One would be hard pressed to find a more well executed festival of beer than the one hosted by the City of Moscow last weekend in Olympic (Luzhniki) Stadium. Now in it's 11th season, this week long affair draws tens of thousands of visitors to sample beers from all corners of the globe (Asia, USA, Czech, German, UK, Holland, and of course Russian beer). Free admission, lots of music, and - oh yeah - great beer for a buck or two per cup. I learned the government is supporting this affair in an effort to continue to get people to lay of the hard stuff (i.e. vodka and scotch) and turn to beer instead. The mayor opened the tap on the first keg on the first day of the festival.
This effort has clearly worked, probably with some help with the fact that beer can be bought on any street corner as it is not designated an alcoholic beverage, and instead treated as a soft drink. Vodka consumption is down about 40-50% since 2000, as beer is up even a greater amount. Despite being 9th in overall population in the world, Russia has now ascended to become the #3 beer market behind the US and China. The Russky's love their Brewsky's !
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