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Viru Brewery was Estonia's third largest brewery, and produced the Wiru, Puls, Žiguli and various other brands. It was located in
/ref> In 1991, the collective brewery was formed into ''AS Viru Õlu'', and in 1992
/ref> The Haljala brewery was sold to a Finnish businessman, who leased it to the
Viron pienpanimoiden kärkeen kuuluva Tanker siirtyy tanskalaisen olutjätin omistukseen
''Viisi Tähteä'' 13 September 2021. Accessed on 28 November 2021.
Viru Brewery was Estonia's third largest brewery, and produced the Wiru, Puls, Žiguli and various other brands. It was located in Haljala
Haljala () is a Populated places in Estonia, small borough () in Lääne-Viru County, in northern Estonia. It is located about 10 km northwest of the town of Rakvere, by the Tallinn–Narva (Tallinn–Saint Petersburg) road (part of Europea ...
in Lääne-Viru County
Lääne-Viru County ( or ''Lääne-Virumaa'') is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It is in northern Estonia, on the south coast of the Gulf of Finland. In Estonian, ''lääne'' means western and ''ida'' means east or eastern. Lääne-Viru borders Id ...
. Production of beer was discontinued in 2020.
History
Viru Brewery grew out of one of the branches of the Viru collective farm, orkolkhoz
A kolkhoz ( rus, колхо́з, a=ru-kolkhoz.ogg, p=kɐlˈxos) was a form of collective farm in the Soviet Union. Kolkhozes existed along with state farms or sovkhoz. These were the two components of the socialized farm sector that began to eme ...
in 1975. Originally only Žiguli beer was produced, a pale lager
Lager (; ) is a Type of beer, style of beer brewed and Brewing#Conditioning, conditioned at low temperature. Lagers can be Pale lager, pale, Amber lager, amber, or Dark lager, dark. Pale lager is the most widely consumed and commercially availab ...
with minimum 2.8% abv
Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as alc/vol or ABV) is a common measure of the amount of alcohol contained in a given alcoholic beverage. It is defined as the volume the ethanol in the liquid would take if separated from the rest of the solution, ...
which was brewed throughout the Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
. During the first year, 640.000 litres of beer was produced, and in the following year more than five million litres of beer was made in Haljala.Harboes Bryggeri. ''Viru Õlu Brewery.''/ref> In 1991, the collective brewery was formed into ''AS Viru Õlu'', and in 1992
Harboes Bryggeri A/S
Harboe's Brewery () is a Danish brewery located in Skælskør, Denmark which was established in 1883. Harboes is an international beverage manufacturer with production facilities in three countries and business activities in more than 90 markets ...
of Denmark
Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
became the biggest shareholder. Production of Christmas beer, Bear Beer and soft drink
A soft drink (see #Terminology, § Terminology for other names) is a class of non-alcoholic drink, usually (but not necessarily) Carbonated water, carbonated, and typically including added Sweetness, sweetener. Flavors used to be Natural flav ...
s started in the 1990s. In 2008, Viru Brewery bought the "Puls" trademark of the former Pärnu Brewery.
In February 1997, a strong light beer Bear Beer (7.5%) was licensed from Harboes Bryggeri. Later, Bear Beer was produced with up to 10% alcohol content. In 2001, the Frederik brand was introduced. New beer varieties Frederik Premium and Frederik Pilsner, light alcoholic drink Shandy (2.5%) were launched.
Viru Brewery was a member of the Estonian Breweries Association (''Eesti Õlletootjate Liit'') which represents the interests of the larger Estonian breweries. In 2019 the company declared a net loss of 488,200 euros.
In July 2020, Harboe Group announced that beer production would be transferred from Haljala to other Harboe breweries in Germany and Denmark, following years of financial losses.ERR News. ''Viru Õlu to stop brewing in Haljala.''/ref> The Haljala brewery was sold to a Finnish businessman, who leased it to the
Pyynikin Brewing Company
Pyynikin Brewing Company () is a Finnish brewery located in Tampere. It has also distilling production.
Pyynikin Brewing Company was founded in late 2012 as a craft brewery and started producing beer in the following year. It has been expanding ...
of Tampere
Tampere is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Pirkanmaa. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Tampere is approximately , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately . It is the most populous mu ...
.Kähkönen, HeikkiViron pienpanimoiden kärkeen kuuluva Tanker siirtyy tanskalaisen olutjätin omistukseen
''Viisi Tähteä'' 13 September 2021. Accessed on 28 November 2021.
See also
*Beer in Estonia
Beer (Estonian: ''Õlu'') has been brewed in Estonia for over a thousand years. The first written reference to beer in what is now Estonia dates to 1284. In Estonian, beers are often described as ''hele'' (pale) or ''tume'' (dark).
Major brew ...
References
{{Reflist Beer in Estonia Food and drink companies of Estonia Breweries in Estonia