OREANDA-NEWS. On 10 June 2008 was announced, that the results of the Monde Selection-2008 competition were announced at the end of April in Brussels and Yarpivo Yantarnoye was awarded Grand Gold in the category ‘Low Fermentation Beer’ (Dortmund Type*).

Monde Selection is an internationally recognised competition at which the best samples of alcohol, food, tobacco, perfumes and cosmetics are tested. It has been held in Belgium since 1961. It is now rightfully considered to be one of the most authoritative competitions for high quality products from the whole world. The jury of Monde Selection is drawn from among high class professionals. The winners are selected on the basis of numerous criteria, including tests of taste and the chemical features of the various products.

The Grand Gold award is the highest and most prestigious award of the Monde Selection competition. It is conferred on beer varieties which possess the best flavour qualities and have picked up more than 90% of the possible points. Gold is awarded to varieties that have picked up at least 80% of the points, while Silver goes to varieties that got more than 70% of the points and Bronze is for meeting 60% of the criteria.

Recognition at the Monde Selection competition is confirmation of the very high quality of the Yarpivo brand and of its fully meeting international brewing standards. In the past Yarpivo repeatedly did well in various competitions and in its trophy collection there are more than 15 Russian and international awards.

Marcho Kuyumdzhiev, Vice President of Marketing at Baltika Breweries, commented as follows: ‘We take part in all the major international competitions. Each victory is one more acknowledgement of the high professionalism of our brewers and of the efforts of the whole Baltika team. This is the first time the Yarpivo brand has taken part in a competition of this level and so victory is all that much dearer to us. It is pleasant to see that experts share the opinion of Russian beer lovers.’

Production of the Yarpivo brand began in 1998 in Yaroslavl. Thanks to the mastery of local brewers, Yarpivo quickly won over Russian consumers. This amber beer with a bright taste and delicate hops aroma has been appreciated by beer lovers for ten years now and is one of the 7 most popular beer brands on the Russian market. In 2006, following the merger of the brewing companies Baltika, Vena, Yarpivo and Pikra, Yarpivo joined the portfolio of brands in Baltika Breweries. At the end of 2007, the market share of the Yarpivo brand amounted to 13.7% in the mainstream segment (according to the Business Analytica agency, December 2007).