Rinkuškiai Aiko Stiprus

Brewed by Rinkuškiai
Style: European Strong Lager
Biržu raj., Lithuania

Deep golden color with a hint of orange. Just a lid of bubbles left. Alcohol infused malt and dry flowers. Some dry wood and grain also in the nose. Thin feel. Grainy and alcohol flavors. Some light fruit including white grapes, which seem to be prevalent in many of these eastern euro strong lagers. A mild herbal bitterness helps balance some of the sweetness, but still quite sweet and sticky. It is what it is, a strong euro lager.

What a wild beer! pours a clearish golden amber with dissipating white head. Aroma is actually quite pilsner in style, very grassy, not a hint of alcohol, enjoyable. Flavor is another story. There is a grainy alcohol flavor, and more grassiness. Alcohol becomes even more evident in the finish, somewhat boozy. Medium body, soft mouthfeel, and a prick of carbonation and alcohol. For packing such a high octane punch, but for a pilsner taste, it gets a few extra points in my book.

Pours a big head, which dissipates almost as quickly as it forms. Little to no lacing. Very pleasant malty/orange nose but, alas, it is this beer’s best feature. Very light mouthfeel, some citrus -- orange/lime? -- on the sweet palate, which leans to the ’malt liquor’ side at 9.5% abv. Certainly drinkable, but would be more successful with food. Not a quaffer for that high afternoon after mowing the lawn!

500 ml. Clear golden-orange with a small head that settles into a nice little ring. Aroma of spicy dry grass and honey. Flavor is similar, and pretty pleasant except for some slightly harsh, hopped-cough syrup in the finish. Light-medium body is soft and tongue-tingling, with a drying finish.

The Pour is an amber hue. The nose is hops, malt and yeast. The taste is a very strong version of bud. A very well balanced and very tasty beer. You can taste the malt and a bit of hops. The finish is clean with a bit of a bitterness.

Bottle. Honey body with a quarter inch foamy head. Nose-cinnamon, Juicy Fruit gum, aggressive nose. Taste-medium CO2, medium sweetness, fruity, melon, apricot, powdery candy, very powdery, strawberry, alcohol, strawberry quick, perfumey., In the end it is good but too sweet.

Pours gold with a white head. Smells of dry malt, yeast, some sugar and corn. Tastes of pepper, some caramel, lots of warming alcohol on the finish.

Who can resist the lure of a bottle with a hang tag promoting it’s 9.5% abv - I know that I can’t!!! Picked it up in Lombard, IL at Famous Liquor. Flavor resides somewhere in between maibock and malt liquor, sugar sweet maltiness and dusty pepper hops - it’s actually got a nice flavor to it, but there’s also a bit of alcohol burn.