Minnesotans running brewery in Poland

Modern Brewery Age, June 23, 2003

AP--Beer imported from a 682year-old Polish brewery has arrived in Minnesota, courtesy of a native son.

Mike Gostomski, of Winona, MN, is the lead shareholder of three partners who bought the Namyslow, Poland brewery in 1999. His son, class of 1990 Winona Senior High School graduate Ryan Gostomski is the brew master, president and manager of the Namyslow brewery.

Schott Distributing Company of Goodview began distributing the four beers throughout its seven-county Minnesota territory on June 6.

Two beers, Ryan Full and Beer N Full, were created by Ryan Gostomski. Two of the beers have traditional Polish recipes-Golden Denar and Rycerskie Strong.

"It's very good beer," said Bruce Schott, owner of the 48-year-old family beer distributing business. "Golden Denar is excellent tasting and Ryan Full is good too.

Mike Gostomski said Namyslow is approximately the same size as the Wisconsin Leinenkugel brewery and 99 percent of it's 300,000 hectoliters annual production is sold in Poland. "We're just a growing baby when it comes to exporting," Gostomski said.

Namyslow began exporting beer to the United States one year ago. In 1321, the first written document naming the brewery showed Duke Konrad I granting Namyslow malt and brewing house the exclusive right to brew beer for the town and its neighborhood.

When Mike Gostomski and his partners bought the brewery, it belonged to the workers who assumed ownership following the fall of the Soviet Union. "We actually purchased the brewery from the workers," Mike Gostomski said.

Over the first three years, the new owners brought modern brewing equipment and methods to the historic company and instituted new management policies. Workers were no longer allowed to drink free beer while working. The brewery currently employs 225 workers.

Ryan Gostomski, who speaks German, Swedish and Polish fluently, began his evolution to European brew master when he started taking German language classes in the seventh grade of the Winona school system. He continued studying German through high school and majored in German studies at Northwestern University.

Following graduation, Gostomski studied in Poland to learn the language and worked at a brewery for one year--a prerequisite for entering the Technical University of Munich at Weihenstephan in Freising, Germany where he earned his "diplom braumeister." Part of his study was an internship at the Lech Brewery in Poznan.

Though the economy in Europe has slowed sales of Namyslow's beers, things are beginning to pick up, Mike Gostomski said.

Now, he not only has a son to be proud of, he has a business investment with bright prospects. As for the beer. "I like it," the elder Gostomski said. "I like any beer, but my personal taste is anything with some strong taste."