[size=55:1mg3xo4u]Sofia echo
Another touch of homeMissing those wonderful real ales from home? Then you will probably want to check out beers.bg/
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.], the first on-line retail outlet for quality international craft beers and real ales in Bulgaria.
The new venture is a collaboration between Sofia residents Andy Sowray – known to expats as the proprietor of Andy's Foods, a retail and online business providing those much missed goodies from the UK – and Philip Walsh, an IT project manager who met Sowray when he visited his Sofia shop.
Sowray (who has been in Bulgaria since 1999) has specialised in importing British cheeses and pork pies as well as other delicacies.
At the beginning Philip helped Andy to develop his on-line store.
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I created a new and updated version of his website, andysfoods.com, giving his clients the ability to order their favourite food and drinks online."
As a result there was an upsurge in customers buying online. Now the new real ale venture aims to continue in the same vein, the two of them having spotted a niche in the market.
Philip says that when he came to Bulgaria the one thing he really missed was draught beer and real ale.
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There are now 20 dedicated draught ale bars in and around London and a handful in Manchester. A real consumer revolution is going on there so we decided to try to do something online,"
says Philip who adds that British beers are increasingly characterised by cheap ingredients and sky-high prices. "
There's a race to the bottom with the big brewers but now there's a groundswell of a fightback in the UK and US. There have been some great articles in The Guardian and Time Out celebrating real ales. So there is a momentum building."
Tight economicsThe beers featured at Beers.bg will initially come from the UK, Germany and Belgium, but Andy and Philip also plan to introduce more ales from other countries.
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We're working to fully integrate the site so that the delivery is charged and included in the transaction,"
Philip told The Sofia Echo. "
We don't want to rely exclusively on the expat market because it's been hit hard by economic conditions. There's now a burgeoning middle class in Bulgaria – people who work for hi-tech companies who are earning good salaries. We know some of these people and they'd like to taste some of these beers too."
He believes that many Bulgarians would relish a change from traditional home-grown brands.
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There is a movement and we hope to tap into some of these streams of interest. We're not expecting this to be a mega-business. The economics are very tight. We want to get a bottle of Kraft beer here for between three and four leva, so we will have a slight price advantage over supermarkets. None of our beers will be over four leva. We will have some beer in the shop but also available online."
Andy and Philip will start with four beers from Belgium, four from the UK – including Marston's ale and Cumberland Ale from the Lake District – and German beers.
They plan to officially launch in the New Year but want to catch the Christmas trade, aiming to have a trial run between December 1 and December 3. For existing customers, as soon as plug-in payment facilities and the delivery system are set, it will be ready to go.
Cheers!