Volfas Engelman

Lithuania

Volfas Engelman is one of Lithuania's oldest breweries, with roots going back to 1853 when Rafailas Volfas established a brewery in Vilijampolė, a suburb of Kaunas. The business expanded through the late 19th century when the Volfas family acquired a neighbouring operation run by Ferdinand Engelman, and the two were formally merged in 1927 into one of the most significant brewing concerns in the Baltic region. At its peak, the consolidated company held roughly 40% of the Lithuanian beer market and was winning international medals for quality.

The Soviet occupation interrupted that story abruptly. The brewery was nationalised and operated under a string of renamed guises until Lithuanian independence opened the door to privatisation in 1994. Finnish drinks group Olvi took a controlling stake in 1999 and has since invested heavily in modernisation. The Volfas Engelman name itself was only restored in 2011, reclaiming a heritage that had spent decades buried under Soviet-era rebranding. It is now the second-largest brewery in Lithuania.

Their alcohol-free range is more varied than you might expect from a mainstream Eastern European brewer. The non-alcoholic Kriek Cherry is the product most visible in UK markets: a 0.0% cherry beer that sits closer to the Belgian-inspired fruit beer tradition than the lagers that fill most of the AF shelf. Beyond that, the range includes a non-alcoholic lager, an ICE variant, a non-alcoholic pear cider under the FIZZ name, and four Radler 0% flavours covering raspberry, peach, mojito, and an energy-taste option.

UK availability is limited to specialist online retailers and wholesale channels. The Kriek in particular is worth tracking down if you want something genuinely different from the standard pale lager.

At a Glance