10 Great Baltic Brews (and a few to stay away from)
In this article I rank the greatest beers the Baltic Republics have to offer. This list includes macros and large micros. Before beginning, I would like to give a quick ranking of Baltic countries by beers. It goes like this: Lithuania > Latvia > Estonia. This does not mean that the beers are bad in Estonia per say, just that I preferred the beer scene in Lithuania or Latvia, no big I still found the beer in Estonia to be good for the most part. A few things stood out to me while on my trip to the Baltics: the German brewing tradition has been revived in Riga and that Vilnius is a modern beer paradise!
Table of Contents
The Good:
1. Utenos Porteris & Other Baltic Porters
Ok, hear me out. I know that these lists usually involve choosing a single beer above all other. In this nomination for first place we have clearly selected the legendary Utenos Porter but have also included a reference to other Baltic Porters. Why you ask? Because this is a Baltic based list and the Baltic Porters in this region are off the charts!
As you could guess by its name, the Baltic Porter was invented in the Baltic countries. The western porter was introduced to the region by British merchants in the 18th century where it was improved upon. The alcohol percentage was raised substantially, and the taste was made sweeter, much like a Russian imperial stout. Unfortunately, the style had all but disappeared in Western Europe after the fall off the Iron Curtain, luckily for us it has made a major comeback and Baltic Porters are once again served all over the world.
Utenos, my favorite Lithuanian brand, is a relatively young beer company. It brewed its first batch in 1977, in the historically important city of Utena. In 1992 the Porter, garnered international acclaim winning Silver at an international exposition and followed it up with a few gold medals in subsequent showings. Any Lithuanian expat will tell you that its sweet, caramel like aroma is to die for! For those interested in a polish variant of this beer Żywiec, the polish brewing giant, makes an excellent porter as well.
Country of Origin : Lithuania
Uztenos Porter: 6.8%
2. Valmiermuiža Alus
Brewed in the village of Valmiera at the northern tip of the Gauja National Park, this fine establishment was founded in 1764 by a German duke named Peter August. He had been given an attractive plot of land, on the road from Saint Petersburg in Russia to Western Europe, by the Russian Czar in recognition of his service to the Russian nation. Due to its location, the duke was often entertaining guests at his home including royalty. To serve them he created a deer lodge and a brewery on his lands.
The town of Valmiera was almost obliterated in the many wars that took place on Latvian soil since then. In 2006, a group of Latvian brewing pioneers decided to return the area to its proud German brewing tradition, to great success. This fine establishment was reopened to the public in 2009 and their products can be found throughout Latvia, including a pub referred to as the Beer Embassy in the famous brewing district of Riga, the capital city of Latvia. This brewery has so many different beers that I will only include a few below. Most range from 5-6% but there is some variation with their more experimental beers.
Country of Origin: Latvia
Tumšais (dark) 5.8%, Gaisais (Märzen Lager) 5.2%, Ziemas (Red) 5.8%
3. Vilniaus Alus
This beer is proud of its home city! The bottled variation of this beer sports a great logo, with a cartoon depiction of the Lithuanian capital displayed proudly on the label. The company logo is the Iron Wolf, a mythological character associated with the founding of the city by Gediminas, grand duke of Lithuania. If he were alive today, the Grand Duke himself may indulge in a pint of this fine brew.
My favorite beer on offer by this brewery is the Nefiltruotas Šviesusis, meaning unfiltered pale lager but they have many other variations on tap. I have included a few of my favorites below but they have a much wider selection. Be forewarned the beers from this brewery are wickedly tasty and you may end up having a few more than you bargained for. This young company has been brewing since 1999 and is now the largest craft brewer in Lithuania. Not bad for a young gun!
Country of Origin: Lithuania
Nefiltruotas Šviesusis (Pale Lager) 5.2%, Amber City Šviesusis (Amber Lager) 5.2%, Kvietinis (Wheat Beer) 5.0 % and Tamsusis (Dark) 5.6%
4. Svyturys
This is a favorite of all Lithuanian patio lovers, especially on a warm summer day. This brewery operating out of old Prussian Memel (now Klaipedia), has been producing a fine product since 1784 when a German by the name of Johan Wilheln Reincke founded the brewery. It is now part of the Danish Carlsberg group along with its counterpart Utenos.
I spent a whole day drinking this fine lager, before my train to Trakai, on my train to Trakai and after visiting Trakai paired with some Kibinai. Yes its that good!
Country of Origin: Lithuania
Ekstra (Lager) 5.2%, Baltas (White) 5.0%, Baltijos (Oktoberfest) 5.8% and Gintarinis (Amber) 4.6%
5. Bauskas
This beer comes from a town in the south of Latvia called Bauskas, hence the name. It was founded in 1981 and is one of the most underrated products in Latvia. I remember having this beer in Riga and leaving a specific marker on my phone to find more of the Tumsais variety. How is that for a drunken endorsement!
The dark beer in particular has a sweet aroma and a rich flavor. This tastes the way I imagined Latvian beer tasting.
