York Times to list Lithuania as one of the 42 places to visit in 2013 on the strength of the village beers. Beer routes are organized through the main breweries in northern Lithuania. MidusMidus is said to be the most ancient Lithuanian alcoholic beverage; it is a variety of mead made from honey. Baltic people were making midus for thousands of years. One of the first mentionings of Balts and mead was by the 9th-century traveller Wulfstan of Hedeby, who visited Prussians. Old Lithuanian mead was made from a solution of honey and water simmered with various spices, such as thyme, lemon, cinnamon, cherries, linden blossoms, juniper berries, and hops. Oldest recipe of Lithuanian midus was recorded in a book by Olaus Magnus Historia de Gentibus Septentrionalibus, published in Rome in 1555. Midus was considered a drink of nobleman and gentry. Since 16th century midus started to compete with imported vine, but it was known and was still very popular in Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania. Today Midus is produced by several companies and is to be found in the majority of liquor shops. Craft mead producing is also becoming popular. Traditional Lithuanian midus Stakliškės, fermented up to 90 days has a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) label. Fruit and berry wines Fruit and berry wines being made in Lithuania by several companies. Industrial production of fruit and berry wines was started by Balys Karazija in 1926 in Anykščiai. His wines have won international awards in 1938. Initiatives of B.Karazija made a fruit wine a traditional drink in Lithuania. Currently blueberry, apple, apple ice wine, black currant, aronia, cherry wines being produced by smaller and bigger companies. OtherArbata (tea) - chamomile, rosehip, thyme and other herbal teas are popular as well as black tea if not more widespread. Many herbal infusions are used for medicinal purposes. Tea parties were popular in the interbellum Lithuania especially among high society.Gira (kvass) is a non-alcoholic beverage made by the natural fermentation of wheat, rye, or barley bread, sometimes flavoured with fruit, berries, raisins or birch sap; it is similar to Russian or Ukrainian kvass. Those brewed from rye bread and from caraway seed are popular and distributed in glass bottles. There is also a carbonated soft drink known as gira, which is distributed in plastic bottles, but it shares neither taste nor production technology with the original beverage. Sula (birch sap) is