Today, Peaks & Pints presents a flight of beer brewed in the Baltic states. Beer has a long history in Estonia, originating on the island between 500 and 1000 CE. Traditional Estonian beer brewers used wheat, rye, and oats — three grains that have long been cultivated in the country. For many Estonians beer brewing was a matter of survival — before widespread sanitation and water purification, drinking beer was likely to be safer than drinking water. The craft beer movement, however, has taken root in Estonia in recent years, with smaller microbreweries popping up around the country and beginning to make an inroad into the market share. In 1945, the Baltic countries had been annexed into the Soviet Union. Latvia was much more industrialized than Lithuania. Traditional brewing is usually associated with farming, so it’s likely that this meant that traditional beer culture was already much weaker than in Lithuania. Further, since Latvia had a Baltic German ruling elite, bigger breweries would predominantly be owned by ethnic Germans and therefore would likely brew in the German tradition. Beer has been brewed in Lithuania since at least the 11th century and was brewed for rituals and festivities. The ancient Lithuanian god of brewing beer and mead is Ragutis or Rūgutis. Some say that the Lithuanian Soviet Republic unofficially accepted traditional brewing culture, while the Soviets destroyed traditional brewing culture in Latvia. That’s all fine and dandy, but let’s get to drinking five Baltic state beers in our flight, Peaks and Pints Beer Flight: Baltic States.
Peaks and Pints Beer Flight: Baltic States
Arpus Mango x Apricot x Almond Smother Sour
5% ABV
LATVIA: Arpus Brewing was founded in 2017 in Latvia. The name of the brewery can be translated to “Outside of the box”. The Untappd network has rated them as the top brewery in the Baltic states. Arpus Mango x Apricot x Almond Smother Sour blends the tartness of a sour ale with the sweetness of a fruit smoothie with mango, apricot, and almond flavors, creating a creamy, richly flavored beer that’s both refreshing and surprisingly dessert-like. Mango leads the flavor with an immediate sour counterpoint offered up by a wave of apricot. They both vie for dominance, but the almond introduces a nutty flavor as well as a balance against going too tart or sour.
Arpus Peanut Butter x Vanilla x Coffee Imperial Stout
12% ABV
LATVIA: Dark and espresso black through the center, Arpus Brewing’s Peanut Butter x Vanilla x Coffee Russian imperial stout releases a dainty and short-lived mocha froth along with a sugary scent of vanilla cream, caramel and coffee with a background scent of peanut. Its taste picks up on that sweetness with a confectionary upstart of marshmallow, mocha milkshake, French vanilla, fudge and cake batter. Rising coffee flavors add a balance and welcomed dryness with its earthen char, smoke and campfire character.
Põhjala Winter Smooth
12% ABV
ESTONIA: Nestled in Estonia’s capital of Tallinn lies the largest beer producer in the Baltic region, Põhjala. Põhjala’s origin story goes back to 2011 when four Estonian friends got together and decided the tiny macrolager-obsessed country deserves some better beer. With zero understanding of how to run a brewery, the guys traveled to Scotland and studied under the tutelage of Brewdog’s Chris Pilkington. Following the end of their internship, Pilkington followed team Põhjala back to Estonia, and by 2013 they had their first beer, an imperial porter dubbed Öö – or Night. A year later they had established a “forest brewery” outside of Tallinn where they continued honing their craft before finally settling down in a 100-year-old repurposed submarine factory. Põhjala’s Winter Smooth is a decadent barrel-aged barleywine crafted for Danish bottle shop KIHOSKH‘s annual winter tradition. Aged in Cognac barrels, there is a little more oak than grape liquor in the nose but there is also smoke in the background. The taste is dry with smokey oak coming across prominently. There is a little fruit, somewhat jammy somewhat vinous, along with some chocolate and caramel in the background.
Põhjala Cocobänger
12.5% ABV
ESTONIA: Their Cocobänger is a banging Imperial stout brewed with coconut and a Caturra coffee from Costa Rica. Expect a creamy, dessert-like coconut followed by a rush of Turkish coffee — earthy, tarry, balanced by the taste of plums and blackberry. As the beer warms, chocolate notes start to shine, with hints of caramelized sugar layering on top of the roasted coffee. Finally, the oiliness of the coconut and the smooth coffee crash down the tongue, lingering and leaving their seductive taste until the inevitable next sip.
Põhjala Mudcake Banger
12.5% ABV
ESTONIA: Mudcake inspired bänging imperial stout brewed with chocolate and cacao. An assertive dark chocolate character rolls over the tongue, followed by a layer of creamy malt sweetness. Dark sugar and candied orange zest join from the periphery, before an overwhelming sweet chocolate character returns. Bitter chocolate coats the pale, being washed down by a smooth, gentle carbonation, with more chocolate coating the mouth.
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