Lietuviškas Pilsneris
Sakiskes Brewery

Pours, pale gold with excellent clarity; super foamy creamy white head; tons of streaming carbonation; long lasting head; heavy ring; heavy lacing. Smoky nose; burnt toast. Burnt biscuits taste. Clean, crisp feel; light body; full carbonation. Overall, taste like a smoked Strohs.

my first from these guys and just my second ever beer from lithuania i think, super cool find! interesting beer too, i thought it might just be a pils type, but its so much more than that, totally caught my wife and i off guard, but we both loved it, really unique stuff, old worldy and distinctive, even one of a kind, nice! the secret here is that a portion of the mash is actually baked, which i learned from the side of the can and did not know before, darker beer brewed from paler grains, its called keptinis and appears to be a uniquely lithuanian thing, how cool! not sure if keptinis is the style of beer or the process or what, but this is also double decocted and has a ton of unique grain personality, nothing like a pale yellow european pils, not at all, dont let the name fool you as it did me. i smell smoke and toast, dark but short of burnt, some caramelized amber type richness, a little tannic and astringent character too, husky and hully, some warmth in vibe for sure, autumnal, chestnut and acorn and fallen leaves, like something scratch would make, or has made, bready in such a cool way, the baked part of this is obvious once i know thats how it was done, and the yeast has some personality too, very interesting, hearty, still lager-like to me. the flavor is similar, nutty and toasty and hearty and cozy, amazing grain depth and i kind of like the part of this that is smoke forward and cooked and concentrated and even the tannins, its very unique and special, again just entirely unexpected and a welcome surprise. some nice body to this, some hop bitterness too very late, a maturity and an almost wood aged personality, some rustic character to the grain and also to the ferment, light spiciness to it all when taken collectively, very little sweetness overall despite the general grain richness and complexity and baked aspect. its really bubbly and alive feeling too, seems to have traveled pretty well for how far it has come, and is drinkable for how exotic it tastes. amazingly cool process on this, never knew about that, and its fun to still be learning about beer after all this time and all these drinks, makes me happy to know that there are still things to discover, and i am thankful for this one, a great teacher! hope to drink this again someday now that i have read a bit about keptinis and know what to expect a little more. well worth tracking this down if its new to you as it was to me, presents like one part amber ale, one part european dark lager, one part biere de garde, one part rauchbier or something, all rolled up as a drinkable fall seasonal, so cool! easily worth the eight bucks i paid for the artful looking single can, so process intensive it seems like fair value. i had no idea lithuania had their own unique brewing method and style!

Poured into a Seattle Beer Week pint glass. Pours a lightly hazy, medium golden amber with a big, five finger white head that slowly dissipates to a thick cap with slippery, solid lacing. Aroma of bready malt, light dry caramel, wheat biscuit and faint grassy hops. Flavor is bready and lightly grainy malt, light to moderate grassy hops, malt syrup, whole wheat bread, faint caramel and apple juice; mild grassy hop bitterness in the finish. Medium bodied with light to moderate creaminess. I wondered why this was labelled as a pilsner, but entered here as a Czech amber lager, but the latter is clearly the correct style. Nice malt depth and flavor and on the low end of light to moderate bitterness. The hops appear to be noble grassy varieties, but not much hop herbal character. The play between the malt and light apple fruit notes is pleasant. A worthy example of an uncommon style here in the states. So far, I've been impressed with beer from Lithuania and this is one of them.

 

 

What a fantastic find! I haven't had a Lithuanian beer since the 1990s. And I am glad I bought this somewhat pricey 11.2 oz can for $6ish bucks. That's what one would pay for a pour at a bar anyway, so no big deal.

Pours a gorgeous rich gold color with quite a bit of foam. The aroma is decidedly farmhouse lager / grain.

The taste is very similar to a Czech amber lager or a European farmhouse lager. Rich yet smooth, very pleasant. Proper carbonation throughout.

Worthy.