Oliver Dawson shares his plans to organize beer tours in Ukraine
It was a gloomy morning when I and the Post photographer were waiting on the terrace of Repriza patisserie for Oliver Dawson. Oliver was late, but I didn’t hold a grudge against him, since I knew that the previous night he an honorable guest was at the celebration of the 10th anniversary of a beer producing company Slavutich.
Why an honorable guest? The reason is that Oliver has worked in the Canadian beer industry for the last 14 years, running a number of projects.
Right after finishing his university studies of history and political science, Oliver started on his activity in a small brewery, where he still continues to work. As Oliver explained, around 100 years ago, small breweries scattered all over Canada were “eaten” by bigger manufacturers. Only in 1985, there was an “Orange revolution of brewing” when small breweries came into existence again. This time they had a new philosophy – to brew the way beer used to be brewed by locals, according to traditional recipes using natural flavors. As to his other project, about 12 years ago Oliver had an idea to create a beer lovers’ tour through Europe. Wine touring had been already introduced, but the beer niche was still unoccupied.
“I thought: with a rich tradition of European brewing wouldn’t it be brave to visit brewing centers of Europe – Cologne, Prague, Munich – they are also great culture attractions, so why not combine history, culture and brewing into a tour?” he recalled. The project was fulfilled, safely functions and could ready to roll in Ukraine as well before long.
This is the actual reason for Oliver’s coming to Kyiv – “to make clear what Ukraine and Ukrainian beer really is” and to see if interest in the topic is strong enough to start tours of Ukrainian breweries.
Back in Canada, Ukrainian beer – namely Slavutich and Lvivske – is known for seven years already and it’s not the only thing about Ukraine that Oliver got to know in his home country. A huge Ukrainian diaspora – a million people of Ukrainian decent, Ukrainian food and traditions as well as “multitudes of stories about the magic of Ukraine” were known to Oliver, before the idea of taking up Ukraine as a beer lovers’ tour destination came to him.
“For me it was like a door,” Oliver recalled how he dispelled his preconceptions of Ukraine as only a vodka-making, not beer-making, place. He considers Slavutich’s brewery as one of the most modern and sophisticated breweries he has ever visited, an important stop on the tour.
Thus opening this door to Ukraine, Oliver found out that in a way it’s very close to Canada. “Ukrainians are not loud, are very gentle, like Canadians are,” he said and noted that they both “are people living in a shadow of the great power and it has its influence.” All magic stories about Ukraine came true, according to Oliver, but one fact he was not ready to face – the rich history and architecture of the country and its capital. He had yet to visit Lviv, so the bewilderment surely would increase even more.
Inquiring about Oliver’s favorite beer, I quickly understood that my question was a silly one.
The beer expert’s choice depends on “the mood, season, and weather.” Stressing the diversity of beer palette, Oliver revealed that there are at least 42 different styles of beer, like there are in the wine industry.
Its taste depends on the time during which barley is roasted, the soil and climate of the area where hops are grown and lots of other factors.
Wide knowledge of the beer industry, and the impressive way in which Oliver told me about it, revealed in him a talented lecturer. It appeared that in Toronto he teaches a six-week course in a college, where people are trained in the restaurant and hotel business. Whereas for them it was always a must to know wine and spirits, now it’s very important to know beer as well.
“At the end of each class, people would not let me leave because they have so many questions. A billion people drink beer and this same billion don’t know anything about beer. They are thirsty for knowledge,” argued Oliver, pointing out that part of his work is to educate people either in college or on a beer lovers’ tour.
Although beer occupies a great deal of Oliver’s time, he still manages to find time for singing in the Canadian opera company, building things with his own hands and traveling, a pursuit that allows him to put to use his knowledge of German (his first language, since his mother was German), English, French, and Italian.
Olga Kovalenko can be reached at [email protected] or496-4563.
