A NORTH Suffolk brewery has shipped its first ever container of bottled beers to Russia. St Peter's Brewery which is based at St Peter South Elmham near Bungay, now plans to sell its beer in the key cities of Moscow and St.

A NORTH Suffolk brewery has shipped its first ever container of bottled beers to Russia.

St Peter's Brewery which is based at St Peter South Elmham near Bungay, now plans to sell its beer in the key cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg.

There are also plans to market St Peters beers across the whole of Russia.

Harriet Scott, director of administration at St. Peters Brewery said: "We reviewed a number of potential Russian importers and sent samples to Russia for market testing and evaluation.

"The process is a fairly lengthy one and takes a lot of care and attention but we are delighted that our efforts are now bearing fruit. We are particularly looking forward to St Peter's beer being available in the city named after him – St Petersburg".

It appears to be an ideal time to send shipments to Russia according to John Murphy, company chairman

He said: "Beer consumption is rising fast in Russia and there is a corresponding decline in vodka consumption."

This he said that had left the brewery with a considerable market opportunity.

St Peters brewery has won various awards over the past few years such as 'speciality food and drink exporter of the year' at the International Food from Britain annual awards in London in 2001.

Judges were impressed with the success that St Peters brewery had achieved in so many export markets.

J.M Murphy founded the company in 1995 with the aim of filling in the 'gap' for an International British beer brand, claiming there were very few in Britain as a result of UK brewers being more interested in controlling distribution than building brands.

By June 21, 1996, the first draught brew was ready for consumption and since then shipments have been made throughout Japan, Europe and the US.

The product appears to be appealing in export markets and St. Peter's brewery is currently expanding its production capacity to meet demand.

They now export around 75% of their bottled beer production.