Russia Introduces New Beer Beverage Standard with Lower Foam Requirements

A new interstate GOST standard regulating beer beverages has entered into force in Russia, introducing revised quality requirements, updated testing methods, and new provisions aimed at verifying product authenticity. The standard was approved by Rosstandart and replaces previous technical requirements for this category of alcoholic beverages. One of the most notable changes concerns foam characteristics. Under the new GOST, the minimum foam height has been reduced from 30 millimeters to 15 millimeters, while the minimum foam stability has been lowered from three minutes to one minute. Previously, beer beverages containing juice and non-alcoholic beer beverages were required to maintain a foam height of at least 20 millimeters and foam stability of at least one minute. Updated Production Requirements The new standard also establishes an allowable deviation of ±0.5% for the declared alcohol-by-volume (ABV) content of beer beverages, excluding non-alcoholic varieties.