Brewing in Lithuania is not only one of the oldest, but also a craft with a respectable reputation and considerable economic value. In celebration of long-standing traditions, brewing culture days are organized throughout Lithuania every year. This year, this celebration will take place for the second time in the Paupios district of Vilnius, and it will be held on September 3. historian and guide Tomas Grėlis will lead sightseeing tours of the old bravuras of Vilnius. During them, they will tell you what signs the old brewers left in the city and where the most visited breweries were located.
Over the years, both brewers and brewers have changed in Vilnius. In the tsarist empire, the system of measurement was different from today - length was measured in rods and valvas, weight in pouds, and liquids in basses and buckets. The bucket was equal to about 12 liters. The production volumes of breweries were also measured in buckets.
"According to the available data, in 1887 the three largest factories in Vilnius produced about 5 liters of beer per year. The first, Wilhelm Chopin's brewery, produced about 000 thousand buckets of beer a year, the second, Ilja Lipski's - about 000 thousand, and the third, Mordechai Epstein's - about 176 thousand. After converting the buckets into liters, these are really considerable numbers", says T. Grėlis.
According to him, in tsarist Russia, the laws of brewing and selling beer were liberalized - almost everyone could sell it, so in 1912 More than 200 pubs operated in Vilnius. Meanwhile, only slightly more than 200 people lived in the city. population. So it can be said that one pub per thousand inhabitants, including babies, and even about 000 liters of beer per Vilnius resident.
For comparison, 12 liters of beer per inhabitant is currently produced throughout Lithuania. So in the XNUMXth and XNUMXth centuries. Beer consumption was extremely high in Vilnius. This did not add security to the city - there were often riots, arguments, and fights in pubs, so the townspeople had to choose restaurants or cafes to sit in peace.
The most important brewers of Vilnius and their traces
Today, in the center of Vilnius, near Lukiškiu Square, there is still Aludarių Street, dedicated to remembering the old Wilhelm Chopin beer brewery founded in 1860, which later became famous under the name "Tauro". From the XNUMXth century - XNUMXth century Ave. many signs of brewing have remained in Vilnius, but we should talk not only about brewers, but also about industrial brewers who engaged in mass production of beer.
Brewing is called one of the oldest crafts in Lithuania for a reason - only goldsmiths, blacksmiths and tanners' workshops are older than maltsters in Lithuania. Back in the days of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (LDK), every Lithuanian resident had the right to brew beer for his own needs, and the industrial breweries in the current territory of Lithuania were located in the big cities - Šiauliai, Klaipėda, Beautiful, in Panevėžys and Vilnius. They became the forerunners of many of today's members of the brewers' guild, and other historical breweries also operated in the town of Prien and Raudondvaris manor near Vilnius. Traces of the capital's three great industrial brewers - Mordechai Epstein, Ilya Lipsky and Wilhelm Chopin - can still be found here today.
"Mordechai Epstein is probably the least known name, but he was probably the most important and largest brewer. The latter bought V. Chopin's factory and left only its name. The most prominent object still standing in Vilnius, related to this person, are the remains of a brewery built at the beginning of the Markučiai district, on Subačiaus street. Although administrative and residential buildings have now been erected in this place, it is possible to discover the chimney of a malt house with several authentic structures", says T. Grėlis.
According to him, we can currently only find the name of the second industrialist I. Lipskis in Vilnius - it is Lipskis's alehouse, which operates in "Paupio Turge". It is interesting that the "Paupio market" was built on the site of the former Lipski beer factory, of which there was no trace left long before the construction began, although in the tsarist times it was probably the largest and most important building in Paupio - then in the area of Paplauja or Paplavai. It is because of this historical fact that the ale operating here is named after Lipski.
"Most of the relics we can find in Vilnius are related to V. Chopin's name. In 1863, Russian merchant A. Karasikas, in the then Lukiškių part of Vilnius, on the current Aludarių street. built a brewery, later sold it to businessman V. Chopin and thus the famous Chopin Brewery appeared, whose buildings can still be visited today.
V. Chopin is immortalized in one more place, because his other activity was buying and reselling land in Vilnius. So, during his possessions in the XNUMXth century. a. help a street was built near the railway of the station, which was named after V. Chopin. Therefore, it may be news to some Vilnius residents that the street that connects the railway station and Kaunas Street is not named in honor of the famous Polish composer, but in honor of the famous Vilnius brewer," says the historian.
Urban habits and brewing culture today
"It is also interesting that during the rule of the Russian Empire women were forbidden to drink beer. However, a little later, in one of the issues of the Vilnius daily "Kraj" from 1901, it was announced that the people of Vilnius did not like to sip tea, they were slow to visit teahouses and much preferred to choose beer, which was abundantly poured in local pubs. "The life of brewers improved even more during the First World War, when the imperial German government allowed beer to be sold in sugar shops and even flower shops," says T. Grėlis.
It is true that today brewing is already living a different life, next to traditions there are many new and innovative flavors and modern production technologies. On September 3, during the Brewing Culture Day, one of the event's organizers - members of the Association of Independent Small Beer Producers (NMAGA), and Lipskis alinė - will present their products at "Paupio Turge". Nowadays, the latter does not count buckets at all, but different types of beer - there are always more than 170 of them here.
"We are glad to be able to continue the tradition and introduce the townspeople and guests to not only the long-standing traditions, but also to the newly created flavors. During the festival, as many as 9 brewers' stands will be open in the market, there will be a competition for the most beautiful label, there will be a commotion not only with people, but also with the sounds of music and a non-alcoholic beer "Beer pong" tournament, during which participants will be able to win a prize. As always, there will be no shortage of food from various corners of the world, which will help you get to know traditional or discover new tastes better," says Rūta Chadasevičiūtė, the organizer of the event and head of "Paupio turgaus".