Country of Origin: Latvia
Gaišais (Light) 4.8% and Tumšais 5.5% (Dark)
6. Kalnapilis
In operation since 1902, this beer was also created by a German landowner. It was originally called Bergschlösschen but was changed to the Lithuanian equivalent of Kalnapilis when the country regained its independence in 1918. This clear lager pours well, tastes crisp and goes down easy. Sounds like a great summer beer to me. The 7-30 brand of beer is quite strong at over 7% but tastes like a five percent beer, it sneaks up on you but I recommend it wholeheartedly.
Country of Origin: Lithuania
Original (Lager) 5%, 7-30 (Strong) 7.3%
7. Aldaris
This old school brewery, one of the largest in Latvia, has been operating since 1865, so its safe to say they know a thing or two about what makes a good beer. The Pilsner pours out as a dark yellow hue and is one of their most popular offerings along with their caramel porter.
For those more intrested in the history of this brewery, you can find their beautiful beer museum and factory outside the city of Riga, near the city zoo.
Country of Origin: Latvia
Mežpils (Pilsner) 5.3%, Porteris 6.8%, 1865 (Lager) 4.8% , Gaišais (Light Pilsner) 5% and Zelta (see entry number 10)
8. Tauras
Tauras is another fine Lithuanian lager. This beer was surprisingly not created by Germans. It was founded in Vilnius, then a center for Jewish culture, by two Jews in 1860. This beer proved popular with the large Polish citizenry of the city and when Poland gained independence from Russia it was considered one of the largest breweries in Poland (Vilnius, then called Wilno was annexed from Lithuania by Poland in 1920). The name of this beer changed many times over the years and Tauras would not become the official name for the beer till 1945. What does this mean? Well nothing really, but due to its complicated history the beer has a lot to tell.
Drink it, savor it and let it tell you its story.
This brewery was bought and became part of the parent company of Kalnapilis, Royal Unibrew. As such you will often find these beers paired together at bars.
Country of Origin: Lithuania
Extra (Lager) 5.2%
9. Cēsu
Brewed in the medieval town of Cesis (Wenden), in the very heart of Guaja national park, this crisp lager is a gift from the German beer gods. Beer has been brewed in Cesis since 1590 and this brewing tradition is thought to be the oldest in the Baltic states. Quite the pedigree! Cesis brewery dates from 1878 when it was established by… You guessed it, a German aristocrat, count Emanuel von Sievers. Today it is the second largest producer of beer in Latvia but has lost some ground to a few of the newcomers of the rapidly evolving Latvian beer scene.
Country of Origin: Latvia
Premium (Lager) 5.2%, Gaišais (Light Lager) 5.0%, Nefiltretais (unfiltered Lager) 5.4%.
10. Zelta
Squeaking by at number ten is Zelta. It may be ranked low on this list but I thoroughly enjoyed this beer anyway. It is brewed by Aldaris (as mentioned above) but I have included it separately as it is a much different beer than the ones produced by its parent company. This pale lager is perfect for a warm day or for a quick light drink before exercising. Yes, I am that kind of guy!
Country of Origin: Latvia
Premium 5.2%
Bonus Beer:
Saku
There is nothing wrong with Saku, but Estonia’s biggest macro pales in comparison with some of its neighbors. But don’t be fooled, this is a solid beer, brewed since 1820 by a Baltic German called Karl Friedrich von Rehbinder. So, don’t shun it, if it was not for the strength of the competition this beer would be perfectly serviceable. This factory also produces the finest soft drinks in Estonia and mix drinks like the famous GN Long Drink (see Tallinn).
Country of Origin: Estonia
Originaal (Lager) 4.6%, Kuld (gold) 5.2%, Pilsner 4.2%, Porter 6.9%, Tume (Amber) 6.7% and Karl Friedrich 5.0%
The Bad:
A. Le Coq
Ok, so I started off on the wrong foot with this beer. I accidentally bought the non-alcoholic variety beer but I drank it anyway. My biggest mistake was ordering it again before leaving Estonia for Latvia. This ridiculously named beer takes it’s name from the Prussian (German) archaeologist and brewer Albert Le Coq. Pretty cool until you taste this beer. Then you realize how thoroughly bad this drink is. At least it’s not Pabst!
Estonia’s largest beer maker operates out of the university city of Tartu where it operates a great beer museum. As much as I like to pick on this beer it has been brewing since 1807, so they must be doing something right.
Country of Origin: Estonia
Lager 4.5%
Latvian Honey Beers
While in Riga, all beer tours will try to convince you that this is something you absolutely must have. They will feed you one honey beer after another and ask you how you enjoyed it, obviously expecting a nod and smile with glee… this beer is all lies… my stomach was not pleased with this choice. But again, maybe that’s just me
Varniukų Alus
Ok, not to be mean but I found this beer to be awful. It was my first introduction to the Lithuanian beer scene but luckily not my last as things only got better after that. I hear that the dark variety (Tamsus) is much better but I did not get a chance to try it.
Country of Origin: Lithuania
