Rinkuškių Porteris
Rinkuškiai

Tasty, nice smell, a little bit of an after taste on the alcohol. Nice price in NZ

568ml can. Appeared on my local market shelf recently so of course I just had to try it, being a fan of porter.
Warm brown colour, soft, fine head, gentle nose.
Very soft in the mouth without the bitterness of some Porters, slightly sweet on the palate but overall, immensely smooth and so easy to drink. Very nice. Have already bought another can...

August 2020: After a couple of repeats, I have decided that this is a little too sweet for me. I'd not rate it quite as highly now as I did in the first review.

Today is W, 13 Mai 2020 & I am in deep isolation during the COVID-19 crisis, giving me ample time to clear out my backlog. This one will CANtinue a few days of imports for The CANQuest (tm). This one came to me from local, in-person trader @tone77 .

From the CAN: "Lietuviško Kapitalo Alaus Darykla (Lithuanian Capital Brewery)"; "Rinkuškių Porteris (Rinkuškių Porter)"; "Brewed in Lithuania * Birža * Lietuva"; "Alk. 5.6% Tūrio (Alc. 5.6% By Vol.)"; "Brewed at Čygas & Kalkys General partnership enterprise"; "Čygo-Kalkio Tikroji Ūkinė Bendrija (TŪB) Rinkuškiai 1861 ( Čygo-Kalkis True Economic Community Rinkuškiai 1861)".

The tall 568-ml (19.206-fl. oz.) CAN came with a gold-foil overlay on its lid (!) which I gently removed & set aside as a CANiosity. That acCANplished, I CANtinued with a Crack! of the vent, followed by a slow, gentle C-Line into the awaiting glass. I was doing my best to avoid any messes, especially with that kind of volume being involved. The quickly-forming two-plus fingers of dense, foamy, deep-tan/light-brown head resembled a muffin top! 8=O Color was a deeply-hazy/lightly-cloudy Coppery-Brown (SRM = > 17, < 22). Nose caused me to look first at this site's Style Guide & then at BJCPDroid, just to refresh myself. Nose seemed rather odd, with notes of milk chocolate, caramel, treacle, anise, raisins, coffee & light smoke. As turned out, these are all the standards for the style! 8=O I used to drink the s**t out of Baltika #9 & smoke cigars with Stosh, the owner of the Bloomfield Bridge Tavern in PGH, but it has been a while since I had one in this style. Mouthfeel was thin-to-medium, not watery, but not terribly removed, either. The first tastes to emerge were the more sour-ish ones, including anise, treacle & even toffee. 8=O Slowly, the sweeter flavors of chocolate, raisins & caramel beCAN to emerge. It all added up to a really rich drink that was rather unexpected. The finish was rendered semi-dry by a roastiness of coffee & a light smokiness that simply lingered. Frankly, I was rather surprised & impressed by it. YMMV.

 

Poured from a 19.2oz. can. Has a dark chestnut color with a 1/2 inch head. Smell is of malts, dark breads, light cocoa. Taste is big on dark breads, light cocoa, smooth and easy drinking. Feels medium bodied in the mouth and overall is a solid beer that exceeded my expectations based on other beers I have had from this brewer.

19.2oz can poured into a tulip. Pours a dark brown with mahogany and auburn hues; nice fluffy light khaki head that falls leaving great thick retention and sticky lacing. The aromas are malt forward. Lots of caramel. Some toffee and cocoa. The flavors basically follow the nose. More caramel leading the way along with some more toffee. Lots of raisins along with some dark fruits. Some more subtle hints of cocoa and vanilla. This one definitely has a sweetness to it, but it's not cloying or over the top. Very strong malt backbone. Alcohol basically goes unnoticed. Mouthfeel is medium-bodied with moderate carbonation. It's very fluffy and smooth.

This is a pretty solid brew. It's pretty rich and drinks bigger than the 5.6% ABV might indicate. It's slightly rough around the edges, but it works. It might not be exactly what I've personally come to expect from the style, but it's still nice for what it is. It's pretty enjoyable and fun to drink. I like it.

 

 

Taste: semi sweet, dark bread, caramel malt, brown sugar smooth finish. Bread toasted malty nose. Mahogany/brown hue, clear, soapy head with a lattice of lace. Medium body.