Baltika Breweries .

Baltika Brewery began production in 1990. The majority of the company's shares (85%) are owned by Baltic Beverages Holding (BBH), which is a subsidiary of Carlsberg Group.

Baltika has 18 breweries, ten of which are located in Russia, 2 in Saint Petersburg, Khabarovsk, Tula, Rostov-na-Donu, Samara, Yaroslavl, Voronezh, Chelyabinsk and Krasnoyarsk. Their combined output totals 24 million hectoliteres per year. Along with the Baltika plants, the BBH consortium operates ten smaller breweries producing its Yarpivo, Pikra and Vena brands.

Baltika produce a range of beers under the Baltika, Arsenalnoe and Leningradskoe brand names.

Baltika beers are marketed in 38 countries and earned the company 207 million dollars in profit in 2004. Baltika (Балтика) beers are especially popular in Russia and the CIS. Their popularity in Britain is on the rise.

Varieties:

* Baltika No. 0 is a non-alcoholic beer made from light barley malt.

* Baltika 1 (Light) at 4.4% abv, is characterized by "light colour and...malt and hops taste."

* Baltika 2 (Pale Beer) is a lager brewed from pale barley malt, rice, and "exclusive varieties of hops."

* Baltika 3 is a 5.1% pale lager. This is also known as Klassicheskoe (Classic).

* Baltika 4 is a 5.6% amber coloured lager brewed from caramel and rye malts. Such coloured lagers are often termed Vienna. This is also known as Originalnoe (Original).

* Baltika 5 (Gold Beer) is a 5.0% lager brewed with both pale and caramel malts.

* Baltika 6 is a bottom fermented 7% dark beer that the brewery classes as a porter "brewed according to traditional English recipes." Such strong dark lagers are often termed Baltic porters.

* Baltika 7 (Export Beer) is a 5.4 % pale lager

* Baltika 8 (Pshenichnoe) is an unfiltered wheat ale (Alc. 5,0% vol.).

* Baltika 9 (Krepkoe) is a strong lager (8-10% alcohol).

* Baltika 10 (Jubilee) is a 5.2% alcohol beer.