Beer in Lithuania
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The beer brewing tradition in Lithuania tends to favor the northern part of the country and is centered around the towns of
Pasvalys Pasvalys () is a town in Panevėžys County, Lithuania, located near the bank of the Svalia River. History In 1557, the Treaty of Pasvalys was signed in the town, which provoked Ivan IV of Russia to start the Livonian War. Pasvalys has mineral s ...
,
Pakruojis Pakruojis () is a city in Lithuania. It is situated on the Kruoja River, which has a dam above the city. Forty three buildings of the manor, mentioned in 1531 still survive. History Pakruojis and it neighbourhood are within the boundaries of the ...
, Kupiškis and
Biržai Biržai (, known also by several alternative names) is a town in northern Lithuania. Biržai is famous for its reconstructed Biržai Castle manor, and the whole region is renowned for its many traditional-recipe beer breweries. Names The nam ...
. The farmhouse brews of the region are highly distinctive, using local ingredients and techniques from past generations. Lithuanian farmhouse beer has a soft, sweetish malty palate, with hops that do not dominate the flavor profile. Beer is the most common alcoholic beverage in Lithuania. Lithuania has a long farmhouse beer tradition, first mentioned in 11th century chronicles. Beer was brewed for ancient Baltic festivities and rituals. The ancient Lithuanian god for brewing beer and mead was ''Ragutis'' or ''Rūgutis''. 21st of September was known as the festive ''Alutinis'', ''Koštuvės'' or ''Ragautuvės'' - the first beer was made using the harvest of the running year. Lithuania is not very well known for its beer worldwide, but it is one of the few countries in Europe to have an independent beer tradition in which breweries do not simply brew beers in styles developed elsewhere. Traditional farmhouse brewing has survived into the present day in Lithuania, and during Soviet times such brewing started to be expanded to a larger scale. After Lithuanian independence was gained, the brewing process gathered speed, and soon there were more than 200 breweries in the country. Many of these have since gone out of business, but Lithuania still has about 80 breweries, of which perhaps 60-70 produce beers in styles unknown in the rest of the world. Some of these are very close to the traditional brews made by farmers, while others have developed out of that tradition as a consequence of the growth of the traditional brewers into reasonably large regional breweries. Farmhouse brewing survived to a greater extent in Lithuania than anywhere else, and through accidents of history, the Lithuanians then developed a commercial brewing culture from their unique farmhouse traditions. Lithuania was ranked in the top 5 by consumption of beer per capita in Europe in 2015, with 75 active breweries, 32 of which are microbreweries. The microbrewery scene in Lithuania has been growing in later years, with a number of bars focusing on these beers popping up in Vilnius and also in other parts of the country. Local beers have started to attract international attention after beer bloggers discovered the country, inspiring a major feature article in Beer Connoisseur magazine, prompting the New York Times to list Lithuania as one of the 42 places to visit in 2013 on the strength of the village beers. Beer routes are organized through the main breweries in northern Lithuania. The biggest commercial breweries are located in towns
Utena Utena () is a city in north-east Lithuania. It is the administrative center of Utena district and Utena County. Utena is one of the oldest settlements of Lithuania. The name of the city is most probably derived from a hydronym. The name of the s ...
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Utenos alus The Utenos Alus Brewery is a Lithuanian brewery headquartered in Utena, Lithuania. The Brewery is based near the Aukštaitija National Park. It is currently considered one of the Carlsberg Group breweries in Europe. In addition to making beer ...
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Panevėžys Panevėžys (; Latin: ''Panevezen''; pl, Poniewież; yi, פּאָנעװעזש, ''Ponevezh''; see also other names) is the fifth largest city in Lithuania. As of 2011, it occupied with 113,653 inhabitants. As defined by Eurostat, the population ...
('' Kalnapilis''),
Klaipėda Klaipėda (; ; german: Memel; pl, Kłajpeda; russian: Клайпеда; sgs, Klaipieda) is a city in Lithuania on the Baltic Sea coast. The capital of the eponymous county, it is the third largest city and the only major seaport in Lithuania ...
('' Švyturys''), Kaunas (''
Volfas Engelman Volfas Engelman is an alcoholic beverages manufacturer in Kaunas, Lithuania. The establishment of brewery Volfas Engelman dates back to the 19th century. Today the brewery produces beer, cider, alcoholic mixed drinks, kvass and energy drink ...
''),
Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...
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Tauras Tauras is a Lithuanian brewery, established in Vilnius in 1860. Tauras was taken over by Royal Unibrew in 2001. It is a part of Kalnapilis-Tauras Group. History The original brewery was founded in 1860 in Vilna, then in the Russian Empire. ...
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Šiauliai Šiauliai (; bat-smg, Šiaulē; german: Schaulen, ) is the fourth largest city in Lithuania, with a population of 107,086. From 1994 to 2010 it was the capital of Šiauliai County. Names Šiauliai is referred to by various names in different la ...
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Gubernija Gubernija is a brewery in Lithuania. It is one of the oldest businesses in the world, having been founded in 1665. Gubernija is listed on the NASDAQ OMX Vilnius stock exchange. Unlike other Lithuanian breweries, Gubernija has its own pubs. Gub ...
''). Small and popular breweries are: '' Dundulis in
Panevėžys Panevėžys (; Latin: ''Panevezen''; pl, Poniewież; yi, פּאָנעװעזש, ''Ponevezh''; see also other names) is the fifth largest city in Lithuania. As of 2011, it occupied with 113,653 inhabitants. As defined by Eurostat, the population ...
, '' Sakiškių alus'' in Sakiškių village, '' Genys brewing'' in Kaunas, '' Jovarų alus'' in
Pakruojis Pakruojis () is a city in Lithuania. It is situated on the Kruoja River, which has a dam above the city. Forty three buildings of the manor, mentioned in 1531 still survive. History Pakruojis and it neighbourhood are within the boundaries of the ...
, '' Joalda'' in
Joniškėlis Joniškėlis () is a city in the Pasvalys district municipality, Lithuania. It is located west of Pasvalys. In the north of the road 150 (Siauliai-Pakruojis-Pasvalys). Name Versions of the city's name in other languages include Polish: ''Joha ...
and many others. Two beer festivals yearly taking place in Lithuania - The Beer Fair “Žmogšala” in March and ''Vilniaus alaus festivalis'' (''Vilnius Beer Fest - VAF'') in November.


References

{{Beers of the world Lithuanian cuisine