I went to Russia back in 2005, and one thing that stood out was a tour of Razin Brewery’s facility in Moscow. When we arrived, they were still giddy about being bought out by Heineken. So part of our tour included a tasting in a board room. Each of us got a whole bottle of each of their 14 products, including kvass (a nearly alcohol free beer made from raisin bread and that tastes a lot like Dr. Pepper).
This was around 10:30AM.
I liked most of what I had, so when I got back to the USA, I started looking for Razin products. I found other Russian beers, but not theirs.
So I went online to see what happened. Heineken hadn’t bought Razin to broaden its distribution, or even to relabel their beers as Heineken products. They did it to get rapid access to the markets Razin was in, and their distribution network in those regions. The company itself got shuttered; its recipes shelved.