Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/919364
maltatoday SUNDAY 24 DECEMBER 2017 News 13 MAPFRE MSV Life p.l.c. is authorised by the Malta Financial Services Authority to carry on long term business under the Insurance Business Act, 1998. COM MSV241117 All MAPFRE MSV Life customers can now benefit from attractive discounts at a wide range of outlets including household goods, hotel accommodation, health and beauty products, electronic equipment and restaurants. To start benefiting from Insure and Save, download the Mapfre Plus mobile application now from the App Store and Google Play. Top: All the craft beer served at The Brew, which was opened in October last year and now offers five beers, is made on site, brewed by a professional from the Ukraine with more than three decades of experience Bottom: The brew house at Lord Chambray Brewery scaled up according to demand. They are now sold in many eateries and bars in Malta. "I started tinkering with fer- mentation at a very young age, learning wine-making from my family, and later moving on to beer," Borg Barthet says, "It was a slow start, but my interest and ability grew steadily over time, as I brewed classic and modern- style beers, learning tips and techniques from several good breweries." He explained how, taking a lot of what he had learnt on board, he went on to develop his own distinctive recipes – very much in the spirit of what craft beer is all about – which are now do- ing very well on the local market and on international beer rating forums. "Home brewing can be fun and produce good quality beer using minimal equipment and basic brewing knowledge. Attention to detail and cleanliness are essen- tial, and the process, which can take anywhere from four weeks to several months, is as complicated as the recipe," he maintained. "Local craft beer is going places, rising to the task of catering for people's tastes, which are turning towards more flavoursome food and beverages. It's quality over quantity, and people are increas- ingly more discerning about what they consume," Borg Barthet re- marked. In-house craft brewery and bar all in one A bar producing its own craft beer and offer- ing a selection of food was something absent in Malta until very recently, but this changed when Alexander Farrugia and his Ukrainian colleague Dmitry Tolok opened The Brew in Sliema. Farrugia told us how all the craft beer served at The Brew, which was opened in October last year and now offers five beers, is made on site, brewed by a professional from the Ukraine with more than three decades of experience. He explained how they first started brewing lagers, then moved into dark and light ales, and are now also making winter ales. "The difference in the number of customers since we started in 2016 till now has been mas- sive. People are becoming interested in craft beers, and we even get foreigners asking to try out beer," he says. They recently collaborated with MCAST to produce Gallery, the official craft beer of Val- letta 2018, which is available in stores and uses a recipe created by his craft brewery. "We do not add any alcohol or sugar to our beers, and only use water, malt, hops and yeast. Water purity is very important, so we utilise a special filter to obtain very high quality water," Farrugia says, as he showed us the tanks and equipment, all located at the back of the prem- ises, used to make the beer. "We currently produce 12,000 litres of beer a month, but are working on opening a dedicat- ed plant and increasing production to 80,000- 100,00 litres per month," he says, "However, we want to keep making craft beer – we do not intend to increase our scale to the extent that we become a mass producer. "We use beer in a lot of the food on the menu, all of which we cook here – our burgers, sau- sages, ribs and lamb shanks all have a touch of beer added," Farrugia says, highlighting that he felt positive about the industry in Malta, espe- cially given the growth in consumer demand. It is apparent that craft breweries and outlets offering craft beers are flourishing in Malta, and, very much in the same way as is happen- ing throughout Europe and North America, small and independent brewers are set for an expanding market.