From Siberia to Czech beer: Sibieria buys the Antoš brewery

Ruslan Shishmintsev, founder of the Prague brewery Sibieria, together with his partner Roman Anokhov, is buying the production facilities of the Antoš brewery in the town of Slaný — a deal that, according to CzechCrunch, topped 10 million crowns. The move solves the two entrepreneurs' space problem at their cramped Prague site and should let them double beer output to 10,000 hectolitres a year.

Shishmintsev's story began 16 years ago, when he brewed his first beer at home in a pot — the Czech market lacked hoppy styles like IPA and stout that he was used to abroad. The early batches went down the drain, but persistence eventually got him the taste he was after. Together with his friend Roman Anokhov he soon opened a bar in Vinohrady, and the idea for the business was born, they say, quite literally in a packed craft-beer pub.

The partners started out brewing on the capacity of the Clock brewery in Potštejn, before settling in Prague's Vysočany district near the Kolbenova metro station. The name Sibieria came from combining Shishmintsev's native Siberia with the word “pivo” (beer) — even though neither he nor Anokhov had been back home for about a decade, and their beer was never sold there. They consider exporting to Russia unethical, and plans to visit after the pandemic were derailed by the war in Ukraine.

Outside Czechia, though, Sibieria has long felt right at home: the beer is shipped to Italy, Israel and Japan, where the brand even has its own pub. Output at the Prague complex grew to five thousand hectolitres a year and hit the ceiling of the site's capacity, which is what pushed Shishmintsev and Anokhov to look for a new location.

The opportunity came earlier this year, when they were approached by Josef Paulík, who had revived the historic Antoš brewery in Slaný. In January the previous tenants, Šárka Grguričová and David Kudláček, terminated their lease, freeing up the modern production hall. Sibieria agreed with Paulík to buy all the technical equipment and infrastructure in the industrial building, while the Antoš name itself and the restaurant brewery in the historic building in the centre of Slaný remain with Paulík.

Sibieria will now have two production sites — the Prague base will stay in operation, while the new capacity in Slaný will allow output to grow without building a new plant from scratch, which would have taken several years. The team will need to grow from the current 15 to 20–25 employees.