Initially, the term “Zhigulevskoe beer” was used to refer not to a specific variety, but to all products of the Zhiguli brewery in Samara, founded by an Austrian entrepreneur in 1881. The very same legendary drink in those days was called “Viennese beer”. At the end of the 80th century, no one imagined that a few decades later this variety would account for XNUMX% of all beer consumption in the USSR.
The very word “Zhiguli” means a mountain range on the banks of the Volga near Samara. As for the etymology of the name, the “Zhiguli” mountains began to be called only after the geographical reform of Catherine II, before that they were Shelekhmetsky or Maiden, and the name was borrowed from the small village of Zhiguli. But the name of the village was probably given by one of the inhabitants, nicknamed Zhegulya – that is, “a dark-haired, cunning, fidgety person.”
The original “Zhigulevskoe” was less bitter than modern light varieties. There were no caramel or fruit tones in the bouquet, rather, the taste of “Viennese” (and then “Zhigulevskoye”) was saturated with aromas of hops and malt.
In 1938, a unified GOST was introduced for the production of Zhigulevsky, so despite the fact that the famous beer was produced at more than 700 enterprises, the taste remained unchanged. The technology involved the use of four main components: water, barley malt, barley and hops (175-200 g per 1 hl of beer), however, a small (up to 15%) content of unmalted additives was allowed: corn, wheat, rice chaff. According to the standards of that time, the density of the wort had to be at least 11%, and the strength of the finished drink – at least 2.8%. The result was a light, bottom-fermented beer.
In Russia and the CIS countries, there are many Zhiguli, but often these varieties have nothing in common except for the name with the classic recipe. The strength of this beer easily varies from 3 to 7.2 degrees, and the density of the wort – from 8 to 16%. Any craft (home) brewer has the right to invent a new variety, add even such exotic ingredients as blackcurrant, petunia and fennel, and call the result of the experiment “Zhigulevskiy”. Due to the lack of standardization and one owner, the brand is gradually “degenerating”.
More about the history of Zhiguli beer https://alcofan.com/istoriya-zhigulevskogo-piva.html