Baltic blitz
The Eastern European countries of Lithuania, Estonia, Poland and Latvia are still producing some exciting beers. Adrian Tierney-Jones reports
Late at night in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius and I am hunting for an elusive Baltic porter. As I amble along the quiet streets, a chap crosses the road from a group of idling taxi drivers and asks if I am looking for anything. A pause
“Like girls?” he says. Not at the moment thanks, I quickly reply, and then ask if he knows of any pubs that sell the luscious, roasty Lithuanian porter brewed by Utenos. He scratches his head, nonplussed by an offbeat request from someone whose fellow countrymen usually spend their time roaming Vilnius looking for lap-dancing clubs. He then points to a street and mentions an Irish pub I have just passed. Guinness is not what I want.
The post-war years may have seen lager styles washing over the Baltic States and Eastern Europe with the rapidity of the Red Army in 1944, but it was Baltic porters that always sprang to mind when connoisseurs thought of beer in this part of the world. These beers were legendary survivors of the British trading incursions into the region during the late 18th and early 19th century, early versions of the export trade that would come to full fruition with the globetrotting India pale ale.
Russian Tsars and Polish noblemen loved these strong dark imperial stouts and porters, and when the Napoleonic Wars hindered trade the local breweries got in on the act. In the Russian-run fiefdom of Estonia, the A Le Coq brewery was noted for its version, whose recipe British brewer Harvey’s used for its magnificent Imperial.....
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By Adrian Tierney-Jones
Section : International Focus
Page number : 46
