Aldaris Zelta

Brewed by Aldaris (Baltic Beverages Holding - Carlsberg)
Style: Pale Lager
Riga, Latvia

I know it’s just a pale lager, but the low rating is deceptive. I had this after a long day at work, and WOW was it ever good. I need not explain aroma and taste, as you can probably assume what they were (typical mild hops and some malts, nice golden colour, etc.). But, this was a particularly flavourful pale lager, with a tad more emphasis on the malts (bready, biscuity), and it has a great oily mouth-feel, with an almost heavier body than a typical pale lager . It hit the spot perfectly. I guess maybe I was just in the ideal situation for a helles like this. I think certain raters see the low rating and their minds develop a prejudice, especially considering that typically this beer seems like yet another member of a long line-up of generic Euro lagers. But, if served properly, a true lager-lover should be able to appreciate this fine brew. Nicely done Latvia! Edit: Almost every time I have this it’s a little different. Maybe it’s all dependant on freshness. But sometimes it’s better than others, but fresh it seems to have a lot more straw character to it which is quite tasty. A dry hoppy quality in the finish. Other times toffee-like maltyness comes through. I wish I could have an endless supply of this stuff!

A solid lager with a mildly pleasant aftertaste. A great beer to have on a hot Summer day.

This beer was ALRIGHT. Not great, not bad, average in pretty much every way. An golden/orange colour with a mediocre head. The aroma is malty and grainy. The flavor isn’t very balanced with too much on the sweet side of things. Decent amount of carbonation didn’t save the beer from having a watery finish though. A pretty boring beer. But atleast it was drinkable.

500ml bottle, 5.2% Generously carbonated, golden colour, with a thick creamy looking white head. The nose is of grains, malt, and unfortunatly a little urine. Tastes much the same, a little too malty for my tastes, with a somewhat complex and spicy aftertaste which is easily the beers highlight.

0.5 l bottle. Pours golden with thick white head. Smell is sweetish, grainy. Flavor is malty grains, sweetness and alcohol. Some slight adjunct cabbage-like flavors in the background. Creamy, carbonated mouthfeel. Good and substantial for the style.

500 ml bottle, Mulmur. Gold colour, frothy head. Full bodied, sweet flavor, (relative to the Baltika 3 I tasted it to compare to). Not a bad showing for Latvia in this one.

500 mL bottle from Bridgenorth LCBO. Pale gold with decent white head that dissipated to a sticky film. Aroma of citrus and malt. Taste dominated by malt and an odd, thin sweetness. Just a trace of hops. Perhaps some corn. Nothing to make it stand out.

Served in a can at the local Latvian club. They were all out of the porter, so I had to try this one. Poured light straw, no head. Dominated by sweet malt, not much bitterness or anything else. I got all I expected from this "Premium Lager"