As Poslovni Dnevnik/Sergej Novosel Vuckovic writes on the 13th of October, 2020, the Medjimurje-based brewery Lepi Decki has officially opened a new plant in Mihovljan in Cakovec, from which as much as 50,000 litres of beer will be able to be produced per month, almost nine times more than the previous capacity of the brand that first conquered the north of Croatia on the craft beer scene.
The company Aggero has invested approximately nine million kuna into Lepi Decki’s brand new space covering 6000 square metres (of which 1200 will be the production plant, and 2000 the warehouse).
“Back at the end of 2019, we started thinking about a larger space, so in the spring of 2020 we moved to our own plant in Cakovec. But due to the lockdown and the situation with the coronavirus pandemic, everything was quite demanding and intense. The relocation was conditioned by partners, subcontractors and everything was late,” says Lepi Decki’s owner Danijel Radek. Despite such dire circumstances and the closure of restaurants where their produce would be purchased, at the end of May something alarming happened to them – they had no beer.
“It took us several months to fix it all,” he said. In Lepi Decki’s brand new ”base” by the end of the year, their offer will be enriched with a beer tasting room, depending on the epidemiological picture and financial possibilities.
“It would be a real ale house-type pub, a pub with food. It’s interesting how many people mix the terms ale house and brewery, in essence we want to alleviate this problem for them. We’d also like to open a shop within it, and enable the purchase of beer at the place of production. It would be a great one-stop shop, brewery, pub, ale house, beer shop, which is in principle an interesting tourist aspect,” explained Radek, adding that the plan is to launch a Free Spirit distillery, with whiskey, gin and beer liqueurs on offer. Over the years, this brewery has positioned itself as one of the leaders in the constant “thriving” market of Croatian craft beer. Their list of as many as 20 labels is impressive, and certainly lot for a team of seven employees and several external associates.
”Our concept isn’t just to make different beers and try new styles. We make beer in a combination of an impossible triangle, the master brewer is Drazen Balenta, and I devise the recipes, while the marketing department, ie my colleague Kreso Biskup, devises sales and marketing placement. All three of them must create the best possible product through inputs and so far it seems that we’re doing well, at least according to the reactions of customers, beer drinkers, and also new craft beer fans,” explained Radek. They have 15 varieties in constant production, and by the end of this year they plan to present English bitter ale and dark lager. The most popular are lagers and pale ale, ie their debut Medjimurje beer and Kaj-El.
”New styles and more modern brands have done excellently and the audience loves them very much. For example there are Tria de los Muertos, lager, pilsner Cakovecko, Waitapu Blond Ale, XO as West Coast IPA. One of the more popular summer beers we made is St. Martin’s, kolsch style ale, in collaboration with Lifeclass Spa Sv. Martin. Cooperation with them means a lot to us as a brand because they recognised the quality and our effort and work,” noted Kreso Biskup. Lepi Decki are also not giving up the concept of production in large bottles, all but two styles with more alcohol are in the volume of 0.5 litres, which is a rarity among crafters.
“Craft beer in itself is more expensive, we have the impression that the customer today has no problem setting aside a few kuna more for a premium, higher quality product, but at the end of the day they at least want it to be a real, big beer, not just two sips. We also offer cans of 0.33 as well as 0.5 in certain styles. They’re the future of production because they’re completely recyclable, they’re easier and more compact for transport, and the beer is also of the highest quality,” stated Biskup.
Until the coronavirus pandemic struck, 95% of Lepi Decki’s beer was sold in the HoReCa channel from Medjimurje to Dubrovnik, in retail stores and in specialised stores, as well as several times a year in the popular Lidl chain. This year, in which the coronavirus has been dominant, was challenging in terms of sales, so they started with online sales through their webshop and through the channels of their partners and distributors.
“This has enabled us to develop in a more robust and sustainable way,” they concluded from Medjimurje’s Lepi Decki.
For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily.
Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language – now available in 24 languages
Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.
