The Ariana Brewery is a defunct company, founded in 1884 in

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. ...

, Bulgaria under the name Sofia Brewery, changing to Ariana in 1996. The brewery was bought by

Heineken International Heineken N.V. () is a Dutch multinational brewing company, founded in 1864 by Gerard Adriaan Heineken in Amsterdam. , Heineken owns over 165 breweries in more than 70 countries. It produces 348 international, regional, local and speciality b ...

in 1997, and closed down in 2004, with production of its main brands,

Ariana Ariana was a general geographical term used by some Greek and Roman authors of the ancient period for a district of wide extent between Central Asia and the Indus River, comprising the eastern provinces of the Achaemenid Empire that covered the ...

and Stolichno, transferred to the

Zagorka Brewery Heineken N.V. is a Dutch brewer which owns a worldwide portfolio of over 170 beer brands, mainly pale lager, though some other beer styles are produced. The two largest brands are Heineken and Tecate; though the portfolio includes Amstel, Fos ...

History

Founded by the Czech Proshek brothers in 1884, the Sofia brewery began producing ''Proshekovo Pivo'' using Czech brewing practices, leading the beer to be awarded a gold medal at Antwerp in 1891. (Before establishing themselves in central Sofia, the brothers had originally rented a smaller brewery in the nearby village of .) ''In Bulgaria, Beer Arrived with Liberty (Bulgarian)''
, Sega.bg, 9 Nov 2005; retrieved Jan 2009. In 1947, the brewery was nationalized by the

communist regime A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Com ...

and renamed ''Vitosha'', and the beer was eventually renamed ''Sofiisko Pivo''. A second factory was built in the nearby village of Gorublyane, and in 1978 the brewery in central Sofia was closed. The company changed its name to ''Ariana brewery'' in 1996. In 1997, Ariana was bought out by Heineken, and in 2004 production was moved to the Zagorka brewery. Ariana accounts for 50% of total sales of Zagorka AD.
/sup> The brewery shares its name with the nearby

Lake Ariana Ariana ( bg, Ариана) is the name of a medium-sized artificial lake in Knyaz Boris's Garden in Sofia, Bulgaria. It is "B"-shaped, 175 m long and 75 m wide, with a small island at its narrowest point. It is located at the northernmost corner ...

References

External links

''Ariana Brewery History'' – Zagorka.bg
{{Beer and Breweries in Bulgaria Food and drink companies established in 1884 Food and drink companies disestablished in 2004 1880s establishments in Bulgaria 2000s disestablishments in Bulgaria Defunct manufacturing companies of Bulgaria Manufacturing companies based in Sofia Breweries in Bulgaria Defunct breweries