Homemade Brew...

Rakia. A staple in the Bulgarian life and a centuries old tradition learned by generation after generation. A sharp, strong homemade brandy is distilled from grapes or plums grown in their backyards. Rakia distilling is not considered so much as a business but as part of a tradition. A tradition that some consider to be the last stronghold in the traditional way of life. Almost every home makes their own special brew and stores them in ordinary plastic bottles, usually with an old coke label on it. Some say the homemade stuff is better than the store bought stuff. But I would have to disagree. For me, the home brew tastes more like paint thinner than brandy.

This same drink is now causing a big stir in Bulgaria and the rest of the EU. With their recent entrance into the EU, they are now forced to pay a tax, a tax which has Bulgarians outraged. The tax increases the price of making 40 liters of rakia from about €10, in distillery costs — for those who use a public still — to nearly €100.

Protests have erupted in grape- and plum-growing regions and Bulgarians are pouring their home brew on the streets to take a stand. Many residents hurried to distill their grapes before the tax took effect on Jan. 1 while others have avoided the distilleries out of fear.

The new tax is mandated by a 1992 EU directive setting the minimum excise at €550 for 100 liters, or 26 gallons, of pure alcohol. The tax has been applied since then in other EU countries where farmers traditionally distill local brandies. In Bulgaria, because rakia usually contains 40 percent alcohol, this works out to €2.20 a liter.

In its EU accession agreement, Bulgaria obtained a 50 percent reduction of the tax for those who grow their own fruit and use a still producing more than 1,000 liters a year. They will pay €1.10 a liter for up to 30 liters produced for personal consumption. But if they have more than 30 liters distilled, the entire quantity will be taxed at the higher rate.

For rural Bulgarians, even the reduced tax — the first attempt to regulate rakia in the post-Communist era — is an enormous expense. Few political issues in recent years have created such broad and deep public indignation.

This tax would hit local residents' way of life. Most own vineyards and almost every house has its own small still. Under the new law, every unregistered still will be illegal, punishable by a fine of 500 to 3,000 lev, or €250 to €1,500.

Although many wonder how it will actually be enforced. And as it is in Bulgarians nature, when there is a will there is a way. I am sure they will still keep on keepin on with their rakia.