OREANDA-NEWS. December 07, 2009. Heineken brewery has started licensed production of Zlaty Bazant brand at Belarus-based Syabar brewery, in the Mogilev Region, Heineken General Manager in Belarus Henk van Gelderen told reporters.

Zlaty Bazant, with alcohol content of 3.5%, is a premium brand offered in a 0.5-liter glass bottle and 1-liter plastic bottle.

Zlaty Bazant is produced from Belarusian raw materials and uses imported caramel malt. Heineken makes three licensed brands in Belarus – Gosser, Dr. Diesel and Zlatу Bazant. The share of licensed brands in the company’s portfolio stands at 10%.

Belarus’ affiliates of Heineken group of companies – Syabar, in the Mogilev Region, and Rechitsapivo, in the Gomel Region – saw a 33.3% reduction in output in the first ten months of 2009 from the January-October 2008 level to 4.378 million decaliters.

Syabar’s output fell 17.5% on the year to 3.481 million decaliters, and Rechitsapivo’s output decreased 61.7% to 897,000 decaliters because of a large-scale upgrade. Most of Rechitsapivo brands are now produced using Syabar’s facilities.

In October, the Belarusian breweries controlled by Heineken increased beer output 86% on the year to 458,000 decaliters. Syabar increased beer output 160% to 358,000 decaliters, whereas Rechitsapivo’s output fell 8.3% to 100,000 decaliters.