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People need beer just as they need bread. Lithuanians have been brewing beer since the 9th century. Many brewers in Aukstaitija, the northeastern part of Lithuania, have kept their recipes secret for ages. No wonder the capital of Aukstaitija, Utena, became the capital of Lithuanian beer. In 1974 a big modern brewery was started in Utena and the first production of beer and soft drinks was released in 1977.
We produce different brands of beer, from lager to dark, thick beer with taste of wine. Today the company produces 9 brands of beer. The most popular beers are Utenos, Porteris and Baltijos.
The annual production of beer is 650,000 hectolitres.
AB Utenos Gerimai has been co-operating with the Pepsi-Cola Company since 1982. We produce such soft drinks as Pepsi-Cola, Mirinda Lemo and Mirinda Orange according to the technology of the Pepsi-Cola company. The drinks Sodos Vanduo, Selteris and Tonika are popular thirst-quenchers that are produced according to local technology.
Recently, Utenos Gerimai has started the production of completely new drinks for the Lithuanian market, which are well-known in the West: 2 kinds of cold tea Persiku (peach flavour) and Citrinu (lemon flavour). The company's productive capacity of soft-drinks is 100,000 hectolitres per year.
Bottling department
A golden barley grain has to go through a long process before a white cap of foam appears in a glass of beer.
There are 4 bottling lines with a total capacity of 60,000 bottles per hour. All beer is pasteurized. Utenos alus was the first beer in Lithuania which appeared with 3 labels and foil wrapping on the top. This makes it more marketable.
Our company has a new fully-automated keg washing and filling line. The productivity of the line is 30-40 kegs per hour. Beer stays fresh for a long time in these kegs. Thanks to carbonic acid that is used while filling a keg, the beer keeps its taste and aroma. Utenos Gerimai sells 1000 hectolitres of such beer in Lithuanian bars and restaurants every month.
Our company has spacious buildings, large production areas and uses modern technologies which are applied by qualified specialists. But classical brewing technology is never forgotten.
Everyone is eager to treat himself to a drink from Utenos Gerimai after a busy, hot summer's day.
Malt production
Malt is the main raw material in the brewing process. A beer's colour, taste, stability and foam depend upon the quality of malt. Today the malt we use is produced from malt barley grown in Lithuania. Imported barley is used only in small quantities.
The capacity of the malt house in Utenos Gerimai is 13,500 tons of malt per year. Some of it we sell to the other Lithuanian breweries.
The brew-house
One of the main steps in the brewing process is the boiling of the beer wort. For one portion, i.e., 600 hectolitres of beer mash, we use 9 tons of malt.
There are 30 experienced workers in this department, and most of them brewed the first beer at Utenos Gerimai.
Utenos beer
In 1979 the company started production of a new brand of beer called Utenos alus (Utena beer) in order to make the town of Utena famous for its beer. This light beer has a pleasant malty taste with the bitterness of hops. Utenos beer contains 4.8% alcohol by volume.
The shelf-life for this beer is 180 days from the production date. Producting this beer we also use rice alongside with malt. According to national statistics, Utenos beer was the most popular in Lithuania in 1994.
Porteris
Brewers are used to saying: "a self-respecting brewer must be able to make dark beer". Such is our Porteris, a dark beer. This beer is dark and thick, with taste of wine. We make it from barley, hops and caramel malt.
In the international competition "Beer-95" held in Minsk, in 1995, Porteris beer was awarded the golden medal. Porteris contains 6.8% alcohol by volume. Its shelf-life is 180 days from the production date.
Tags: Beer
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