Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan has excellent craft breweries and a cool ambiance. The three leading breweries have produced over 130 beers together and the the craft beer scene is also a free zone for the LGBT-people in Bishkek. It has the most colorful and optimistic beer scene in Central Asia.
Bishkek can easilly be reached from Abu Dhabi or Istanbul, three hour drive from Almaty or on the horseback from the surrounding mountains. The neighbours are China, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Tadjikistan where Kyrgyzstan is the most democratic and open. All the other states are more conservative while Kyrgyzstan at least have some debate in media and not only conservative voices are heard. Still it’s not easy for LGBT-people but luckily the craft beer scene is open minded and respectful. To get a better picture of Bishkek, see the short movie clip from the trip at instagram below or on youtube.
There are three mayor craft breweries that produce a lot of new wave craft beers like sours, IPA, salty goose/sour, DIPA, imperial porters etc. Raccoon Brewing, Tengri Beer and Save the Ales are the three leading pioneers for you to focus on when visiting Kyrgyzstan. Besides them, a handfull of microbreweries are making their own lagers, mainly German styled beers.
Raccoon brewing co
The three guys behind Raccon brewing is Konstantin Zinehenko, the brewers Sergey Kishenin and Shyngys Kunanbayev. Shyngys is living in nearby Almaty in Kazakhstan. Read about the Kazakh beer scene here. He is distributing their beer in Almaty and also running beer tours but does also visit Bishkek frequently to brew. Raccoon has brewed over 80 beers since their start in 2018. The small 500 liter brewhouse gives them the possibility to experiment more which is their passion. They are playful with their brews and give all beer English names so its easy to find them online. Tomato and watermelon sours, meads, pastry stouts and milkshake ipas are styles they do and not so much lager and easy ipas. They are the most experimental of the three and promised to bring out many more beer that will surprise and amuse. Their housebar Brewster is situated in an Soviet styled house but when inside it’s full of colors and expression, reflecting the rich palate of their beer flavours.
I met Shyngyz in Almaty, see the article on Kazakhstan and he is Raccoons person in Almaty, very active in the beer scene.
Tengri Beer & Pivo
Pivo is the craft beer bar for Tengri Beer with Alexander Nikonov as the head brewer and founder. They are probably the biggest craft brewery after the coming update in their brew house. He is using eight 2000 liter fermentors and plan to buy a canning machine to be able to send round in the region. The collaboration between the breweries is good and they are planning collabs together the coming months. Compared with many countries i visited i must say that the Kyrgiz beer scene is really a good example on how craft breweries work together to gain more momentum and create a good beer scene for beer enthusiasts. It was the same in Budapest where the brewing community did a yearly beer festival together and many collabs. Having three good craft breweries in Bishkek enables beer enthusiats to be constantly amused with new flavours and styles. In many countries craft beer has peaked with high prices and a downturn in enthusiam but in Bishkek it’s booming.
Alexander is has ambition to continue experimenting and try new styles and flavours. There is always a cider on the menu and more is planned, all with local fruit. Beers are powerful with lots of flavours and really well made.
Save The Ales
Save the ales has already gotten much international attention, since many finds it surprising that there are two female brewers in Kyrgyzstan. But when visiting Bishkek and after seeing the craft beer crowd you are not really surprised. It’s an diverse and open minded beer culture. Save the Ales have made about 30 beers so far and have 8 taps in their bar.
Other beer places
During the Soviet era, Eastern Germany was one of the most developed states and their beer became well known all over the empire. Since it couldn’t be stored long, the best solution was local breweries and that why there is German styled microbreweries all over Central Asia. Steinbräu in Bishkek is one of the remains of that time.
If you are interested in the German beer culture and want to have some refreshing and light lagers make a visit at Steinbräu. Steinbräu have three German styled lagers, lots of meaty dishes and a big beer hall.
Bishkek is much smaller than Almaty or Tasjkent, it’s green and cosy. Absolutely a place worth visiting. It has both the old history from the Sovjet era as well as new and modern buildings, traditional people as well as progressive and open minded.
Jonathans Beer & Wine travels 