Tag: Carlsburg

The Sign of Vytis

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The country badge for Lithuania, have 5 beers from the Baltic state to earn this badge. It levels up after every additional 5, all the way to level 100.

One of the highest per capita consumers of beer in Europe, Lithuania has a strong history of producing farmhouse style ales.

Carlsburg has a big presence in Lithuania, owning the Švyturys and Utenos Alus breweries. Another Danish brewery, Royal Unibrew, owns the major Tauras and Kalnapilis brands while the fifth major player, Volfas Engelman, is owned by Finnish brewers Olvi. The largest privately owned brewery is Rinkuškiai.

Budmo

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Have 5 beers from the Ukraine to gain the Budmo badge. Of course, it levels every 5 all the way to level 100.

Three companies dominate the Ukrainian market, locally owned Obolon, Anheuser-Busch InBev’s Chernihivske and Carlsburg’s Lvivske.

Lagers and Pilsners dominate the market and the cost of beer is cheap, about $1 USD per 500ml.

Here Come the Vikings!

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The country badge for Norway. Have 5 Norwegian beers to earn this badge.Vikings

Like in many countries, the beer market in Norway is dominated by only two main players. The international Carlsburg group and the local Hansa Borg Bryggerier.

Any beer that is above 4.75% ABV can only be sold through the state owned liquor stores, which means many international brands produce a lower percentage version of their flagship beers for sale in Norwegian supermarkets.

Norway arrived relatively late to the craft beer movement but already has several notable breweries. Look out for Ægir Bryggeri, Kinn Bryggeri or Lervig Aktiebryggeri.

Danish Delight

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Have 5 beers from Denmark to earn the Danish Delight badge. It levels up to level 100 (that’s 500 beers) and features lego inspired badge art.Danish

The beer industry in Denmark is dominated by the Carlsburg and Tuborg brands. The Carlsburg Group acquired Tuborg in 1970 and has had a virtual monopoly in the market since.

Carlsburg’s dominance was founded on its yeast research and the brewery even had a strain of yeast named after it, Saccharomyces carlsbergensis.

However, like all Scandinavian countries, Denmark has a number of craft breweries that are definitely worth seeking out. Look for names such as To Øl or Mikkeller to get you started.

Pole Position

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The country badge for Poland. Have 5 Polish beers to claim level 1.Pole

The beer industry in Poland was nationalised under their Communist government. Since the fall of Communism three companies control 80% of the market: Żywiec, Okocim and Kompania Piwowarska (the maker of Tyskie and Lech). They are owned by Heineken, Carlsburg and Asahi respectively.

Poland also has its own traditional style of beer, the Grätzer or Grodziskie. Known as Polish Champagne due to its high carbonation and its use at special occasions, a Grätzer is low on alcohol and bitterness with an extremely strong smokey flavour. Personally, I don’t really like the style but it might be right up your alley, so give it a go!

La Crème de la Creme

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The country badge for France. Have 5 French beers for this one.

While not especially known for their beer, France does have some well established breweries and even its own styles.LaCremedelaCreme

The Kronenbourg brewery was founded in 1664 in Strasbourg, an area of Europe that has frequently been passed between France and Germany. The brewery is now owned by Carlsburg and is known for its “1664” lager. Heineken also has a strong presence in France and owns the Fischer, Pelforth, Edelweiss and Desperados brands.

Bière de Garde (or beer for keeping) is a strong, farmhouse style of beer brewed in the North East of France. It has some similarities with the Saisons from neighbouring Belgium. The most famous example of the style is 3 Monts.

Other French styles include their own style of festival/March beer (Bière de Mars), their Christmas beer (Bière de Noël) and a malty Vienna lager brewed in Corsica (Pietra beer).

Swedish Brews

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The country badge for Sweden. Have 5 Swedish beers for level 1. It levels up to 100.

swedish

Like in many country’s, during the 20th century the brewing industry consolidated, leaving Sweden with two main breweries: Carlsburg Sverige (who now own the Pripps and Falcon brands) and Spendrups (the producer of Norrlands Guld).

In Sweden only beer with an ABV of 3.5 or less can be sold in supermarkets, which means many international lager brands have a 3.5% version in Sweden. Stronger beers can only be sold in pubs or in the state owned bottle stores.

Sweden now has an active craft beer scene which includes breweries like Brekeriet, Beerbliotek, Dugges, Omnipollo and Poppels.

Crisp as Day

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The badge for Pilsners. Have 5 to earn this badge.

Pilsners are named after the Czech town of Plzen, which is where the style started. This is where the lager yeast and storage techniques were first combined with pale ale techniques to create the style of golden lager that is today widespread.pilsner

Technically pilsner is a type of lager, however for Untappd’s purposes they are two separate styles. Therefore many beers that could claim to be pilsners are instead categorised as “Lager – Euro” or another variation of lager.

Famous brands that are recognised as pilsners include the original, Pilsner Urquell (now owned by Asahi), and its state-owned rival Budweiser Budvar, as well as Becks (Anheuser-Busch InBev), Groschl (Asahi again) and Tuborg (Carlsburg).

Untappd recognises six styles of pilsner: Czech / Bohemian, German, Italian, New Zealand, Imperial/Double, and Other.

Tovarisch!

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The country badge for Russia. Have 5 to get level 1.

Oddly beer was only classified as alcoholic in 2011. Before then anything under 10% was considered as just food.russia

Russia is associated with Russian Imperial Stouts, however that style originated in England and was designed to be shipped to Russia, rather than being a Russian invention.

The beer market in Russia is dominated by the Baltika brewery. It is second largest brewery in Europe, taking up more land than Vatican City, and is now owned by Carlsburg.

The Backpacker

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This is a regional badge covering all of South East Asia: Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, The Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia, East Timor, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Brunei and, somewhat surprisingly, Taiwan.Backpacker

Each of these countries has its own generic lager, with the most widely known being Singapore’s Tiger beer (owned by Heineken). Others include Thailand’s Singha and Chang, The Philippines’ San Miguel Pale Pilsen (Kirin), Indonesia’s Bintang (Heinekin), Vietnam’s Saigon and Hanoi, Cambodia’s Ankor (Carlsberg), Laos’ Beerlao lager (also Carlsberg) and the ROC’s Taiwan Beer.

Fun Fact: Taiwan Beer sponsor a basketball team (called the Taiwan Beer) in their national basketball league.

There is also a slowly growing craft movement with a notable mention going to the Pasteur Street Brewing Company in Vietnam. Craft beer faces significant challenges in the region, both because of the dominant Muslim religion in countries like Malaysia and Indonesia and a ban on breweries that produce less than 10 million liters a year in Thailand.