Lithuanian beer wins gold

  • 2001-12-13
  • Tassos Coulalolgou, VILNIUS
Described as "very fresh and squeaky clean" by judges, Lithuanian-made Ekstra beer was awarded a gold medal at the World Beer Championship.

Lithuanian beer producer Svyturys learned on Nov. 29 it had won the gold for best beer in the Dortmunder lager category at the Chicago Beverage Tasting Institute's World Beer Championship.

It was the first time Svyturys had entered the event, which takes place every two years.

The beer that won Svyturys gold and scored some of the highest marks for any beer in years was its Ekstra brew, which has been in production for six years and has taken the Lithuanian market by storm.

The Chicago Beverage Tasting Institute described Svyturys thus: "Very fresh and squeaky clean pale malt flavors come through on a medium-bodied palate with tangy, generous hop flavors coming through on the finish."

The person responsible for Ekstra's success is Dzuljeta Armoniene, who after 20 years with the company has created the recipes for five of the six Svyturys beers currently on the market.

The latest award comes in addition to the silver medal awarded to Svyturys Ekstra at the World Beer Cup in New York last year.

"This is a good indicator of the quality of this beer and our deep commitment to it," said Svyturys spokeswoman Rita Mikailiene. "Our customers value quality over anything else."

Svyturys, which is majority owned by Danish brewer Carlsberg, currently has no plans to enter other markets. "We're producing at maximum capacity just meeting demand in Lithuania. Plans for expansion may be a little further down the road," said Mikailiene.