Cēsu Alus is a brewery

Brewery

A brewery is a dedicated building for the making of beer, though beer can be made at home, and has been for much of beer's history. A company which makes beer is called either a brewery or a brewing company....

 and alcohol beverage producer in Cēsis

Cesis

Cēsis , is a town in Latvia located in the northern part of the Central Vidzeme Upland. Cēsis is on the Gauja River valley, and is built on a series of ridges above the river overlooking the woods below...

, Latvia

Latvia

Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...

. As the roots of the brewery dates back in 1590, Cēsu Alus is considered to be the oldest brewery in Baltic

Baltic countries

The term Baltic states refers to the Baltic territories which gained independence from the Russian Empire in the wake of World War I: primarily the contiguous trio of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania ; Finland also fell within the scope of the term after initially gaining independence in the 1920s.The...

 and Nordic countries

Nordic countries

The Nordic countries make up a region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic which consists of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden and their associated territories, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland...

.

History

In 1590 brewing of beer is referred for the first time in the Cēsis Castle audit. The first brewery was located in the castle itself. In the first half of 17th century the brewery was relocated to the third forecastle. In 1878 the historic brewery buildings were built and the brewery was established in the ownership of count Emanuel Sievers. In 1922 several entrepreneurs from Cēsis repurchased the brewery from Sievers and established the joint stock company Augļu dārzs (Fruit Garden). In 1940 SC Augļu dārzs was nationalised. In 1976 Industrial beer producer Cēsu Alus was established which also incorporated breweries in Naukšēni

Naukšēni

Naukšēni is a village in Naukšēni municipality, Latvia, and the centre of Naukšēni parish....

 and Gulbene

Gulbene

Gulbene and the surrounding Gulbene municipality are located in North-eastern Latvia and adjoin the Alūksne, Balvi, Madona, Cēsis and Valka regions....

. In 1995 Cēsu Alus was privatised and once again became a joint stock company. In 1999 Cēsu Alus was bought by the Finnish beer and non-alcoholic drinks producer Olvi

Olvi

Olvi is a Finnish brewery and soft drinks company founded in 1878. It currently holds 18.7% of Finland's market share in beverages, making it the largest Finnish-owned business in its sector. Its subsidiary, A. Le Coq, is the second largest beverage company in Estonia...

. On July 2001 the new brewery plant was opened in Cēsis with a filling capacity of 20 million litres of beer. In 2003 Cēsu Alus became the second largest beer producer in Latvia.