HOLDING DEVELOPMENT HISTORY
The history of brewing in Tver goes back to the second half of the 18-th century. On the pages of the book "Kratkoe opisanie sostoyaniya Tverskoj gubernii, osnovannogo na sravnenii statisticheskih dannyh 1783 i 1846 goda" (Brief description of Tverskaya gubernia, based on comparison of statical data of 1783 and 1846 years" it is reported that there were "a wine store, a brewery, a mead brewery, a vodochnaya" among other storefronts in 1783 in Tver. Meanwhile there were 13 malt houses in the town. Probably, the product of these malt houses found its demand and was used both for distillation (alcohol production) and for brewing: by townspeople for their own consumption and by the brewery, correspondingly, for sale.
A significant contribution to the history of Tver brewing was made by the fact that the Collegiate Counsellor Konstantin Karlovich von Gut established a brewery on the bank of the Tvertsa river in 1876. In his petition letter to the Tver Governor he wrote: "Wishing to organize a brewing plant in the town of Tver in my own two-storeyed masonry house, located in the 1st quarter of the Zatveretskoe otdelenie along the Embankment of the Tvertsa river and for this purpose having purchased all equipment necessary for such a brewery, I have the honour to beg Your Excellency a permission to set up this brewery and to approve the attached plan". Production of beer started in 1877.
In 1899 an Austrian citizen Emil Adolphovich Slatinsky bought and renovated the plant located on the bank of the Tvertsa river. The Tver steam brewery was called "Tverskaya Bavaria”.
The plant brewed the sorts of beer popular in those years: "Chernoe Barhatnoe" (Black Velvet), "Dvoynoe Zolotoe" (Double Golden), "Bavarskoe" (Bavarian), "Stolovoe" (table-beer) and specially conditioned varieties "Pilsenskoe" (Pilsener) and "Lubitelskoe" (choice or special). The brewery also produced fruit water, fruit drinks and kvass.
Dates and facts
In 1940 construction of a new brewery and a malt-house body began, but the war came, and everything stopped. During occupation the buildings were partially destroyed, so the administration had to start everything anew.
The company started operations in 1943. In 1959 the winery located on the Skvortsov-Stepanov street joined it. Meanwhile, demand for beer among population continuously increased. And despite the fact that in 1971 the Kalinin brewery produced 1 million dekaliters this was clearly not enough. Then it was decided to build a new brewery in Kalinin.
In January 1973 construction began.
The first brew was held on January 11
1st of April - The birthday of the plant This day a union of enterprises was formed, which included the parent company, the old Kalinin and Rzhev breweries. From that moment on “Afanasy” began its way.
In 1992 the company was reorganized into JSC "Tver-Beer." Having become a joint stock company, the company significantly expanded the range of products. It started to sale new sorts of beer - "Afanasy Svetloe"(Afanasy Lager) and “Afanasy Temnoe” (Afanasy Dark). After a research of consumer demands and according to the results of it the following lager low-density styles "Dobroe Svetloe" (good lager), "Tverskoe" (Tver beer) and “Zolotistoe” (golden beer) were created. For beer lovers dark varieties have been developed, such as "Dobroe Polutemnoe" (good half dark) and the famous "Porter", which was recognized at many exhibitions nationwide.
In 1993 a large-scale reconstruction of the plant began, aimed at a complete redesign of the enterprise.
1994 - installation of the German bottling line "Nagema", of the Czech tunnel pasteurizer were made; thus pasteurization was mastered, that increased the shelf life of beer up to 3 months.
1995 - the latest production line was installed that allowed filling of bottles from 0,25 to 0,75 liters, and packing of beer into pallets was also mastered for the first time in Russia.
1997 - a workshop for installation of lithographic sheets and crown caps was brought into operation. A decision was made to implement a new management technology based on the R3 information system.
In 1998 LLC "Afanasy-Pivo" was created.
1999 - the beginning of extensive modernization in order to increase production of beer up to 10 million dekaliters per year. A complex of new equipment was installed, construction of a new pressure storage and steam boiler was begun, new lines of bottling beer in PET and kegs were opened, a new type of packaging bottles of0.33 liters - "Six-pack” was mastered.
2000 - pressure storage and cold fermentation blocks were opened. A new steam boiler was launched and an in-house artesian well was built. A new line of PET was put in operation.
2001 - construction of a new fermentation and lager compartments and refrigeration compressor shop were completed. A new mash kettle was installed. A line for bottling beer in aluminum cans was acquired.
2002 - a new line for bottling beer in aluminum cans was started up, as well as a new PET line. Construction of in-house electrical substation was started.
2002 year was quite a controversial period in the history of the plant. On the one hand, it was a difficult and ambiguous time: an attempt of unfriendly "raider" capture of the enterprise was undertaken. However, by common efforts, the administration managed to defend the plant, and now "Afanasy-Pivo" remains one of few totally independent Russian companies. On the other hand, during this period the image of the plant was completely changed, new equipment was bought, sales markets were expanded, a lot of new, original beers were developed and released.
Thus, in December 2002, the liter "Afanasy Premium" in PET was created, in 2003 the youth beer SIXX went on sale, in February 2004 "Afanasy Ultra Premium» appeared, created by the best traditions of the Tver brewing, and in spring of 2005, having taken into account desires of consumers (it was a large-scale action "Create your own!") a new beer “Gold Premium” was developed. Since February 2005, "Afanasy" has been pleasing its customers with "Live" beer - a truly unique product that differs not only in rich taste, but also in many useful features! Additionally, from 2002 till 2005 there has been a reorientation of the plant’s market: the conquest of markets has begun, offices in different regions of Russia and abroad (Belarus, Estonia, Lithuania, England) have been opened, the sales volume increased by several times.
Production of iodised water "53 Element" was launched.
The company "NikitiN" was formed from the sales service of the Tver brewing plant in order to develop distribution of "Afanasy" Holding products.
A bottling line for country-style milk was launched.
A shop producing cranberries in powdered sugar was opened.
A shop producing fish was opened.
The same year the Holding started to develop industrial tourism and began taking in tourists for excursions over industrial site and for tasting sessions.
Drinking water "Doktor Iod" was released.
A shop producing sausages and deli meat was opened.
The enterprise plans developing sheep farming and breeding own cattle herd.
The Holding does not stand still, it grows and evolves together with its home town.
