Volfas Engelman

The current brand name dates to 1927, when the I. B. Volfas and Engelman breweries merged. Today Volfas Engelman is the second largest brewery in Lithuania, operating under the Finnish Olvi Group, which acquired a majority stake in 1999.

The brewery introduced its first alcohol-free beer in 2015, and the range has since grown into one of the broader AF portfolios from the Baltic region. Alcohol is removed using a dialysis-based membrane filtration process, a method in which alcohol is drawn out of the finished beer through a semi-permeable membrane rather than through heat-based processing. The brewery documents this as central to preserving the character of the base beer. The alcohol-free portfolio now spans 0% lager, fruit-flavoured beers, a pear cider under the Fizz sub-brand, and a set of 0% Radler variants across several fruit and flavour profiles. That breadth makes Volfas Engelman relatively unusual among brewers of similar scale, most of which have kept their alcohol-free output to a single lager format.

The brewery also operates a Studio facility used for experimental and small-batch brewing, which feeds new product development across both alcoholic and alcohol-free lines. Volfas Engelman was the first Lithuanian brewery to fill beer into 1-pint (568 ml) cans, introducing the format in 2011 with a distinctive gold foil hygiene cover.

Distribution of the alcohol-free range is primarily through the Lithuanian domestic market, with the Olvi Group's Baltic and Nordic network providing regional reach. Sober-curious drinkers looking for variety beyond a standard 0% lager will find the Radler and fruit beer formats a practical point of difference.