Brew York will soon be producing some unusual beers, potentially using tomatoes, blackcurrants and thyme, after its head brewer experienced a “powerful trip” to the Ukraine.
Some years ago, Davide Callegari was invited by other breweries to visit the Ukraine, but the Russian invasion delayed that, leading him to only make the trip earlier this month.
Davide left for Krakow, Poland, before taking an overnight train to Kyiv in time to take part in a protest in Kyiv before attending a beer festival in Lviv in western Ukraine and making beer at two Ukrainian breweries back in Kyiv.
The Lviv Craft Beer and Vinyl Festival is the Ukraine’s biggest celebration of craft beer, music and culture.
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Davide said: “The festival itself was great, it was the first time that they organised it again since the start of the war, and again I really liked to see how hard they're trying to live their normal life despite all the difficulties. I'm planning to go again.”
He was warmly welcomed by friends from the Varvar and Rebrew breweries, which led to the collaborations.
The boutique Rebrew brewery, just outside Kyiv, was founded in 2019 and is known for modern styles like New England IPAs. It also makes a unique native Ukrainian beer - tomato gose, which uses tomato pulp.
Davide said: “It’s sounds very weird but it’s nice. I liked it.”
Together, Davide and Rebrew brewed a northern-inspired brown ale, but incorporating cocoa nibs and vanilla, giving a biscuity digestive taste with rich, dark chocolate notes.
At Kyiv’s Varvar brewery, Davide helped make an 11 per cent imperial stout, with one version featuring smoked pear and another version featuring blackcurrant and thyme.
Looking ahead, Davide hopes to collaborate on a sour beer using blackcurrant and thyme back here in York.
Brew York co-founder Lee Grabham confirmed Ukranian-inspired beers are on the cards, but noting one Ukranian beer uses beetroot, added: “There’s some whacky things out there.”
Davide says although Kyiv was peaceful when he was there, the capital came under fire a week or so later. He saw part of a cruise missile that was on display in the city and one of the brewers from Varvar, Yaroslav Prokopenka, had been killed in combat last June.
“I have never imagined to know personally someone who died in war.”
He also told the Press: “I'm mostly impressed with the Ukranian people, their resilience and their kindness in the face of a horrible situation, and I'm really grateful for their hospitality.
“I appreciate how they are trying to rebuild their lives, have a normal life. They feel it (the war) is an attack on their way of life. They want to be like us, have a Western life, be free, trying to live their own life.”
