Welcome to Lithuanian Amber LLC,  Importers of the finest beer, vodka and champaigne from Lithuania

Imported from the  oldest brewery in Lithuania.  NOW available in Texas! The World Cup Award Winner of Beers will always have the traditional Lithuanian taste. ( pronounced chevy-TOUR-ees extra)

Švyturys beer brewery, established in 1784, is the oldest in Lithuania. From the very first days it has been a success. The first medal – a prize for beer quality and taste – was received by Švyturys beer makers as early as 1883. The most prestigious ones are the gold given to Švyturio Ekstra in 2001 at the World Beer Championship (Dortmunder category) and the silver given in 2000 at the World Beer Cup (USA) (Dortmunder/European Export category) as well as the bronze medal of the World Beer Cup (USA, Aspen) of 2002 won by Švyturio Baltijos (Marzen/Octoberfest category).

Now Švyturio beer is deemed to be not only the best Lithuanian beer (96% of respondents, AC Nielsen survey) but also the best product of Lithuania (83% of respondents, AC Nielsen survey).The Oldest in Lithuania.

The year 1784 was very important in Klaipėda. Klaipėda residents were fed up with bringing German beer from Tilžė and they decided to start making one of their own. One that would be the pride of the whole coast. One that would be a treat for merchants coming from far away and that would help to make better deals.

The History of Svyturys

From 1784 to the Present Day

About the Brewery

Švyturys beer brewery, established in 1784, is the oldest in Lithuania. From the very first days it has been a success. The first medal – a prize for beer quality and taste – was received by Švyturys beer makers as early as 1883. The most prestigious ones are the gold given to Švyturio Ekstra in 2001 at the World Beer Championship (Dortmunder category) and the silver given in 2000 at the World Beer Cup (USA) (Dortmunder/European Export category) as well as the bronze medal of the World Beer Cup (USA, Aspen) of 2002 won by Švyturio Baltijos (Marzen/Octoberfest category).

Now Švyturio beer is deemed to be not only the best Lithuanian beer (96% of respondents, AC Nielsen survey) but also the best product of Lithuania (83% of respondents, AC Nielsen survey).The Oldest in Lithuania.

The year 1784 was very important in Klaipėda. Klaipėda residents were fed up with bringing German beer from Tilžė and they decided to start making one of their own. One that would be the pride of the whole coast. One that would be a treat for merchants coming from far away and that would help to make better deals.

The business was taken up by a real patriot of the coast, the Klaipėda merchant J.W.Reincke. The symbol of courageous navigation decorating the emblem of his family – the sea eagle – also decorated the badge of the new beer brewery and has remained the symbol of Švyturys until the present day.

Encouraged by the first huge success of the brewery, others started emerging one after another along the coast. However their beer could not compete with the one made at J.W.Reincke’s brewery. Perhaps only one other brewer on the coast, Theodor Preuss, could compete with it in terms of taste and quality. One day both men sat down with a glass of beer and decided to work together. After the merger of the two companies, the new beer brewery became an unbeatable leader among the breweries on the coast.

The Golden Age of Švyturys

In 1946 the brewery, destroyed during the war, was rebuilt and production of Švyturys began again. At first it was only delivered in wooden casks to bars in the Klaipėda region. In 1950 the company was equipped with a bottling system which, given the growth of demand for Klaipėda beer, was constantly replaced with one of higher capacity.

In 1960 Švyturys specialists created the recipe for Baltijos beer. This beer became the leading beer produced by Švyturys. In 1973 the brewery was one of the first to start making pasteurised beer. In 1975 it brewed 2.76 million decalitres of beer.

After the restoration of independence in Lithuania Švyturys was reorganised into a public limited liability company. Almost all shares were held by the company staff who decided to use the profit received for restructuring the company. From 1995 Švyturys beer was provided in 30 l and 50 l barrels and soon became one of the most popular draught beers in bars and restaurants. In 1996 the most advanced filtering system of the time was installed.

First Carlsberg Investment in Eastern Europe

The great financial indicators of Švyturys Public Limited Liability Company and the popularity of the beer it was making encouraged foreign investors to take an interest in it. In the spring 1999 the major interest in the company was purchased by one of the world’s largest beer making companies – the Danish Carlsberg A/S.

Having regard to the achievements of the Lithuanian company, the investor did not change any activities or the beer of Švyturys and just shared its long experience, upgraded the company, increased production capacity and improved the qualifications of the staff. According to the President of Carlsberg Nils S. Andersen, this investment – the first investment by the concern in Eastern Europe – exceeded their expectations by far.

In December 2001 Švyturys and Utenos Alus beer breweries merged into Švyturys-Utenos Alus AB. In the spring of 2003 Švyturys-Utenos Alus AB was reorganised into Švyturys-Utenos Alus UAB.