Viržinis – heather ale

Although the frost has already been biting at night and the trees are almost undressed by the Fall wind, the Dundulis brewers do not intend spreading their wings for migration due South, not to mention about zero intention to hibernate either. On the contrary, we’re pleased to present a novelty turned tradition – the Viržinis beer.

Heather is a reddish flowering shrub that is common and widely spread in Lithuania. Its flowers secret a fragrant nectar that has been collected not only by bees or bumblebees but also… by brewers! Thus, the Heather beer has been known for thousands of years – archaeologists have found traces of heather in one of the oldest fermented drink vessels, dating back to 2,000 BC. This beer has long been shrouded in legends and it has been mentioned in Scandinavian sagas. The Scottish myth says that King of the brave Picts once captured, rather sacrificed his son and his own life in order to conceal the secret recipe of the legendary and allegedly empowering heather ale. Eager with curiosity and determined just to unlock the taste of this mysterious plant, we give you our version of heather ale that is based on the scholar research of the surviving recipes.