Zanatsko Pivo: Beer Ambassadors of the Balkans
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| Zanatsko Pivo founders from left to right (Filip Stefanovic, Djordje Andrejevic, and photographer Buki Milijkovic) |
As
new craft beer scenes emerge in the digital age, brewers and beer
lovers both benefit by learning from the mistakes and trials of
more-established markets. They have the advantage of starting from
scratch, using a winning blueprint to build the infrastructure right,
starting from the bottom up.
Two
programmers and beer lovers, Filip Stefanovic and Djordje Andrejevic
are trying to get things rolling right in Serbia. They founded
Zantasko Pivo, a beer lover's resource for everything craft in the
Balkans.
It
all started for them as it did for many, with a simple IPA. A single
sip showed them that there was something beyond the mass-produced
light beers that dominate the market.
As
their love grew, so did their dissatisfaction with the lack of
information about particularly product availability and events. Bars
would advertise that they had certain beers on tap, only to find that
their menu hadn't been updated in weeks. In the small-market beer
world, production is minuscule and taps change over fast. They knew
the people of Serbia needed a resource to help people find these new
flavors, so they started programming a mobile app that would make it
so beer lovers could find their favorite products in Belgrade.
In
order to get things rolling immediately, they began the facebook
community Zantasko Pivo in April 2017. Within six months, it had
grown to 2000+ followers. What started as simple venue to share all
the beer information of the area became an obsession that ate all
their free time. Each new adventure opened a new door. Craft-related
news within in the Balkans was under-reported, so they began
traveling around trying to cover every festival and brewery event
they could. They've been filming interviews, writing blogs, and
tasting everything the region has to offer.
This
is an unpaid gig and they intend to keep it this way.
“We're
not doing this for money. When the money gets involved it changes
things,” says Filip.
Nor
are they looking for financiers. This is a labor of love. Over the
short life the community, they've already found more like-minded
individuals to help out as well. In a way, they aren't even working
for the site, but moderating the community, helping beer lovers,
brewers, homebrewers, or the curious, find each other.
Their
app intends to attack the scene on two fronts. First, it will offer a
wealth of information for consumers, led by blogs, videos,
interviews, and constantly updated beer news. The second and most
interesting feature will be for beer hunters.
It'll
compile the features from already popular beer rating sites such as
Untappd and Ratebeer. Breweries can add the specifications of the
beers, including tasting notes, alcohol content, and IBU levels. Then
pubs will be responsible for keeping their product and pricing
information up-to-date.
With
an interface designed for simplicity, the app will allow businesses
to update availability information in seconds. Besides, having
inconsistent information could lead to a lack of faith from their
customer base. Zantasko Pivo hopes that once the app gains enough
steam, pubs won't dare being left behind. The community and app will
feed itself.
Fortunately,
the languages of the region are very similar, so reaching the whole
region will not be handicapped by communication issues. In addition,
they plan to make much of the information available in English.
Thing
are looking up for the Balkan scene. Dogma brewery in Belgrade is
starting to find some minor distribution and festival appearances in
Budapest. The booming tourist market in Croatia is having a strong
effect on their beer industry as well. Once the app gets rolling,
hopefully the interest in Eastern European craft will find a wider
audience and they can see the same type of growth as the British or
United States markets (at least on a per capita basis). The war
against boring beer is heating up every year. It's good to know there
are people crafting the weapons to win.
Their online community can be found at https://www.facebook.com/zanatskopivo/
