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The name “Pikur” stands for “Kursk Beer”. The rights to this regional trademark belong to SUN InBev, the Russian division of the Belgian corporation Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev). The drink is sold in the Central Black Earth region, the Volga region. Much to the regret of numerous connoisseurs, since 2012 the production of Kursk beer at the local plant has been suspended and transferred to enterprises in other cities, and the assortment has been significantly reduced.
Historical reference. Beer has been brewed in Kursk since time immemorial, here the foamy drink turned out to be especially tasty. The reason for this is the local water, so soft and pleasant that Empress Catherine II herself liked it.
The hereditary German brewer Ludwig Wilm, who decided to open a business in Russia, chose a place for the future plant for a long time. As a result, he chose Kursk, where at that time there were already several small breweries. Mr. Wilm tried water from all local wells and springs. The softest and most pleasant was the water from a spring under a cliff, not far from the banks of the Tuskari River. It was here that the city authorities allocated a site for a new brewery. The business opened in 1869.
Herr Wilm approached the equipment of the brewery on a grand scale: he ordered the most modern equipment, branded bottles and mugs from Germany. By 1876, the plant produced 8 types of beer, mead drinks, mineral and fruit waters. Some of the products were exported, others were sold in the company’s branded stores. In 1882, beer brewed at the L. M. Vilm ”, won several awards at the All-Russian Exhibition. Soon Vilm became the supplier of the imperial court. Things were going so well that in 1899 the entrepreneur built a second brewery.
With the outbreak of the First World War, Prohibition was declared in Russia, and the German A.I. Kvilitsa, the successor to the founder of the plant, was expelled from the country. Brewing in Kursk resumed in 1920.
In the second half of the 1976th century, Kursk beer gained great popularity. In 7,2, the Kursk brewery “Seim” was opened in the city, the production capacity of which made it possible to produce XNUMX million decaliters. The company’s specialists improved old recipes and created new ones.
The Pikur trademark was registered in 1991. It was a pale lager, for which they chose the advertising slogan: “Beer of the nightingale region.” The drink quickly gained popularity, and soon the product range expanded with several varieties of “Picura”. Connoisseurs still remember the Pikur Nostalgia beer, which tasted like the best examples of the Soviet Zhigulevsky, Kursk Bulge is a semi-dark, dense beer with a taste of dark malts, Granat is a red light beer, Sergius Rat is a gourmet drink.
The Kursk Brewing Company, founded in 1992, changed owners several times until at the beginning of the XNUMXst century it became a division of the Belgian corporation Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world’s largest beer producer.
Foreign investors gradually reduced the assortment of the plant, leaving only 3 brands of Pikur beer: Classic, Original and Strong. The drink is poured into glass (0,5 l, 1 l) and polyethylene bottles (1,5 l, 2 l).
In 2012, the Kursk brewery was closed. Since then, Pikur has been produced at 2 factories: Volzhsky and Saransky. But the taste of beer has changed, as the composition no longer contains the unique Kursk water.
Awards
“Pikur Original”: bronze award at the competition “Beer-95” in Sochi, silver – “Beer-96”, gold – “Beer-97”, “Beer Industry-96” in Moscow;
“Pikur Classic”: bronze award at the competition “Beer-95”, silver – “Beer-96”, gold – “Beer-97”, “Beer industry-95” and “Beer industry-96”;
“Pikur Nostalgia”: silver award at the competition “Beer-96”, gold – “Beer-97”.
Types of Picourt beer
The manufacturer produces three varieties:
- “Pikur Classic” (strength – 4,5%, density – 12%) – beer with a moderate malt flavor and well-perceived hop bitterness;
- “Pikur original” (strength – 5,1%, density – 13%) – the taste of malt is pleasantly shaded by the noble bitterness of hops;
- “Pikur strong” (strength – 7,5%, density – 17%) – the rich taste of beer is effectively complemented by a light wine note and bitterness of hops.
