

“The group’s development strategy is to cultivate endangered brewing traditions through the resurrection of Polish historical breweries, rescuing their dignity and promoting the extraordinary history of these historic sites. We are focused on resuscitating the old breweries that still have their souls. We walk in the footsteps of our ancestors, because beer has always been popular in Poland. I am a happy man, because my business is based on my passion,” says Mr Jakubiak, the group owner and president. Beers with historical background

Beer has always been present in Poland. It was even behind a particular Polish king’s refusal of the pope’s request to join the Crusades in Palestine. When asked why he could not go on the journey he explained that, owing to the particular nature of his body’s ailments, beer was the only beverage he could drink but it was unfortunately unavailable in Palestine.

At more or less the same time the first brewery was founded in the town of Ciechanow. In the 19th century a new brewery was established on the same site. It had been in operation until 2001 when it was shut down by the then owner, the Austrian company Brau Union. A year later, it was purchased by Mr Jakubiak. He began to focus on the production of ‘Ciechan Wyborny’ unpasteurised beer, setting it up in opposition to the beers offered by bigger companies in Poland. This re-awakened Poland’s enthusiasm for fresh beers and started a return to the tradition of local brewing. In time, alongside the classic bottom-fermented beers, brands such as ‘Ciechan Miodowe’ (‘honey beer’) appeared, which was the first of this kind in Poland. It turned out to be a big commercial success and spawned many imitators.

“There are currently about 28 different honey beers being produced in Poland,” says Mr Jakubiak. “Unlike the competition, however, we have developed a very complicated process of making honey beer. We use 70 tonnes of honey each year, which we obtain from our permanent partner – the Mazurskie Miody company.”

In 2009 Mr Jakubiak took over the bankrupt Lwowek Slaski 1209 Brewery. “This

brewery is located near the borders of three countries: Poland, the Czech Republic and Germany. It has a diverse brewing tradition that has been preserved by us; however, we have added new varieties of beer. Furthermore, our traditional lagers Lwowek Beers: Ratuszowy, Ksiazecy, Wiedenski, Wroclawskie, modern Jankes (American pale ale style) and Porter. Product range have been enriched with new flavours: Lwowek Belg (Belgian pale ale style) and Lwowek Malinowy (Raspberry),” adds Mr Jakubiak.

Bojanowo Brewery, which has a tradition stretching back to 1881, was taken over by the group in 2012. This brewery is also dedicated to preserving time-honoured traditions with well-known brands including Wielkopolskie, Toporek (Axe), Strazackie (Firemen’s). Its range has recently been expanded to include new products: Bojan Black IPA, Maorys and Coconut beer.

The two most recent acquisitions are Tenczynek Brewery and Biskupiec Brewery. The history of the former dates back to the mid-

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17th century, whilst the latter was founded in 1885. In fact, Biskupiec was the first brewery in Poland to introduce beer in keg barrels, allowing it to store the product at low temperatures for long periods of time. “These two breweries still require retrofitting. We aim to begin this process in Tenczynek in May 2015, with Biskupiec following soon after.”

Hectolitres of beer

The success of Jakubiak Regional Breweries is in part down to its wholly owned distribution company Piwa Regionów (Beers of Regions). The development of this distribution network was a necessity owing to the short shelf-life of natural beers. The company consists of a fleet of 40 trucks and 100 employees.

The group’s annual capacity is around 100,000 hectolitres of beer and its annual sales are estimated at PLN 45 million (€10 million). In addition to the Polish market its brands swill soon be available in the UK, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands.

On the wings of success

The group invests heavily in modern technology. But alongside this it is careful to protect its heritage, and hence a significant proportion of investment in museums associated with the breweries. For example, 11,000 people have so far visited the brewery museum in Lwowek Slaski. Another museum, linked to the Ciechan Brewery, will soon be opened.

Mr Jakubiak is not limiting the development of his company to the beer industry (although he is open to the purchase of breweries outside Poland). Tens of thousands of litres of Scotch whiskey distillate have been aging in oak barrels in the Ciechan brewery. The company is also attempting to make Okowita (a traditional Polish vodka made from barley) and Porterowka (a Polish vodka produced from porter with vanilla). n

http://www.ciechan.com.pl/