Varniukų
Davra

 

33.8oz/1 liter bottle. Swing top. Sealing strip has '2024' on it.
Deep brown colored body, clear for clarity. Off white head is long lasting. Leaves behind fine lacing webs.
Aroma of lightly roasted caramel malts and a note of stone fruit.
Taste is caramel malt and plum. Accents of honey and cherry. Aftertaste tails off quickly.
Medium mouthfeel, with a soft and light texture. Bitterness is low. Very good carbonation.
Good blend of caramel malts and stone fruit.

A - Pours a largely opaque brown-black, with a short off white head, no lacing to speak of.

S - Malty goodness at the core, with a honey aspect and grassy tea note. Inviting.

T - The nose, but more, with a big, slightly doughy malt core, honey in the front through middle, and tannic tea notes in a softly bitter finish.

M - A bit sticky out front, moderate carbonation, but ultimately fairly light feel, with just enough dryness in the close to keep things clean.

O - Solid for what it is, with good, well-articulated maltiness, hop accents, and a satisfying snap. Oh, and love the bottle. I'd pick this one up again.

1 Liter stopper bottle, 5.2% ABV, no date I can find but tastes fresh.
Not very dark body, transparent dark amber when held up the light Nice tall head that hangs on for awhile leaving some lacing.
Taste: this one has to warm up some to bring out the full flavor. Caramel, slightly roasted brown sugar, a little cherry, micro hints of chocolate and dark fruit. Sweet but not cloying, smooth. Solid beer.

 

 

 

On-draught @ Snekutis in Vilnius. 2 euro / pint.

Caramel and brown malts glue this one together, with a downplayed carbonation giving it a mellow albeit flat feel on the palate. Treacley amber malt syrup, ginger snaps, faint muted vanilla, prune juice, stonefruit, bread dough.
It's balanced, though the mouthfeel presents the flavours quite plainly, leaving no room for any subtlety, nuance, or flourish. Very clean and straightforward, with an oddly slickly smooth feel. Medium-bodied and more filling than it should be.

A more estery ale yeast profile would be more welcome than the clean sterile lager yeast vibe this puts out - which is hardly what you want when drinking a would-be (should-be?) rustic country beer.

No complaints about the price, but it's not much more than a plain drinkable tmavy, and discerning drinkers will find it largely unremarkable.

C / AVERAGE

***
Review from notes taken in Summer 2014:

.5L brown bottle with a swingtop and standout label art purchased in a Lithuanian bar and served into a stem-tulip.

5.60% ABV. Best before: 2014/08/21.

No bubble show forms as it's poured.

HEAD: None. No lacing.

BODY: Dark translucent copper colour of average vibrance. Clean; no yeast or sediment is visible within.

Appears undercarbonated, but looks decent overall.

AROMA: Honey, helles malt sweetness, and some very mild floral hop character is all I detect.

A pleasant aroma of moderate strength, suggesting a simple honey-dominant flavour.

No yeast, alcohol, or off-notes are detectable.

TASTE: Honey dominates. There're some nectary and floral hop notes but they fail to balance the sweetness of the malts. It comes off rather simple, and a bit nectary. Plain, if not pedestrian.

Shallow, lacking subtlety and intricacy. Cohesive enough in its build, but it doesn't feel like a gestalt harmonious whole of a brew. Imbalanced, with honey dominating at the expense of the less prominent flavours.

MOUTHFEEL: Smooth, wet, undercarbonated, medium-bodied, a bit too thick and hefty. Sticky. Doesn't suit the taste all that well.

OVERALL: A middle-of-the-road honey beer with nothing to offer the discerning drinker. I wouldn't get it regularly and finishing the bottle will take some effort. There are far better beers in the style available in Lithuania.

Low C- / BELOW AVERAGE

 

 

Suggested by the bartender at one of the Snekutis bars in Vilnius, when I asked for example of Lithuanian "country" beers. I'm still grateful as this was a memorable offering out of the unique brews of the country sampled in September (but the notes were as recorded at the time). In a straight-sided glass jug, it appeared cola dark but translucent, with a cloud of cappuccino-like white head that needed close attention from the barman. The smell was of gingerbread, caramel vanilla, basil or some sweet herbs, cherry juice, zero funk, surprising, enticing. I tasted cherry and chocolate, a sour-cherry note, a basil or oregano-like herbal as opposed to spicy hop expression for a clean, balanced, sweet but softly so -- a treat from the bakery rather than the spice shop. Mouthfeel was cleansing, thin, disembodied, but session-able and that seemed to be the target, given the manageable ABV and the bartender's suggestion that wasn't as strong as some others in the category.