Monday, August 5, 2013

Smut don’t drink it!

Seen on the beer menu today. I am not making this up:

Ramūno Čižo Kaimiškas
…Traditional Lithuanian baked-bread country bread with forest honey.

Širviėnos
…Beer of unique taste, produced according to ancient recipes from Biržai region. Made with treated water, barley malt and added green peas.

Taruškų su Kanapėmis
…A part of the malt is replaced by lightly fried cannabis seeds.

Raudonųjų Doblų
…One of the ingredients – red clover blossom – distinguishes this beer by its unique, harmonious aroma and bitter taste. 

Varniukų
…From Pakruojis – the capital of humour, crows and beer – enriched with the sweet flavour of kvass.

Bearded brewers: not at all creepy
Other recurring phrases are “grandfather’s recipe” and “ancient family yeast”.
We have one of those at Maison d’Etre but to the best of my knowledge it has never been used for brewing.

UPDATE: I left out Paliūništio Medutis earlier -- "brewed in a fourth generation family brewery with roots from the Kupiškis beer region" -- having generously assumed that "roots" must refer to family background, because no-one could possible be putting hum'rously shaped vegetables into the mash.

14 comments:

Substance McGravitas said...

You have to specify added green peas because the initial green peas are assumed.

zombie rotten mcdonald said...

over at LGM, mention was made recently of hipster-oriented beer made using the yeast from the brewmaster's beard.

I thought you'd be interested. You're welcome.

Hamish Mack said...

" unique, harmonious aroma and bitter taste."
This is Conservative Tears Beer isn't it?
Christmas Ale would have strong competition in Lithuania.

Smut Clyde said...

the yeast from the brewmaster's beard.
Here too there is some overlap between beardedness and brewing:
http://www.snekucio-alaus-pasaulis.lt/

Big Bad Bald Bastard said...

So... when are you planning to move the family to the Baltic region?

ifthethunderdontgetya™³²®© said...

News for Kiwis who wish to laugh at their neighbors across the Tasman Sea.
~

Smut Clyde said...

Thankyew ITTDGY. Now the concept of "peener noir" will be haunting me all the way home.

ifthethunderdontgetya™³²®© said...

Coq au vin, anyone?
~

ckc (not kc) said...

...yeah, those roots belong in the beer

Smut Clyde said...

So... when are you planning to move the family to the Baltic region?

Lithuanians have the best beer festivals.

At one bar I wound up talking with an American beer blogger (Don Russell) who'd flown over specifically to attend the fest (and to liaise between American embassy staff and unfamiliar forms of beer) and apparently he adorned a photograph of bearded Smut on his FB page.

Vilnius real-beer publicans have been reading the FB page in question, and I am now familiar to them. Sadly, the familiarity did not extend as far as offers of free beer.

fish said...

…A part of the malt is replaced by lightly fried cannabis seeds.

Extra bar snacks come with this one.

Dragon-King Wangchuck said...

Give added peas a chance.

Smut Clyde said...

Favourite Lithuanian bar snacks:
1. Lard-fried garlicated bread sticks, with stringy cheese / mayonnaise for dipping.
2. Peas with crackling.

fish said...

clarification please: Are the cannabis seeds lightly fried or the drinker?